17 years after he first graced our presence on the big screen as Wolverine,Hugh Jackman’s epic run as this iconic character is coming to a close this weekend whenLoganhits theaters. Throughout that 17-year run, Wolverine has come across countless mutants, good and evil alike, with this story also serving as the swan song forPatrick Stewart’s Professor X, after the actor revealed in a recent interview that this will be his last time playing the iconic Professor. As it turns out, this movie almost brought back another character fromX-Menlore, Sabretooth, played byLiev Schreiber.
The originalX-Menmovie in 2000 gave us our first look at Sabretooth, played byTyler Mane, but he only had a small supporting role in that film. The 2009 spin-offX-Men Origins: Wolverineshed some light on Wolverine’s background with Sabretooth, played byLiev Schreiber, with the opening sequence showing these immortal mutants fighting in numerous wars together throughout the years. Last year,Liev Schreiberhimself even confirmed in an interview that he had spoken withHugh Jackmanabout returning as Sabretooth forLogan, but that never came to pass.Cinema Blendrecently spoke with writerScott Frank, who teased that directorJames Mangoldhad an idea of how to bring Sabretooth back. Here’s what the writer had to say below.
“There was a moment when we were thinking about, as I recall, Jim [Mangold] had an idea where when they were on the run, and they go to the gambling town, there may have been at that point they were going to see (Sabertooth) for help. He was going to be there for help. Now that you mention it! I wouldn’t swear to it, but we thought that would have been an interesting thing to do. And then for whatever reason we didn’t do it.”
Since this isHugh Jackman’s lastWolverine movie, this news may upset some die-hard fans who wanted closure for Wolverine and Sabretooth. Then again, since there are so few mutants left in this movie, which is set in the year 2029, bringing in Sabretooth might not been the right move. Sabretooth isn’t exactly known for his helpful nature either, so if he refused to help Logan, and his scene was over, it may have been too brief for any sort of closure. While the writer didn’t elaborate on why the scene wasn’t chosen, it’s possible that this scene took the focus off of Logan, Professor X and X-23 (Dafne Keen), which may have been why it was discarded.
WithLoganabout to open in Thursday night previews all over the country in just a few hours, the movie is already shaping up to be a critical and commercial success. As of now, the superhero adventure has acertified freshrating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and box office analysts are predicting that the movie will open between $60 million and $70 million in its opening weekend, going against the YA adaptationBefore I Falland the inspirational dramaThe Shack.
