“Logan” is coming back to theaters, but it’s not going to look quite the same.
The newest (and presumably final) Wolverine movie slashed records with an $85.3 million domestic opening weekend, which was incredible for an R-rated flick. It continued to dominate the box office until eventually unseated by Kong: Skull Island, but it was easily the top-grossing film of 2017.
Oh, and it enjoyed incredible critical reviews, too, thanks in part to director James Mangold’s expert pacing and artistic flourishes. Now, Mangold says that Logan is returning to theaters for a limited special engagement—and if you’re a big X-Men fan, you might want to see the new version.
That’s because the new version of Logan won’t look anything like the one that fans
Mangold announced the release on Twitter.
“Suggestion.
Yep, that means that Logan is coming back in black and white. Why? Well, for directors, adapting a film to the black & white aesthetic offers a unique challenge. Fans tend to respond well, too; Mad Max: Fury Road also had a special B&W release.
The bad news is that this is a one-day event, and international fans won’t be able to get in on the fun. Logan will only come to select American theaters.
Marvel fans quickly went to Twitter to ask Mangold the obvious question.
“Can B&W fans turn down the color settings to 0 on any movie ever and achieve the same goals right now?” wrote one cheeky fan.
“Won’t be on a TV,” Mangold responded. “And the answer is no. To make a great B&W version of a film, the whole thing’s gotta be
“In convert to b&w, one must determine which hues go dark/ light, adjust contrast, blacks. Turning down color on tv just makes gray mush.”
Another fan asked whether the black-and-white version will get a home release.
“The B&W version does release on Blu-Ray and DVD right?”
“Yes,” Mangold replied, “but it will be on big screens on the 16th.”
The director went on to reveal a “new” title for the film: Logan Noir.
The original release did have Western and noir themes, which Mangold acknowledged on Twitter. He also wrote that those themes “really shine” in the new monochrome setting. Recently, he’s also been posting plenty of black-and-white photos on his Twitter, so he certainly seems excited about the experience.
He also wrote that he always had a monochrome aesthetic in mind.
“We were making a color film,” he said, “but were all conscious that the hard edge lighting schemes would play well in monochrome. Photos confirmed it.”
There’s no word on whether the new version will include any additional scenes—or even strip out scenes from the original cut. However, we’d doubt it; Logan is an incredibly tight, action-packed movie. Fans will certainly want to reserve their tickets when the list of participating theaters is released (presumably later this week).
