‘Logan’ Trailer Teases A ‘Very Differently And Very Viscerally’ Done Wolverine Film [Video]

Marvel dropped a new Logan teaser the other day and the first glimpse at the upcoming third Wolverine film raises more questions than it answers. As fans have learned by now, Logan takes place years in the future with Hugh Jackman as an aged Wolverine, aided by an even older Professor X (Patrick Stewart), but the exact time placement of Logan has remained a mystery until now, thanks to director James Mangold’s comments on this teaser. The Logan director has come forward to talk about the teaser, answer some questions (without dealing out any major spoilers), and reveal the time frame in which this third Wolverine film takes place.

Logan Teases An Aged Wolverine And A Young Pupil

As it opens, Logan teases a future time in which both Logan and Professor X are getting on in years, but it also presents a future in which mutants have become commonplace and, in many cases, lacking the guidance by Professor X and his school for gifted mutants. Logan presents a world where Wolverine, among others, asks himself how he fits into the world and what, if any, contributions he has to offer society.

Director James Mangold says Logan looks beyond the glossy heroism of past X-Men films and asks questions rarely posed in superhero films. The new Wolverine film addresses the loneliness that stems from retirement, asking questions most people in the real world face upon the dawn of their own retirements. The only difference here is that these are superheroes, mutants, so what does that say about their gifts and their superpowers?

The film’s director says that Logan confronts “the idea of mutants when they’re no longer useful to the world, or even sure if they can do what they used to do.”

The fact that Logan sets up a future situation in which Hugh Jackman’s character has lived a full life and is facing his twilight years begs the question of the film’s time frame. Many X-Men fans have expressed concern that the Logan story would unsettle the X-Men timeline, but Mangold says that’s not so.

“We are in the future, we have passed the point of the epilogue of Days of Future Past,” says James.

Is That Girl Who X-Men Fans Think She Is?

The Logan teaser presents Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart with a new pupil in the form of Dafne Keen, but many X-Men fans are wondering if that young girl is Laura/X-23 from the Marvel comics. Mangold is hesitant to confirm that theory, though he does offer some insight into the character and the way that she begins to bond with Logan and Professor X.

“I think I will just let speculation run rampant about that,” said the Logan director. “I think what this film is about in many ways is family. From there out I’d let everyone figure out what we’re up to on their own, at least at this early stage. I’m not here today to confirm or deny anything. I think it’s great that everyone’s speculating and I think it reveals how smart the audience is, many of the fans, about these characters. I don’t think they’re on the wrong track.”

Marvel fans have been relatively disappointed with the milder Wolverine of past films, but James says fans can expect a return to the Wolverine of old, which can already be seen in the teaser. This first glimpse shows Logan sending his claws up through a man’s chin, skewering his brain, answering the question of whether Wolverine still has what it takes.

“[This represents] to me the kind of aggressive, classical Wolverine action that we want in the movie – more of something that fans have been asking for, for a really long time,” Mangold added. “There is a lot of high-octane action in the movie. We’re just trying to do it very differently and very viscerally.”

Logan opens in theaters on March 3, 2017.

[Featured Image by Marvel Entertainment/20th Century Fox]