Logan Director Details Jean Grey’s Cut Scene From The Film

Tomorrow, Logan will finally make its way to Blu-ray and DVD, and hardcore X-Men fan can’t wait to pry open the film’s special features. The critically acclaimed film is slated to hit home release with a slew of deleted scenes, but there is one which fans are looking forward to in particular. After teasing fans about the coveted moment, Logan‘s director James Mangold will soon show off a cut scene from the film which nods to Jean Grey. However, don’t expect Mangold to ever consider adding the scene to Logan‘s theatrical cut.

No, according to Mangold, cutting the dark scene was the right thing to do.

Thanks to The Hollywood Reporter, fans have learned a bit more about the Logan scene and Mangold’s thoughts on it. The director talks a bit about the scene in Logan‘s Blu-ray commentary, and he admits the Jean Grey reference was a bit of a downer.

“I felt it really brought the emotion down and dark in a moment when things were feeling very hopeful at this house,” Mangold says in Logan‘s Blu-ray.

“This was something we had written only a part of and then improvised. I like the moment in isolation a lot, but when cut into the movie it had a powerful effect of damping that moment and kind of making the Munson family seem a little strange for keeping them there.”

In the scene, fans watch as the Munson family finishes eating, leaving the matriarch Kathryn to work on dishes with Logan. When she asks the man if he is married, Professor Xaiver chimes in, saying, “He was. She passed. She was a pupil at my school. I knew her many, many years. She was lovely. Her name was Jean Grey.”

Then, after a moment, the telepath adds, “He killed her.” Ouch. The scene then leaves Logan trying to cover up for his mentor’s senior moment, but the nod isn’t a false one. Logan did kill Jean Grey back in X-Men: The Last Stand to prevent her from going full Phoenix. While the nod would have tied Logan in more so to previous movies, bringing up the mutant’s lost love during one of the film’s lighter moments felt wrong to Mangold and his team. Ultimately, the heart-wrenching scene was cut out, but fans can experience the bit for themselves soon enough. Just, make sure you bring tissues.

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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] THR