LOGAN: Hugh Jackman Describes His Hesitation To Introduce And Portray The Film's Villain

LOGAN: Hugh Jackman Describes His Hesitation To Introduce And Portray The Film's Villain

Logan (Hugh Jackman) ended up meeting his match in his eponymous film at the hands of his clone, X-24. In a new interview, Jackman has explained his initial hesitancy playing both hero and villain.

By MattBellissimo - May 19, 2017 08:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Logan
Source: Collider
It was a well-guarded secret for quite some time, but it turns out that the Wolverine was his own worst enemy in James Mangold's Logan. Hugh Jackman's final film as the character saw him face off against his own murderous clone, X-24, who ends up delivering the fatal blow to the hero in the closing moments of the film. While the villain thematically served as both a literal and figurative manifestation of Logan's darkest animal instincts, Jackman wasn't always so sold on portraying both hero and villain in his final outing. 

"I was very skeptical of having X-24 being played by me," the actor explained to Collider. "I understood what it represented and thematically the idea of battling himself, which of course is right at the core of this character that we never fully got to, so I kind of loved the externalization of that. But I also know that myself as an actor and fans of Wolverine come up to me in the street every day and go, ‘We wanna see that full berserker animalistic crazy off-the-wall Wolverine,’ right? That we don’t feel we’ve fully seen it, so I was like, ‘Jim if we introduced halfway or near the end of the movie that full berserker animalistic crazy Wolverine and he’s somehow fighting our hero, audiences won’t know what to feel.’ And I remember him saying, ‘Trust me, trust me, trust me.’ And I was a bit of a pain in the ass on that one, I was like, ‘I’m just not sure. Let’s keep exploring it and exploring it.’"

Jackman admitted that watching the final cut of the film assuaged his fears, as he felt the character work — coupled with X-24's murder of Professor Xavier — assisted in presenting a defining line between the opposing characters. "When I saw the movie it’s just clear, for some reason I think because he skewers Patrick Stewart in that moment the audience just sort of hates him. We did some subtle things, I changed the bridge of my nose, I wore contacts — I just wanted him to look a little different from myself. And I think by that point we’d created already the Wolverine that people wanted to see. So anyway, that was one of my examples of being wrong."

Did you enjoy the film's vicious villain or would you have preferred an alternative? Let us know in the comments! Logan is now available for digital download and will be available for home video release on May 23rd,  2017.
LOGAN's Dafne Keen To Star In Corin Hardy's New Horror Movie About A Cursed WHISTLE
Related:

LOGAN's Dafne Keen To Star In Corin Hardy's New Horror Movie About A Cursed WHISTLE

LOGAN Director Reveals There Were Discussions About A WOLVERINE/DEADPOOL Project While Making The 2017 Movie
Recommended For You:

LOGAN Director Reveals There Were Discussions About A WOLVERINE/DEADPOOL Project While Making The 2017 Movie

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2 3 4 5
The72nd
The72nd - 5/19/2017, 8:26 AM
I really enjoyed X-24 in the movie. Don't get the hate.
TheLight
TheLight - 5/19/2017, 8:32 AM
@The72nd - Well everyone expected to see Sabertooth return to truly conclude Logan's arc. It would've been cool to see it happen. But I still loved the movie.
MattBellissimo
MattBellissimo - 5/19/2017, 8:34 AM
@TheLight - Meh. Sabretooth meant nothing outside of Origins, which most people hated. He was a mute brute in X-Men 1, and the best thing about Origins, which was more or less "negated" in DOFP.

I think it's better that X-24 was used...simple and thematic.
Termin8er
Termin8er - 5/19/2017, 8:38 AM
@The72nd - People are just butthurt that it's not Daken or Sabertooth. Or Omega Red. Even though introducing them in major villainous roles would've taken the movie in a different direction and had to add another character to the 2 hour 15 minute runtime. They also don't like the evil clone trope, which I do get, but this time it worked. It works for Wolverine since that's the core of his character.
MattBellissimo
MattBellissimo - 5/19/2017, 8:39 AM
And yes, I know they considered bringing Liev back. But I think things worked out for the best. Bringing him back wouldn't conclude an arc with him cause there wasn't any arc with Sabretooth to begin with....it would've just been for fans.
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 5/19/2017, 8:42 AM
@MattBellissimo - I was really hoping for a Liev Schreiber cameo (or Ian McKellan one) but it would have been ill-fitting given the state of mutants in the world. X-24 was the better call.
Parker00
Parker00 - 5/19/2017, 8:43 AM
@TheLight - Fox? Caring enough to wrap up a loose end? That's funny.....
Buckster10
Buckster10 - 5/19/2017, 8:50 AM
@TheLight - @TheLight - I thought X-24 was the one misstep in an otherwise fantastic film. It has the feel of studio interference (like how the last act in the Wolverine knocked the movie down a few pegs), and, in time, I feel it will stand out even more. Thematically, Sabertooth would have made much more sense. As a "brother" he tied in with the family theme and also worked to show the animal Wolverine could have become.
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 5/19/2017, 9:06 AM
@Buckster10 - I think X-24 actually makes it more tragic. X-24 represents a purely animalistic version of Wolverine. This implies that, for all of the years Logan lived, there was always a part of him capable of finding the happiness and knowledge he only found in the last seconds of his life. That part of him was in constant battle with the animal inside for the entirety of his life. His entire existence was walking that thin line and the torment that came with it. To me, that makes this more a story about Wolverine/Logan, whereas Sabertooth's inclusion would've made it a strange kind of paradox that seems more like a message of letting Logan off the hook because he actually played the good guy role reasonably well most of his life. This movie doesn't want to excuse Logan's life. It wants to learn from it and evolve.
Buckster10
Buckster10 - 5/19/2017, 9:18 AM
@BackwardGalaxy - That's an interesting way of looking at it. Still, doesn't work for me as there were times Wolverine actually did overcome the animal and act like a selfless hero (in the X-Men movies for example). He found a family with the X-Men and this movie almost made it like he never had a break from his torment. I get that towards the end that's all he had left, but I still would have preferred Sabertooth as it would have helped show that yes, you have done plenty of good in your life too.
jerryblake
jerryblake - 5/19/2017, 10:23 AM
@MattBellissimo - don't wanna sound like an asshole but you might wanna check the headline of the article on the main page because it contains some MAJOR spoiler. btw i was gonna watch this movie this weekend for the first time.
jerryblake
jerryblake - 5/19/2017, 10:37 AM
shoulda done it like they did on Joblo :(

"Hugh Jackman was initially skeptical about Logan's secret villain"
Forthas
Forthas - 5/19/2017, 8:27 AM
He should have listened to his initial instincts.
DM725
DM725 - 5/19/2017, 11:02 AM
@Forthas - Wish it had been Daken
Forthas
Forthas - 5/19/2017, 6:24 PM
@DM725 - YES!!! Played by...Justin Theroux



MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 5/19/2017, 8:27 AM
I didn't mind it all that much. The movie just hit like gangbusters.
EpitomeofAwesome
EpitomeofAwesome - 5/19/2017, 8:28 AM
I wasn't sure how to fell about X-24 at first, but I really warmed up to the idea. I thought it was pretty dope
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 5/19/2017, 8:30 AM
X24 went full on berserker rage wolverine? I agree Especially the way he lovingly euthanized professor X.
kallel
kallel - 5/19/2017, 8:40 AM
X-23 was scary as f--k! Loved him. I'd say I wish all the other wolverine depictions were as cool and r-rated as" Logan", but people have loved jackmans Logan since day 1. So there's no problem.
ALegendaryPanda
ALegendaryPanda - 5/19/2017, 8:41 AM
X-24 was freaking terrifying. I loved the way he was used in the movie
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 5/19/2017, 8:41 AM
X-24 was perfection.
Ppl who wanted to see anyone alse (like Sabertooth) obviosly didn't understood shit.
You can't play with those themes with another character...
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 5/19/2017, 8:54 AM
@Doomsday8888 - if they used his son they could have went with the metaphorical embodiment of his good and evil side. They would of still been his clones so essentially he would have still been fighting himself in my opinion
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 5/19/2017, 9:09 AM
@MyCoolYoung -
Too risky.
Laura already represents his daughter, you can't have another male clone as a son.
The message was everything!
BloodyBed
BloodyBed - 5/19/2017, 9:37 AM
@Doomsday8888 - I would rather it had been someone else because I just felt the metaphor was a bit too on the nose. I would've preferred that inner battle to be just that "inner". Instead of a mindless goon it could have been a character with a little bit of personality.

it's kind of similar to bvs. just because you get it doesn't mean you have to like it. sometimes blatant symbolism is annoying.
1 2 3 4 5
View Recorder