The wait is finally over for Wolverine fans, as the hotly-anticipated final installment of the mutant hero's own trilogy, Logan, gets wide release in theaters this Friday. The gritty, somber, R-rated film is a departure from the X-Men franchise's overall style and tone, but it's looking like the filmmaker's gamble will pay off. Early reviews have been stellar, with a Rotten Tomatoes score that so far beats any previous X-men outing, and the movie's projected worldwide box office hovering at $170 million.
Co-writer and director James Mangold has said he came up with the idea for Logan only a couple months after wrapping production on The Wolverine. He wanted to make a movie about family, which expanded into Logan having a daughter and caring for his ailing father figure, Charles Xavier. It's more of a road movie than a traditional superhero film - and unlike the epic scale of most comic book franchises, this one keeps the focus on our trio of mutants and allows for deeper character development.
In the latest Logan TV spot, which you can watch above, Charles expands on that idea of family. "This is what life looks like. People who love each other. Home." From the looks of the interspersed bloody fight scenes, it's clear Wolverine will have to come out of retirement to preserve that kind of life--at least for the young mutant in his care, Laura, a.k.a. X-23.
The video bills the adamantium-clawed action in Logan as "his final battle," and there's another reference to the extinction of mutants. This theme of endings carries through to the actors as well. Both Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart, who've portrayed Wolverine and Professor X respectively over a span of 17 years, have declared this is their final appearance as X-Men.
Despite the overall mood of finality and loss, the new clip reveals that Professor X is still the one to offer hope for the future. All may not be lost for the legacy of mutant heroes, and there's a chance we could see more of X-23 in future films. While it won't be the same without two of the most iconic actors in the franchise, the time travel and alternate universes possible in the X-Men universe also means that the fate of the characters isn't necessarily set, and there should still be plenty of stories to tell.
NEXT: What Does Logan Mean for the X-Men Universe? (Video)
Source: 20th Century Fox
