When Fox recently released ‘Logan‘ we all had high expectations and the film solidly delivered on them but did you know that Hugh Jackman had initially pushed for a different ending? It seems that the one which fit so well in the film almost didn’t end up happening which may have taken away from the gravitas that the franchise used to say goodbye to Jackman as Wolverine. The classic Western themes of ‘Shane’ shined through, but another classic also was going to be a strong influence on how things came to a close.
Warning: We’ll be talking about the end of the film so obviously that means spoilers from this point on.
According to Jackman, “I was really inspired by Unforgiven.” In the original ending and using this as inspiration we would have seen Jackman’s character survive the events of ‘Logan’ instead of the mutant taking his last breath. At the end of ‘Unforgiven’, we saw Eastwood’s retired Willian Munny take a final job of murder for hire to score a big payday. In the film, he walks away from his old life forever at the end which is what Jackman had wanted for Wolverine to do.
According to Jackman on how he felt ‘Unforgiven’ would tie-in:
“It’s more powerful that Munny doesn’t die at the end. You assume he’s going to die, but by taking that final action and shooting everyone down, he embraces all the darkness he’s tried to put outside him. Now he’s got to live with it, and it’s almost more devastating.”
While director James Mangold always planned for Logan’s story to come to a close with the character’s death, Jackman stated:
“It was always floated that Logan would possibly die. I said, ‘Let’s be open, because it may be more powerful for him not to die.
James was always certain of that ending, and he was right. Unlike a human character [like William Munny], what’s most poignant for someone who is thought to be indestructible is him dying while saying, ‘This is what it feels like.'”
For fans, this was clearly the way to go. As the character will undoubtedly be re-cast at some point with Jackman having a say in the matter, Jackman needed a proper send-off and to do the character justice by telling his best story in the process.
Are you happy that they ended ‘Logan’ with Wolverine’s death or would you have preferred he had a fresh start in the final scene? Share your thoughts below True Believers!
Source: Yahoo
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
