Logan (2017 Film) James Mangold

Development

Hugh and I have been talking about what we would do since we were working on the last one, and for both of us it was this requirement that, to be even interested in doing it, we had to free ourselves from some assumptions that had existed in the past, and be able to change the tone a bit. Not merely to change for change's sake, but also to make something that's speaking to the culture now, that's not just the same style—how many times can they save the world in one way or another? How can we construct a story that's built more on character and character issues, in a way as if it almost wasn't a superhero movie, yet it features their powers and struggles and themes?

—James Mangold, on the development and approach of Logan[50]

In November 2013, 20th Century Fox initiated discussions over another solo film starring Wolverine, with James Mangold in negotiations to write the treatment for the film and Lauren Shuler Donner returning to produce under The Donners' Company.[51][52][53][54] At the time, Hugh Jackman neither confirmed nor denied his reprisal of Logan in a new film.[55][56] Jackman clarified that his lapsing contract with Fox, which reportedly would need to be renegotiated after X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014),[57] did not mean he was leaving the franchise, as he had been working movie-by-movie since X2 (2003).[58] He also stated, "I do want to do it with Jim and with [producer] Lauren Shuler-Donner because we had such a great experience. I'm really proud of The Wolverine (2013)."[59] Later in the month, Mangold announced that the pre-production aspect of the film had not yet begun, nor the writing process, though he furthered this by stating, "... I would say I'm not there yet. But I have taken finger to key. Let's say that. There's been typing. And ideas. And talking amongst all the principles."[60]

Shortly after the release of The Wolverine, Mangold spoke of a potential sequel with the aim of not converting it into a "Will the world survive?" film, while also stressing his need "... not to make the same picture again."[61][62] In December 2013, Jackman spoke of nearing the end of his tenure as the character, while stating that the film was in the very early stages of development.[63] Jackman also revealed that Mangold and he had begun speaking of potential ideas, adding, "... Jim Mangold and I were literally on the phone last night talking about ideas but there is no script and no writer yet so it's a way off."[64] Mangold would later reveal that Jackman was very involved in developing the story, saying, "Hugh and I have been friends for almost twenty years now, and he was there every step of the way. For Hugh and I, the first goal was to construct something more intimate. Hugh often brought up The Wrestler and Unforgiven as examples. I used those references as well as others. I pitched to both Hugh and the studio that I had an idea for an extremely bloody, existential Little Miss Sunshine."[28]

By March 2014, a decision was made to begin shooting after Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), with the tentative plan to shoot the films back-to-back,[65][66] with producer Hutch Parker stating, "... the goal will be X-Men: Apocalypse for 2016, which means at the latest [filming begins] in summer 2015, and then the same thing with Wolverine, either before or after, but based on the script."[67] Also in March, 20th Century Fox set a release date of March 3, 2017,[68][69] Mangold boarded the project as director,[70] Jackman signed on to reprise his role,[71] and David James Kelly was hired to pen the screenplay.[72] In April 2014, Jackman spoke about his ambitious feelings for the character of Logan while mentioning that they can go further than what they achieved in The Wolverine.[73] Jackman also expressed his feelings of finality with portraying the character of Logan,[74] while in terms of storyline, he explained that nothing had been decided as of yet.[75] Jackman concluded by highlighting that the success of the script development would determine whether Jackman would return at all:[76] "I haven't signed on. I'm genuinely at that point where unless it's better than the last one I'm not going to do it. I think it has to be better. I can still see where we can improve on the last one. I love the intimacy of that story, I liked the small stuff, I liked that it was a little unexpected."[77]

In February 2015, Patrick Stewart spoke of discussions about the third Wolverine film, centering around a team-up between Jackman's Wolverine and himself as Charles Xavier,[78][79] with Stewart stating to Marc Mohan that "... we have been talking about a Wolverine movie, which would team Hugh Jackman and myself together ... That would be a very different sort of X-Men from the four movies that I've already done."[80][81] By April 2015, Michael Green had taken over screenwriting duties, with Mangold still actively overseeing the script development process.[82] In September 2015, Jackman spoke of the writers being halfway through the script, and that the story would delve into the relationship between Wolverine and Professor X,[83] to which he added, "I think it's a really important relationship but I want to see signs of that quasi-father/son sort of relationship that has not been seen before, and sides of particularly Professor X that have not been seen before."[84][85] Jackman spoke of Mangold's plan to start filming the next year, though he expressed uncertainty as to filming locations.[86] Also in September, Mark Millar, creative consultant for Fox, confirmed that Mangold's film would be a loose adaptation of the "Old Man Logan" story he had written in 2008, something that was hinted at earlier by Jackman.[87] In October 2016, the title of the film was announced as Logan.[88][89]

In January 2016, Jackman confirmed that Mangold had a full screenplay, albeit not complete.[90] The following month, Liev Schreiber expressed interest in returning to portray Victor Creed / Sabretooth, with Jackman himself mentioning Mangold's vision to Schreiber. After the film's release, it was revealed by Jackman that originally the script had the character play a role in the film, but that Sabretooth was excluded from the final screenplay.[91][92][93][94][95] By April 2016, Mangold had chosen Boyd Holbrook to portray the main antagonist of the movie,[96][97][98] the chief of security for a global corporation that is pursuing Wolverine.[99][100] Also by April, Richard E. Grant was cast as a villainous mad scientist,[101][102] and Stephen Merchant had also been cast.[103][104][105][106][107] In May, Eriq Lasalle and Elise Neal were cast supporting roles,[108][109] and Elizabeth Rodriguez entered negotiations for a small but key role.[110][111] Also in May, producer Simon Kinberg revealed that filming had already begun, and confirmed that the movie would be R-rated; regarding the setting and tonality,[112] he stated, "It takes place in the future, and as you and others have reported, it is an R-rated movie. It's violent, it's kind of like a western in its tone. It's just a very cool, different film."[113][114]

The film included some vintage X-Men comic books, used both to advance the plot and as a metafictional reference. The director clarified that Marvel Comics allowed this on the condition that they could use actual characters and designs, but not use any real comic book issues. As a result, the comic book covers and pages seen in the film were made specifically for it, by writer Joe Quesada and artist Dan Panosian. Mangold commented that "The reality was that, like in Unforgiven, when [Clint] Eastwood runs into Richard Harris, who's writing these fictional accounts of the great Western heroes, or Pat Garrett in Billy the Kid, where you've got these aging heroes who kind of are twilight versions of their own legends — I think that idea, of being a kind of celebrity, or like a sports star long past your heyday, was really interesting for me to investigate with this kind of world."[115] Panosian made 10 fake comic book covers, and interior arts were unused. He pointed that the arts had to resemble the style used in the Bronze Age of Comic Books, and pointed out that they also served to contrast their campy style with the darker tone of the live-action film itself. He said that "The colors and art itself juxtaposed against the raw and savage world in the film capture just how much innocence has been lost over time".[116]

Filming

On March 5, 2015, James Mangold anticipated that filming would begin "early next year."[117] Prior to filming, the film was given the false title of Juarez to lower the visibility of production, but the local media eventually uncovered the ruse.[118][119][120][121] On March 1, 2016, The Times-Picayune had confirmed that Mangold's film was preparing to shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a starting schedule of May.[122] Producers Kinberg, Shuler Donner and Parker chose to film in Louisiana because of its popularity in filmmaking locations,[123] as well as its filming incentive, which includes a 40% tax credit for movie productions, though it requires a minimum expenditure of US$300,000.[124] Principal photography was confirmed to have begun in New Orleans, with an original shooting schedule occurring from April 25 to August 13, 2016,[123][125][126] albeit shooting was altered to start on May 2, 2016.[127]

On May 23, 2016, filming took place at the NASA Michoud Plant in New Orleans East,[128] with Jackman being spotted, not far from Slidell, shooting a fight scene outdoors on the property.[129] On May 26, 2016, the intersection of LA 16 at US 51 was closed for a time due to filming, with local store fronts donning faux signage to transform Amite City, and east of Amite near Bell Road.[130] It was revealed that scenes were filmed prior in Husser on May 25, 2016, with a scheduled daytime shoot to occur at the Greenlawn Cemetery in Hammond on May 27, 2016.[131] Filming took place from June 9, 2016, until June 10, 2016, in New Orleans and Metairie, respectively.[132]

On June 1, 2016, it was confirmed that 20th Century Fox had applied to film exterior scenes for Juarez on Louisiana Highway 15 between Ferriday and Clayton from June 12, 2016, up until June 16, 2016,[133] at the Ferriday Plaza Shopping Center,[134] while a portion of U.S. Route 425 between Ferriday and Clayton would be closed for a five-day period in connection with Fox's production.[135][136] On June 1, 2016, The Concordia Sentinel revealed that Sicily Island High School and a house in Sicily Island would be used in the production, while a crash scene would be shot on U.S. Route 425 just outside of Ferriday.[135] Producers Kinberg, Shuler Donner and Parker chose to film in Ferriday, Louisiana, because of Concordia Parish's beautiful countryside and green cornfields.[137] On June 16, 2016, Juarez was originally scheduled to move on toward Sicily Island, however, additional periods of shooting were added.[138] Natchez, Mississippi, had been chosen by producers of Juarez as the next filming location, for an upcoming scene which required the casting truck drivers,[139] that would be filmed between June 14 up until June 28, 2016.[140]

On July 12, 2016, the Albuquerque Journal confirmed that Juarez would move on to its third major filming location—New Mexico, which ran through August in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Abiquiú, Tierra Amarilla and Chama.[141][142][143][144][145][146] The New Mexico Film Office revealed that the production employed about 130 New Mexican crew members and two New Mexican cast members, as well as 600 extras throughout the production, the film office stated.[147] On July 17, 2016, it was reported that the production of Juarez was in the process of casting to work on a scene filmed on July 22, 2016, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[148] On July 25, 2016, it was reported that filming had begun in the Northern Meadows neighborhood of Rio Rancho, while a few miles further down King Boulevard there was an elaborate set built with a toppled water tower,[143] that would be used for exterior shots until June 27, 2016.[149][150] On August 11, 2016, it was reported that the production of Juarez were in the process of seeking worn out cars to work on an upcoming scene filmed on August 12, 2016, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[151][152] Principal photography was confirmed to have ended in New Mexico on August 13, 2016,[153][154][155] with an altered shooting schedule occurring from May 2 to August 13, 2016.[123] Post-production began subsequent to filming closure on August 23, 2016.[156][157][158]

Post-production

Film editor Michael McCusker was finishing work on Mangold's Logan, during the period of October 7, 2016, wherein he spoke of going through the dailies and breaking them down, and figuring out the structure of one scene which he described as a "complicated, multi-component scene".[159] McCusker spoke of the task being rather time-consuming, on the front end, albeit stating, "I am looking at the back end experience with [Mangold] as the more important experience. I don't want to be searching for stuff for him, I want to be working towards getting the cut right."[159] McCusker concluded by stating that another editor on Logan has use for post-production.[159] Chas Jarrett was the overall visual effects supervisor and visual effects company Image Engine worked on most of the visual effects on Logan.[160][161][162]