Wolverine’s Best Movie Was Right To Leave Out The Most Shocking X-Men Movie Ever

One of the darkest elements of 2017’s Logan was the reason for the X-Men’s absence, which is only ever referenced in the film. Logan was initially intended to be Hugh Jackman’s final performance as Wolverine, with the film taking cues from Marvel’s alternate universe Old Man Logan comic story by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven and introducing Laura Kinney, also known as X-23. Although Jackman will reprise the Wolverine role once again in the forthcoming Deadpool and Wolverine, Logan remains a favorite among Fox’s X-Men movies for its grim and emotional narrative.

Sir Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier plays a major role in Logan, though the former leader of the X-Men has become senile and suffers from seizures. Due to his potent telepathic abilities, the seizures are extremely dangerous and, in one of Logan’s darkest developments, are revealed to have killed most of the X-Men, explaining why Charles and Logan are the only familiar mutants in the film. The horrific “Westchester Incident,” is only referenced in Logan.

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Logan Ending Explained

Logan’s ending may be one of the most unforgettable and touching in all of superhero cinema, but it also conveys a deeper meaning to its story.

Why Logan Avoids Showing The Westchester Incident

Logan director James Mangold revealed in an interview with ComingSoon.net that the Westchester Incident was almost tragically brought to life in the film. When asked if he ever considered visually depicting the death of the X-Men, Mangold revealed that he once considered making the Westchester Incident the opening scene of Logan, starting the film off on a heartbreaking note. Mangold ultimately decided against showing the Westchester Incident, however, saying:

It suddenly made the movie about X-Men dying, as opposed to allowing the movie to be a kind of unwinding onion, like allowing you to kind of enter the story and go, “Where is this going?” It was so large and loomed so large, and I felt like it also was still falling into the formula of the movies, with the big opener, that is setting up the mythology first. I thought, “What if we do an opener that leans into character first?

Mangold made the right decision, as Logan’s smaller opening and gradual reveal benefitted the film.

Logan’s Mysterious Opening Works Better Without The X-Men’s Deaths

One of Logan’s strengths is its relatively small and character-driven narrative, which makes it stand apart from most superhero films at a time when the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its shared universe storytelling were nearly at their peak of popularity. Mangold was right to keep the lore-heavy Westchester Incident unseen and open with a focus on Logan himself, only to reveal the dark fate of the X-Men later through dialogue. Mangold’s chosen opening for Logan kept the film focused on Wolverine and Professor X in their new, dystopian setting rather than the tragic ending of the X-Men team.

Logan

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Director

James Mangold

Release Date

March 3, 2017

Studio(s)

20th Century , Marvel

Cast

Hugh Jackman , Patrick Stewart , Dafne Keen , Elizabeth Rodriguez , Daniel Bernhardt , Richard E. Grant , Doris Morgado , Boyd Holbrook

Runtime

137 Minutes

Franchise(s)

X-Men