Logan

Even though it was the last in a kind of series, Logan introduced quite a few new characters into the X-Men universe, while simultaneously saying goodbye to some familiar ones. Of these new characters, some of them left the story barely after we’d gotten to know them, including Stephen merchant’s creepy, melancholy mutant Caliban.

If you’ve read any of the more mature X-Men comic books, then you know Wolverine’s go-to move is to stab people in the head. Oh, sure, he’ll slash some throats and cut off some limbs  —  he’s the best at what he does, after all, even if what he doesn’t isn’t very nice  —  but when push comes to shove, there’s no replacing a trio of claws to the noggin. That’s what made the violence in James Mangold’s R-rated Logan such a fun experience for fans. Here was the merciless killer they all loved, even if he is still nursing that secret heart of gold.

One of the main draws of this year’s Logan was the new mutant X-23, otherwise known as Laura, a usually quiet, sullen child who turns into a whirlwind of tooth and claw when the mood strikes. Logan’s Laura was played by the fantastic newcomer Dafne Keen, but there was a time during auditions when the role might have gone to a more recognizable face: Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown.

Logan stands out from other superhero movies because of its violence, definitely, but also because of its very elegantly understated melancholy. It’s barely a superhero movie at times, instead relying on emotion and character to drive a lot of its scenes, instead of a lot of CGI-laden action sequences. But, if you can believe it, director James Mangold actually had an opening prologue that would’ve made the movie even sadder.

Since Logan would be his last run as Wolverine, there was a ton of stuff Hugh Jackman wanted to put in the movie that never made it into the script. One of these things was the return, of sorts, of his brother and sometime nemesis Sabretooth, which Jackman and James Mangold toyed with but ultimately had to cut from the script.

One of the most impressive parts about Logan was one of its most closely guarded secrets: Hugh Jackman not only played the title character, he played his evil double too; a perfect clone of Wolverine known as X-24. This new character wasn’t featured in any of the marketing materials or even alluded to in any way. When he shows up late in the film he is a shock, and an effective extension of the movie’s themes about a man wrestling with his nature as a killer (and, possibly, a monster).

When Logan arrives on Blu-ray next week, it will include one of the better bonus features in recent home entertainment history: A black and white cut of the film called Logan Noir, which made its premiere last night at a special screening at Brooklyn’s Alamo Drafthouse. The Noir cut looks great, but the real story coming out of last night’s event wasn’t the new version, it was a comment made by director James Mangold during the post-screening Q&A.

With the black-and-white version of Logan, now known as Logan Noir, set to hit theaters tomorrow, May 17, director James Mangold gave fans a sneak peek at the de-colorized edition. And hoo boy, does it look pretty.

The role of young mutant Laura (aka X-23) in Logan is a demanding one, to say the least, and it’s not surprising that finding the perfect actor for the part was equally challenging for director James Mangold. He needed to find a 12-year-old actress with acrobatic and martial-arts skills who could speak English and Spanish, and, perhaps most important of all, hold her own opposite Hugh Jackman. That’s a pretty specific list of requirements, but Dafne Keen fit the bill (and then some), and now you can watch one of the incredibly impressive (and profanity-laden, FYI) audition tapes that led to her breakout role.

Fans of Hugh Jackman’s final Wolverine movie are about to have a pretty big month: not only does Logan return to theaters in a special black-and-white format on Tuesday, May 16, but the movie will be available on VOD that same date and on Blu-ray/DVD on May 23. A home video release, of course, means deleted scenes, and deleted scenes often have a habit of showing up online in the few weeks before the physical copy is released. And gosh, wouldn’t you know? A doozy of a deleted scene is now available for your viewing pleasure.