Hugh Jackman has taken to social media to reflect on Logan’s release, three years later. The movie picks up with Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier in the year 2029, a desolate time in which the other X-Men are dead, mutants are no longer being born, and Logan’s healing abilities have begun to falter. Directed by James Mangold, the movie was loosely inspired by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s “Old Man Logan” comic book story and introduced Dafne Keen as Laura, a young mutant created from Logan’s DNA who seeks his and Xavier’s help in escaping the sinister government program that developed her and fleeing to safety in Canada.
In addition to grossing $619 million at the box office, Logan was a critical darling and netted an Oscar nod for Mangold’s script (which he co-wrote with Scott Frank and Michael Green). For many, the film marks the true conclusion to Fox’s X-Men movies and boasts Jackman’s finest performance to date, either as Wolverine or not. In a classy gesture, Jackman has taken advantage of the movie’s three year anniversary to reflect on his X-Men legacy and once again thank his fans for supporting him.
Posting on Twitter, Jackman thanked his fans for “the many (and I really mean MANY) years of sweat, steamed chicken and the role of a lifetime” and included a promo image of himself in Logan to commemorate the occasion. He posted additional photos and the same message to his Instagram account, as you can see below.
Looking back, it’s fair to say Logan has had a significant impact on the superhero and comic book movie landscape. Two years before Joker joined the $1 billion club and took home a pair of Oscars, Mangold proved it was possible to make an R-rated character-driven superhero film and earn loads of critical praise while also grossing a bundle at the box office. Combined with Deadpool’s success from the year before, it also demonstrated there was a market for superhero movies that broke firmly away from the formula popularized by the MCU at the time. In fact, had Disney not purchased the studio, Fox was planning to follow Logan with additional X-Men spinoffs that spanned a variety of genres and tones, starting with Josh Boone’s horror-style The New Mutants. Obviously, that won’t be the case, but fans will get a taste of what might’ve been when Boone’s film finally hits theaters next month.
Of course, Jackman left an even bigger mark on the role of Wolverine, memorably bringing the character to life over the course of seventeen years before capping things off with his powerful performance in Logan. It’s part of the reason why Marvel Studios is taking its time rebooting the X-Men for the MCU following Disney’s Fox purchase; Jackman left some big shoes to fill for whoever does end up playing the adamantium clawed mutant in the franchise. Naturally, that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating about who might take over the role and whether Wolvie will join the MCU sooner than expected (perhaps even in one of the upcoming Disney+ series). Still, it’s a testament to Jackman’s great work that people are still talking about his run as the character three years after Logan brought it to a poignant conclusion.
Source: Hugh Jackman/Twitter
- New Mutants Release Date: 2020-08-28
