Hugh Jackman made his debut as the mutant superhero Wolverine in Bryan Singer's 2000 X-Men, and the character quickly became a fan-favorite thanks to the actor's performance. After the original trilogy of X-Men films wrapped up, Jackman led his first solo effort as Wolverine in 2009's oft-derided prequel X-Men Origins: Wolverine. However, James Mangold's The Wolverine went a long way in earning fans back to the X-Men spinoff series, and the director is reteaming with Jackman for next year's Logan.
Following the success of 20th Century Fox's first R-rated X-Men spinoff, Deadpool, Logan will be rated R, and is said to have a "violent western" tone. That tone was on display in the first trailer for Logan, which worked to set the film apart from other superhero blockbusters with the help of Johnny Cash's "Hurt" as its soundtrack. Now, a new report reveals Logan may have been influenced by a particular classic Western film, which may offer some insight into Wolverine's journey.
IGN is reporting that Fox handed out books of Logan stills during a recent film showcase, and while many of the images have already been released online, the photos were accompanied by a dialogue exchange from George Stevens' 1953 Western classic, Shane. Take a look at the exchange:
Shane: I gotta be going.
Joey: Why, Shane?
Shane: A man has to be what he is, Joey. Can’t break the mould. I tried it and it didn’t work for me.
Joey: We want you, Shane.
Shane: Joey, there’s no living with… with a killing. There’s no going back from one. Right or wrong, it’s a brand. A brand sticks. There’s no going back. Now you run on home to your mother, and tell her… tell her everything’s all right. And there aren’t anymore guns in the valley.
The dialogue comes from the final scene of Shane -- shortly before the now iconic line from Joey: "Shane, come back!" As for Stevens' movie, Shane follows a lone, stoic gunslinger with a mysterious past who arrives in an isolated Wyoming valley and saves the local homesteaders from a ruthless cattle baron who is attempting to take the land for himself. The film ends with the titular gunslinger having saved the day and riding off despite Joey's pleas for him to stay.
Of course, it's unlikely Logan will follow the plot of Shane, but based on what we've seen from the upcoming Wolverine movie -- which Jackman has said will be his last time donning the mutton chops and claws of the mutant hero -- there are plenty of parallels. For one, and perhaps most obviously, Logan and Shane both feature the protagonist's name as the title; plus, both feature a lone hero who comes across a child companion. Additionally, Wolverine is certainly his own kind of loner gunslinger, albeit one with claws rather than guns.
That said, though there seems to be similarities between Logan and Shane, it's unclear how this particular scene from the classic Western film inspired Mangold's return to the mutant universe -- if it did at all. Perhaps Shane's final chunk of dialogue speaks to the mindset of Wolverine, with Logan picking up the character's story after he has seen plenty of violence and killed many people with his own hands -- and claws. Perhaps fans can expect a similar exchange -- or, at least, a parting of ways -- between Wolverine and Laura (Dafne Keen).
Still, we may see more of how Shane influenced Mangold and Jackman's upcoming Wolverine solo film when the second trailer for Logan drops in the coming weeks. If not, fans will only need to wait until March for Logan to hit theaters.
Next: Logan Footage Reactions
Source: IGN
