Movies

Hugh Jackman Says 'Logan' Takes Place In "Slightly Different Universe" As The Film Is Offiically Rated R [Updated]

logan different universe
By Jacob Hall/

UPDATE: The MPAA has officially given Logan an R-rating. We have added the details below.

Readers of the X-Men comics have gotten used to the concept of alternate timelines and diverging universes where familiar characters take on unfamiliar existences and events that would never happen in actual canon totally happen. The famous Old Man Logan storyline, one of the building blocks for director James Mangold's Logan, is one of those stories, taking place in a dystopian future where the villains have won and Wolverine attempts to survive in a world without heroes.

So it's only appropriate that Hugh Jackman, set to play the adamantium-clawed hero for the ninth (and supposedly final) time on screen, says that Logan takes place in an alternate universe that is not beholden to the rules and continuity of the other X-Men movies.

As the trailers and early footage previews make abundantly clear, Logan is a huge departure from the rest of the X-Men series, telling a more stripped-down, human story with an R-rating. Speaking with Digital Spy, Jackman suggested that the film may not take place in the exact same world we've been watching since the original X-Men movie kicked off the superhero movie boom back in 2000:

Not only is it different in terms of timeline and tone, it's a slightly different universe. It's actually a different paradigm and that will become clear [when you see the movie].

Considering how confusing and convoluted the X-Men movie timeline has gotten over the years (which is one way the films really do unintentionally mirror the comics!), Logan taking a big step away from the rest of the series and just existing in its own little bubble may be the absolute best thing for it. As Jackman explained, there are clear connections to the series, but this strategy allows the film to service its own story and characters rather than a larger franchise:

It's a stand alone movie in many ways. It's not really beholden to time lines and story lines in the other movies. Obviously Patrick Stewart was in there so we have some crossover but it feels very different and very fresh. [Following the timelines] becomes a chess game that you try to serve, which actually doesn't help to tell a story and it's sort of been a bit all over the place. I'm not critical of it – X-Men was the first movie really in comic book, no one thought there'd be another and there were different directors different off shoots.

Logan opens on March 3, 2017 and it really does look like it'll wash the taste of X-Men: Apocalypse out of our mouths.UPDATE: James Mangold took to Twitter to reveal the MPAA's final rating and description for Logan:

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