The veil of secrecy swirling around the third and finalWolverinemovie,Logan, is slowly starting to be lifted. Earlier today, directorJames Mangoldrevealed our first look at actorStephen Merchantas the mutantCalibanin this superhero adventure, arriving in theaters March 3, but now we have another glimpse at this character.Stephen Merchanthimself took to social media to reveal a new Caliban photo.
Stephen Merchantposted this new photo onInstagramtoday, along with the caption, “How I spent my summer.” The first photo posted byJames Mangoldonly showcased the actor’s bald head, but this image gives us a glimpse at his costume, with Caliban seen wearing a hat with a bandana covering his face. If recent plot rumors are to be believed, Caliban has been tasked with helpingHugh Jackman’s Logan take care of Professor X, who has become gravely ill and sometimes doesn’t even remember who Logan is. The actor joined the cast ofLoganin April, alongsideRichard E. Grant, whose character has yet to be confirmed.
Earlierplot rumorshave claimed theLoganis set in the year 2024, where mutant births are in a sharp decline. And the government doesn’t have any answers as to why this is happening. There is reportedly a “government-type program” known as Transigen, which is “turning mutant children into killing machines,” which reportedly ties into a young girl we’ve seen in previous set photos, who may or may not be the mutant clone X-23. This girl has previously been seen in set photos alongsideHugh Jackman, but her character’s identity was never revealed. Many believed that X-23 would surface after theX-Men: Apocalypsepost credits sequence, where a character is seen taking a vial of Wolverine’s blood, since, in the comics X-23 was created as a Wolverine clone.
The official poster forLoganonly added more fuel to the rumors of X-23’s presence, since the poster showed Wolverine’s clawed hand grasping the hand of a young girl, which many believe belongs toX-23, a.k.a. Laura Kinney. While the identity of the girl whose hand Logan is holding has not been confirmed, sources claim that she is a young mutant, but they wouldn’t specify whether it’s X-23 or not. Regardless of who this young girl turns out to be, the story is said to be much darker than any of the previousX-MenorWolverinemovies.
Long before the poster and the recent plot rumors surfaced, this movie was rumored to be based on theOld Man Logancomics. The most recent rumors claim that Logan is growing sick, causing his powers to fade, and sometimes, he doesn’t even fully heal from his injuries. DirectorJames Mangoldeven posted a script page that revealed that Logan has turned to booze to ease his pain, which isn’t terribly surprising since he is often seen drinking in theX-MenandWolverinemovies, with this report adding that he “looks bad” and “drinks a lot.” For work, Logan has landed a job driving a Chrysler 300 limousine, which would explain the limousine seen in early set photos, riddled with bullet holes. Take a look at the latestLoganphoto below, featuring a better look at Caliban.
