Before Deadpool & Wolverine, Hugh Jackman starred in what he thought to be his final appearance as Wolverine in Logan. Among the Fox X-Men films, Logan stood out as a film that subverted the expectations of viewers about a superhero film. It is not surprising considering Jackman cited Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and Mickey Rourkle’s The Wrestler as inspirations for the film.
Eastwood’s 1992 film was one film from the Western genre that dared to visit themes which remained unexplored in films before that. Unforgiven was the Academy Award winner that year for Best Picture, with a Best Director win for the Dirty Harry actor.
Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven Served as an Inspiration for Hugh Jackman’s Logan
Hugh Jackman did a lot of things right in Logan, thinking that it was the last time he would don the role of Wolverine. During an interview with USA Today, Jackman admitted that the stakes tripled for him as it was supposedly his last X-Men appearance. The film was a $619.2 million hit (via Box Office Mojo) and the Real Steel actor should thank one Clint Eastwood movie for the inspiration.
According to director James Mangold, Logan was “John Wayne, Alan Ladd, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Mitchum all rolled into a superhero” (via USA Today). Eastwood’s Unforgiven was a huge inspiration and Jackman shared about the film, “It slightly subverted Clint’s history and what people knew and expected of him.”
The Prestige actor’s words about the film hold true since Eastwood was once considered the next John Wayne of Western movies. His earlier films portrayed the West as this morally upright region where the good thrived over the bad. However, Unforgiven showed the other side of the West, which was filled with all kinds of bad people.
Eastwood’s William Munny was a morally gray character who led a reformed life but was forced back into violence by the corrupt Sheriff. Jackman’s Logan also subverted the superhero genre like Unforgiven did with the Western genre. While earlier films showed superheroes as the ones who saved the day for common people, Logan showed the dark side of being around a superhero.
Innocent people were killed in the war between Logan and the group trying to abduct Laura. Both films also showed how violence cost lives and caused misery to the characters. Despite the extreme violence in the films, Logan and Unforgiven sent out the message of anti-violence.
Hugh Jackman’s Logan Struggled To Get An R-rating Approved By The Studio
Logan was largely inspired by the Old Man Logan comics, which was popular among readers as an extremely violent version of Wolverine. Deadpool & Wolverine paid tribute to this character in one of the scenes in the film. The makers of Logan wanted to keep the adult theme of blood and violence intact.
It was not easy to convince the studio as one of the producers Hutch Parker shared with SlashFilm. Parker shared that the studio had questions, especially from Emma Watts and Steve Asbille. However, they backed the makers once the story took shape. And because of Deadpool. Parker explained to SlashFilm:
It became clear as the story took shape that we needed and R rating. We needed to be able to go to that place. And they were supportive. They backed us. And people have wanted to tag it to Deadpool, but the truth is, our conversations about which story actually long precede Deadpool and exist separately, for one reason and one reason only, which is this story sort of requires that tonal approach.
Logan was praised for the performances, action sequences, and emotional depth. It also became the first live-action superhero film to be nominated for a screenwriting Oscar.