After watching the character reach an unfortunate low with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it was an incredible feat to see director James Mangold deliver a satisfying conclusion to Hugh Jackman‘s nearly 20-year run as the clawed mutant in Logan. Making it all the more impressive is the fact that Logan hit while the Marvel Cinematic Universe was absolutely dominating the box-office and pop-culture landscape, and yet the film managed to stand out for its neo-western tone and its final scene that set a high bar for Avengers: Endgame to clear when it eventually sent some of its characters off into the sunset.
However, in an interesting twist, Jackman recently revealed that his final scene as Wolverine was sprung on him after bad weather forced Mangold to make a quick decision. While sitting down with Anne Hathaway for Variety‘s “Actors on Actors” series, Jackman opened up about how he wasn’t exactly prepared for the emotional moment when (Spoiler Alert) Logan dies while holding the hand of his daughter played by Dafne Keen.
I remember when we shot that scene, we were shooting very high altitude, and there were thunderstorms going off everywhere, and we had to shut down. He just said, ‘We can’t do this big stunt scene. But we’re just going to do the death scene.’ I’m like, ‘Like, now?’ He goes, ‘I’m just going to have you and Dafne, and if you could just do that.’ I’m like, ‘All right.’ He knew that’s best for me.”
According to Jackman, Keen nailed the scene in two takes, but Mangold kept rolling and told Jackman he wanted to “stop the clocks” by not worrying about anything except letting Jackman live in the ending of his classic character. “Him allowing me — not just as an actor, but as Hugh — to remember that moment. It was a luxury that I’ll never forget.”
(Via Variety)