Though the X-Men film series has taken pride in building up a strong superpowered ensemble, there’s no denying that the real backbone of the franchise is Hugh Jackman’s death-proof Wolverine. (If Wolverine is the backbone, this would surely make Charles Xavier the brain. Jean Grey the heart? Magneto the face, Storm the hair, Beast the feet… okay, I’m getting off topic here.) But while Jackman’s foul-tempered hero has proved invaluable in sustaining the series since its cinematic debut in 2000, his standalone pictures aren’t exactly guaranteed quality.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which hit theaters in 2009 (shortly after leaking onto the internet in unfinished form), is commonly castigated as the worst movie of the bunch. On the other hand, 2013’s The Wolverine, directed by James Mangold (of Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, and Knight and Day fame… and, yes, he also did Kate and Leopold), was primarily enjoyed as a weighty dramatic departure for the often kooky franchise. Really, it’s anyone’s guess how the next Wolverine solo operation might go. But this first look at least has our minds buzzing around the question.
On Wednesday morning, Hugh Jackman tweeted a photograph of the first official poster for the movie, which in turn revealed its ostensible official title: Logan.
LOGAN pic.twitter.com/IeIvcvFyTE
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) October 5, 2016
…Hardly in the militant tradition of previous X-Men titles like The Last Stand, Days of Future Past, and Apocalypse. In fact, if we’re to believe that Wolverine’s forthcoming outing maintains this minimalistic moniker straight up through release, then this should suggest that Mangold (who is directing once again) may even be upping the ante on dramatic gravitas.
The Wolverine was more of a personal character picture than any recent superhero movie, in or beyond the X-Men universe. A follow-up film that ditches grabbier genre-friendly titling in favor of evoking a man-behind-the-mask sentiment seems like it’ll not only keep in step with The Wolverine, but double down on these contemplative efforts. The image of a small child clutching Jackman’s bedraggled hand doesn’t exactly hurt this argument, either.
Logan hits theaters March 3rd. Are you looking forward to another down-to-earth, introspective Wolverine movie? Let us know!
Could Wolverine’s claws really fit inside his body?
Featured Image: 20th Century Fox;Â Hugh Jackman/Twitter
