On the eve of release, Logan screenwriter Scott Frank has shed new light on the film’s pre-production process, including how one particular incarnation of James Mangold’s R-rated thriller almost made room for Wolverine’s sibling and sworn enemy, Sabretooth.
Word comes by way of Cinema Blend, where Frank noted that the character, one brought to life by Liev Schreiber in X-Men Origins: Wolverine seven years ago, would have cropped up right around the middle of Logan, at which point Wolverine, Laura/X-23 and Xavier are seen traveling through Oklahoma City. Going off Frank’s comments, Mangold and his creative team came fairly close to carving out a role for Sabretooth but, much like the director’s approach to other X-Men characters, ultimately decided to leave any cameo from Schreiber on the cutting room floor.
There was a moment when we were thinking about, as I recall, Jim [Mangold] had an idea where when they were on the run, and they go to the gambling town, there may have been at that point they were going to see [Sabretooth] for help. He was going to be there for help. Now that you mention it! I wouldn’t swear to it, but we thought that would have been an interesting thing to do. And then for whatever reason we didn’t do it.
And that’s perfectly fine. Logan is arguably one of the greatest X-Men movies to date precisely because it doubles down on its lead character – Wolverine, in this instance – and crafts their final journey in a believable and bittersweet way. Tossing in a Sabretooth cameo would’ve ran the risk of cheapening Hugh Jackman’s last hurrah with the adamantium claws.
On the topic of farewells, Entertainment Weekly has elected the Aussie actor to be the cover star of its new issue, which you can find below. As part of its extensive coverage, the outlet also quizzed Jackman about the creative inspiration behind Logan, who pointed to Clint Eastwood’s genre-defining Unforgiven.
Gritty, somber, melancholic – three words one would use to describe Wolverine’s last stand. However, those holding out hope that 20th Century Fox is sitting on a Director’s Cut needn’t bother; as James Mangold revealed via Twitter, the Director’s Cut and Theatrical Cut are one and the same.
Yes. There is. It is the one in theaters.
— Mangold (@mang0ld) March 1, 2017
Logan bows tomorrow, March 3rd, and is well on its way to a massive opening weekend at the international box office.
