Was Logan’s Ending Predicted in The Wolverine?

WARNING! This Article has Logan SPOILERS!

Superhero movies can tell some pretty great stories – and despite us living in the new era of sprawling comic book universes on the TV and movie screens, some superhero stories start and finish in the span of one film. Logan may be Wolverine 3, but it doesn’t let its threequel status distract from a very singular story of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine facing the end of his time.

In fact, some fans might argue that Logan doesn’t do enough to fix the continuity problems of the X-Men movie franchise, as the film only acknowledges some basic cursory ties to the other X-Men and/or Wolverine films in the franchise.

One of the most talked-about Logan Eater Eggs is the film’s brief visual reference to Logan’s time in Japan during the events of The Wolverine; however, one fan has gone a step further, spotting what he sees as a major connection between The Wolverine and Logan‘s (tragic?)(bittersweet?) ending.

If you remember Rila Fukushima’s Yukio in The Wolverine, she was one of the only other mutants in the film, gifted with the power of precognition (seeing the future). During The Wolverine‘s second act, Yukio foretells of a future in which she sees Wolverine, dying. In the context of that film, the prediction refers to Logan‘s eventual battle with Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shingen, while trying to get a nanotech parasite out of his body. However, this fan theory clearly posits that Yukio’s prediction had much greater meaning.

Director James Mangold applauding this fan theory lends it some serious credit as a legit Easter egg. While Mangold and Jackman may not have known 100% what Logan would be when they were making The Wolverine, they could’ve easily tailored the ending of Logan to retroactively fit Yukio’s prophecy in The Wolverine.

If nothing else, Mangold is likely as impressed (as we are) with fan creativity regarding these Easter eggs and connections.

Logan takes place in the year 2024, where mutant births have become extremely rare. The defenders of mutant kind, the X-Men, are long gone, and the only remains of them are an old and struggling Charles Xavier and a weary Logan. Logan’s vaunted healing factor has slowed, and at times doesn’t seem to work at all. When a young mutant needs his help, Logan has to unsheathe his claws once more. His job isn’t over yet.

Logan stars Hugh Jackman (Logan), Boyd Holbrook (Donald Pierce), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Dafne Keen (Laura Kinney/X-23), Doris Morgado (Maria), Stephen Merchant (Caliban), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Gabriela), and Richard E. Grant (Dr. Zander Rice). James Mangold is directing and helped on the screenplay along with Scott Frank and Michael Green.

Logan is now playing in theaters.

MORE LOGAN: X-23’s Creator Has A Spinoff Movie Pitch / Logan Passes $100 Million Stateside Box Office / Hugh Jackman Will Have A Say Over The Next Wolverine Actor