Theatrical
Logan premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2017, in Berlin, Germany,[181] where it was selected to be screened out of competition[182][183] alongside The Bar, Final Portrait, The Midwife, T2 Trainspotting, and Viceroy's House,[184][185][186] before screening in the United States, where it was given a wide release on March 3, 2017.[187][188][189][190] In October 2015, Fox confirmed that Logan would be released in the IMAX format.[191][192][193] In the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the film was preceded by a short film, Deadpool: No Good Deed. In it, Deadpool notices a man getting robbed, and springs into action—but first has to change into his costume in a phone booth. As he is finishing up, the man is shot; the short film ends with Deadpool commenting on the strangeness of the phone booth's presence, and eating the man's ice cream. The teaser met with positive reviews. Ryan Reynolds posted an extended version of the teaser via his YouTube channel the day after the film's release.[194]
One Last Time promotion and future
Prior to the confirmation that the then-untitled Logan would be his final appearance in the X-Men film franchise, Jackman initially denied such rumors. Jackman stated that he was inspired by Michael Keaton's performance in Birdman, and wished to portray the character of Wolverine until his death.[195][196] In July 2015, Jackman posted an image of Logan giving the middle finger with a claw to his Twitter. The image, coupled with the hashtag "#OneLastTime", signified that the film would be his last appearance as Logan and officially announced his decision to stop playing the character he had been portraying for the past 17 years.[197][198][199] Eventually it earned Jackman Guinness World Record of the 'longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero'.[200]
During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in May 2015, Jackman clarified the confusion over the conflicting sentiments by stating bluntly that the film would be his final portrayal of the character.[201][202] In an interview with Willem Dafoe on Variety Studio: Actors on Actors Jackman revealed that Jerry Seinfeld helped convince him to quit the role during a dinner after Jackman asked him why he had decided to end the show Seinfeld. Seinfeld replied "I've always believed, you should never spend everything creatively because it's almost herculean to start up again. You should always have something in the tank," with Jackman summarising his point with "Leave the party before it gets too late kind of theory."[203][204]
In December 2016, Ryan Reynolds revealed that he had been trying to convince Jackman to return for a crossover Deadpool film, urging fans to "convince Hugh" and campaign online.[205] In January 2017, Reynolds and Jackman spoke about the proposed project; Jackman stated, "I'm hesitating, because I could totally see how that's the perfect fit. But the timing may be wrong."[206] Jackman later stated that he would not reprise the role for a team-up film, specifying that he "knew two-and-a-half years ago that [Logan] was the last one".[207]
Jackman expressed interest in continuing to play Wolverine had the character been brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, saying that the prospect "certainly would have made [him] pause" and citing a desire to see the character interact with the Hulk and Iron Man.[208][209] Amid rumors of Disney's prospective acquisition of 20th Century Fox's film division, it was revealed such a deal would indeed allow the X-Men related characters to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[210] During press for The Greatest Showman in December 2017, Jackman denied that he would reprise the role if the acquisition occurred. He stated that while he noted the irony and felt some initial disappointment upon learning the news, he planned on standing by his decision and wanted to see another actor portray the character in future films.[211]
In spite of his adamancy, Reynolds confirmed that Jackman would reprise his role as Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) on September 27, 2022. Slated for release on July 26, 2024, the film will see the characters integrated into the MCU.[212] The following month, Jackman elaborated that he wanted to return to the role after watching Deadpool, but since Logan was already being promoted as his final time portraying the character, he felt he had to honor that sentiment and "straight-up lied" to journalists about his plans. He contacted Reynolds about reprising the role in August 2022, shortly before Reynolds met with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to discuss a third Deadpool film.[213] Shortly after the announcement, Reynolds and Jackman clarified that the film is set "before" Logan and would not retroactively contradict Wolverine's death.[214]
As for the other principals and their prospective futures; although Patrick Stewart had stated that Logan would be the final time he played the role of Professor X,[215][216][217] he later said that he would be willing to return to the role in Deadpool 2 or Legion.[209][218] Though Legion's producers considered casting Stewart, they ultimately chose to utilize a younger version of the character portrayed by actor Harry Lloyd.[219] Nonetheless, Stewart would go on to portray the character again in the MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where he played a variant of Charles Xavier who was the leader of the Illuminati before being killed by Wanda Maximoff.[220][221]
Marketing
In April 2016, Fox decided not to showcase its upcoming movie releases, including Logan, at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, as the studio felt it could not prevent the piracy of custom trailers and exclusive footage routinely screened for fans in attendance.[222][223]
On October 20, 2016, 20th Century Fox released a 90-second teaser trailer to promote Logan,[224] following a six-second sneak peek the prior day.[225] Later that day, 20th Century Fox released an international red band version of the trailer, featuring slightly more graphic violence than the original.[226][227] Empire chose the trailer as the best trailer of the year.[228] The Hollywood Reporter's Aaron Couch praised the trailer, and stated, "If Logan delivers on the promise of this trailer, it will be a true rarity in modern superhero movie making."[229] James Dyer of Empire heralded the trailer and its director, James Mangold, by stating: "We've had a veritable feast of great trailers ... from John Wick to Rogue One, Assassin's Creed and A Cure for Wellness. But none ..., no matter how impressive, have been quite so artfully constructed as this glorious first look at [Mangold]'s Logan."[230] Forrest Wickman of Slate called the trailer "surprisingly mournful".[231]
Home media
Logan was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K on May 23, 2017, and was released on Digital HD on May 16, 2017.[232] The film became available to stream on Disney+ on July 22, 2022, alongside Deadpool and Deadpool 2.[233]
Logan Noir
On April 29, 2017, James Mangold announced via Twitter that a black-and-white version of the film entitled Logan Noir would have a limited theatrical run in U.S. theaters, an event set to begin on May 16, 2017. Mangold stated that Logan was shot as a color film with the awareness that it would play well as a black and white film.[234] The film was re-graded and timed shot by shot for the Noir edition.[235] This version of the film is included on the Digital HD release and also included in the DVD and Blu-ray Combo Pack.[236][237]
