Wolverine 3: Logan Director Believes He Will Make Another Movie With Hugh Jackman

Logan is a piece of the X-Men movie universe but it stands completely on its own. That was made possible because director James Mangold selected a distant enough future where the events of recent films such as X-Men: Days of Future Past can have much of an effect on Logan.

“It’s year 2029 when the movie takes place,” Logan director James Mangold told ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview.

Mangold went on to explain his reasoning in more detail — specifically citing the post-credits scene from X-Men: Days of Future Past as the basis for his decision.

“There’s an epilogue scene in Days of Future Past which is 2024, or 2023, something like that,” Mangold said. “I just wanted to get far enough past. My goal was real simple: it was to pick a time where I had enough elbow room that I was clear of existing entanglements. Part of the way I think this films stop being fresh (these films being franchise comic book movies) is when you find yourself making essentially a television series with $200 million episodes where you’re literally just picking up where the last one left off and you’re making a mini-series. Then, it’s impossible to do something fresh, meaning essentially you’re just a director on the 14th episode of a television show picking up where the last one left off and people are going to be really startled by any discontinuity or changes.”

This time around, Mangold hopes Logan will be self-contained and tell an entire story in its run time. It will explore uncharted emotional territories of the X-Men universe by pairing Logan with the little X-23 for a relationship which looks a lot like a father-daughter duo.

“That wasn’t the goal here,” Mangold said. “The goal here was to somehow make a film that’s different: to be a filmmaker myself and go, ‘How would I bring myself to this? What would I do if I was starting from scratch? What would I explore? What have I seen not explored?’ Not only in the X-Men universe but in comic book movies in general.”

MORE LOGAN:

First 40 Minutes Recap And Review / When Logan Takes Place Revealed / How Logan Is Forced To Deal With Parenthood / Logan Director Believes He’ll Re-Team With Hugh Jackman / How Old Man Logan Comics Influenced Movie / Why X-23 Will Be The Best Part / Details On Elizabeth Rodriguez’s Role / Why Logan Will Probably Wear Classic Wolverine Costume

Logan hits theaters March 3, 2017.

To the dismay of many fans, Logan is the last time we will see Hugh Jackman rocking the Adamantium claws on the big screen. For him and director James Mangold, the journey has been unforgettable but, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

For Jackman and Mangold, Logan is hardly the end. The actor and director duo might not be coming together for another Wolverine movie any time soon – or ever – but there is, at least, hope for them to work together on another project somewhere down the line.

Speaking to director James Mangold at a 20th Century Fox showcase event, ComicBook.com asked the directed what it will take to reunite Mangold and Jackman for another film.

“I have the utmost confidence because we’re dear friends that we’ll make another project together,” Mangold said. “I just truly doubt it will be as director of a Logan film.”

Mangold and Jackman first came together for The Wolverine in 2013. The film was a major step in the right direction for Jackman’s trilogy of films which started with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. With Logan, where it appears the team is truly getting the elements required to satisfy fans right, Jackman and Mangold might see a sendoff on a highnote.

Jackman, on the other hand, is saying goodbye to much more than a pair of films. The actor debuted as Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men. Since, he has played the part in more than half a dozen films: X-Men 2, X-3: The Last Stand, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, and X-Men: Apocalypse. The actor sounds firm on not returning to the role in the future but we can still hope for at least a cameo in an upcoming X-Men or Deadpool film.

MORE LOGAN:

First 40 Minutes Recap And Review / When Logan Takes Place Revealed / How Logan Is Forced To Deal With Parenthood / Logan Director Believes He’ll Re-Team With Hugh Jackman / How Old Man Logan Comics Influenced Movie / Why X-23 Will Be The Best Part / Details On Elizabeth Rodriguez’s Role / Why Logan Will Probably Wear Classic Wolverine Costume

Logan hits theaters on March 3, 2017.