Warning! Spoilers for Logan lie below!
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For those of you who have seen Logan, then you know the superhero flick leaves a huge body count in its wake. The R-rated movie sees iconic characters like Professor Xavier and Wolverine pass away after a lifetime of fighting. And, naturally, the deaths left fans reeling as they watched their favorite characters bleed out on the big screen. Still, not every character got a grand farewell as they passed, and fans have questioned why one mutant in particular didn’t get to say his goodbyes to Logan.
Now, fans have learned just why director James Mangold opted to take out Caliban’s final moments from Logan. When it came down to it, the executive felt it opened up room for an annoying plot hole.
The Blu-ray of Logan finally went on sale today, and the release features commentary from Mangold with its deleted scenes. It is there fans see that a scene was originally shot which captures Caliban’s final moments after detonating a bomb. However, for the film’s theatrical cut, Mangold thought the farewell would make fans wonder why Logan and Laura didn’t take Caliban’s body along with Professor Xavier.
“The tricky thing about it was it felt a little bit to us like they shouldn’t leave him there. They should take him with them. Why do they take Charles’ body and leave Caliban’s body? It felt like it was almost raising more questions,” Mangold explained. “At the same time I felt bad cutting it because I also felt like it gave Stephen’s character a kind of farewell.”
In the Blu-ray’s deleted scenes, fans are able to see the cut moment between Logan and Caliban. After blowing himself up in an attempt to kill Donald Pierce, Caliban is found laying on the ground dying from his injuries. Laura and Logan can be seen rushing past the mutant with Professor Xavier’s body in tow, and the somber moment gives a quiet send-off to Caliban.
Mangold’s reasoning for cutting the Caliban scene is one which caused several X-Men nods to be removed. The film originally housed references to Jean Grey and even a cameo of Victor Creed’s Sabretooth. However, the ideas were ultimately scrapped as they detracted attention from Logan’s final gritty tale.
MORE: Logan Director Shares His Idea For An X-23 Movie / Logan: Hugh Jackman Was Originally Hesitant To Play X-24 / Logan Director Has Spoken To Fox About X-23’s Return
In 2029, the mutant population has shrunk significantly and the X-Men have disbanded. Logan, whose power to self-heal is dwindling, has surrendered himself to alcohol and now earns a living as a chauffeur. He takes care of the ailing old Professor X whom he keeps hidden away. One day, a female stranger asks Logan to drive a girl named Laura to the Canadian border. At first he refuses, but the Professor has been waiting for a long time for her to appear. Laura possesses an extraordinary fighting prowess and is in many ways like Wolverine.
She is pursued by sinister figures working for a powerful corporation; this is because her DNA contains the secret that connects her to Logan. A relentless pursuit begins … In this third cinematic outing featuring the Marvel comic book character Wolverine we see the superheroes beset by everyday problems. They are ageing, ailing and struggling to survive financially. A decrepit Logan is forced to ask himself if he can or even wants to put his remaining powers to good use. It would appear that in the near-future, the times in which they were able put the world to rights with razor sharp claws and telepathic powers are now over.
Logan stars Hugh Jackman (Logan), Boyd Holbrook (Donald Pierce), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Dafne Keen (Laura Kinney/X-23), Stephen Merchant (Caliban), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Gabriela), and Richard E. Grant (Dr. Zander Rice).
James Mangold (The Wolverine) directed, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with screenwriters Scott Frank and Michael Green.
Logan is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on May 23.
[HT] CinemaBlend
