Logan Director James Mangold Opens Up on Killing Wolverine

Going into Logan, many fans knew the X-Men movie would be the last outing for Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Still, few went in thinking they were going to go on the emotional roller coaster piloted by writer and director James Mangold which landed at a destination where Wolverine had been killed off. Of course, that’s part of the surprise which seems a filmmaker such as Mangold takes pride in – one which breaks the mold and not only diverts from the expectations but also exceeds them. Mangold is joining ComicBook.com’s Quarantine Watch Party of Logan on May 27 and, to promote it, talked with us about some of his memories about working on Logan, including killing off the titular hero.

“The process is a lot less of a committee than you’d think,” Mangold said. “It was really Hugh [Jackman] and I at first. It seemed logical, that if it were going to be his last film, that he’s either going to ride off onto the horizon or die, that you need to have some kind of curtain on his story. That’s a logical assumption, right?”

This is where the decision to do something which had been seen before or make something more fresh but just as powerful, if not more. “You either have the Shane ending where he rides off on the mountain to parts unknown, which had largely been the way his character was resolved in every proceeding movie or you’d kill him,” Mangold explained. “But the reason the choice was at our feet was because you needed the sense of closure. You needed some sense of an ending if you were going to end, if you were dealing with the legacy of Hugh’s many performances and many films, and trying to set this part in some definitive way.”

As it turns out, Fox was quickly on board with this pitch. “Frankly, even the studio didn’t even have nervousness about it, because it felt like an event,” Mangold said. “It gave the movie, on a simple level, the reality that while it may not feature as flamboyant or expensive action as some other movies, that the must see of the movie was going to be because it would be the end of a legend.”

The end of the legend, it most certainly was, while also becoming a bit of a legend itself. Logan is a very popular film, highly ranked among Marvel and X-Men fans but also with general movie audiences who watch it regardless of the super hero aspect of it all. Mangold also shared his thoughts about Jackman one day reprising the role of Wolverine should Marvel Studios ever call for it and we will share that bit later this week!

Mangold’s Logan night of Quarantine Watch Party begins at 9pm ET on May 27!