Logan - Wolverine and X-23

X-Men movie fans are buzzing with excitement following the release of the first trailer for Logan. The preview was suitably moody and dark, teasing viewers with something that feels extremely different from what's come before in the franchise. There was plenty to dissect in the footage, which raised several intriguing questions about Hugh Jackman's final outing as Wolverine. Marketing has so far kept spoilers under lock and key, meaning moviegoers are free to theorize about what exactly goes down in the future Logan depicts.

One of the more fascinating shots featured in the trailer was one of Wolverine having a quiet moment of contemplation staring into a mirror. With the camera pointed at his back, a number of scars were visible. Some may find this odd, since Logan is known for his healing mutation, which essentially makes him invulnerable to any attack. Fortunately for those curious minds, director James Mangold has now explained why things have changed this time around.

Doing a breakdown of the trailer with Empire, Mangold revealed that the idea behind the scars was Logan's advancing age impacting his powers. He can still recover from wounds, but the skin that grows back is no longer "baby-soft." Said Mangold:

“One of the things we all thought about as we worked on this film is, well, we don’t want to rebuild everything. We want to have some questions. In order to make a different Logan, and a different tone of a Wolverine movie, we felt like we couldn’t hold on to every tradition established in all the movies religiously, or we’d be trapped by the decisions made before us. So we questioned whether Logan’s healing factor causes him to heal without even a scar. We imagined that it may have when he was younger, but with age, he’s getting older and ailing. Perhaps his healing factor no longer produces baby-soft skin. So we imagined he heals quickly, still, but it leaves a scar. The simple idea was that his body would start to get a little more ravaged with a kind of tattooing of past battles, lacerations that remain of previous conflicts.”

Logan Trailer - Mirror

Further evidence of Wolverine's diminishing healing factor can be seen in a closeup of his bloodied hands following the use of his claws. This is a truly fascinating wrinkle for Logan to explore, since it presents the character with a new set of personal challenges. For years, he's been an indestructible killing machine, but now he may have to make some adjustments. Making Logan somewhat physically vulnerable also raises the stakes in the action sequences, since viewers are currently unsure how much he can take before succumbing to injuries. In 2013's The Wolverine, he survived an atomic explosion. Chances are that wouldn't happen in this movie.

With Logan being Jackman's last time wearing the claws and the possibility of X-23 taking over the Wolverine mantle for the future, it's not unreasonable to suspect that Logan could meet his ultimate end here. However, given that Mangold states "he heals quickly," the chances of that happening remain low for the time being. It is possible to give a beloved character a proper sendoff without them dying, and with things not looking great for Xavier, fans may have to prepare to say goodbye to the professor. Logan is probably going to hit harder than its predecessors, but multiple deaths of fan-favorite characters might be too much to bear.

NEXT: Logan International Trailer

Source: Empire

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