When Logan was first announced, there were people skeptical that the film would be PG-13 and that the violence would be about in line with the previous X-Men films, that, while Hugh Jackman did a terrific job, didn’t really unleash the Wolverine that people were accustomed to in the comics.
That doubt quickly faded when fans sat down to watch Logan, as the opening scene was brutal and violent enough to give the film an R-Rating within seconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPIPeORF-To
The interesting part about this, is that the filmmakers almost went with something entirely different for the opening scene, as noted by director James Mangold in a recent interview:
“I literally had written an opening which started with that sequence. And so it was quite literal, who was dead. But the reason we didn’t do it wasn’t to spare other films, it was that it redefined the movie. It made the movie about the X-Men, instead of being about Logan and Charles. And irrevocably, when you read the script opening that way, it became about this other tragedy, as opposed to that tragedy being something hovering like a shadow in the background for these characters.”
This definitely would have been an interesting route to go, but I think they ultimately made the right decision.
Obviously, there was no way for them to adapt the entire ‘Old Man Logan’ storyline, as FOX doesn’t have the rights to certain characters that would be needed for the film.
Logan is now available on DVD/Blu-Ray and digital download.