Hugh Jackman says Logan is not set in the same X-Men universe

We knew Logan is set in the near future, quite some time after the current X-Men universe movies, but now Hugh Jackman has gone as far as saying there’s not much of a connection at all.

Speaking to Digital Spy, Jackman revealed 20th Century Fox gave director James Mangold and Jackman a blank canvas when he told them this is the last one he wanted to make. “And so Jim [Mangold] and I had this blank canvas and we wanted to make something really different. Definitely tonally different, I kept thinking The Wrestler, Unforgiven. He was thinking Unforgiven as well and The Gauntlet and these other movies which just seemed to really match his character. Early on we had the idea for the title not having anything to do with Wolverine in it, but making this more about the man. And what the collateral damage of being Wolverine your entire life would be.”

“It’s a standalone movie in many ways,” he added. “It’s not really beholden to timelines and storylines in the other movies. Obviously, Patrick Stewart is in there so we have some crossover, but it feels very different and very fresh.”

He says trying to serve the chess game of the X-Men universe timelines “actually doesn’t help telling 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 and different off shoots.”

“When you see the full movie you’ll understand,” Jackman added about the standalone nature of the film. “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.”

The March 3 release follows a weary Logan as he cares for an ailing Professor X in a hideout on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.

Starring Hugh Jackman, Sir Patrick Stewart, Eriq La Salle, Stephen Merchant, Elise Neal and Elizabeth Rodriguez, Logan was directed by James Mangold and scripted by David James Kelly. The new film will mark the ninth time that Jackman has played the Marvel Comics character on the big screen.

UPDATE: Director James Mangold has addressed Jackman’s comments with the following tweets:

@Voldemorgoth Don't think @RealHughJackman said that exactly. Simple fact. We take place in 2029, 5 yrs past anything depicted in XMEN film. — Mangold (@mang0ld) January 22, 2017

@Voldemorgoth @RealHughJackman And "slightly different" causes an uproar? Everyone should breathe and focus on important things. — Mangold (@mang0ld) January 22, 2017