James Mangold’s Three Favorite Logan Scenes

Warning: There are some SPOILERS ahead for Logan. So if you've not seen the film yet, do yourself a favor, and right that wrong immediately before then returning to read the below.

By this point, we've all decided what our favorite scenes from Logan are. Personally, I have to go with the final interchange between X-23 and Wolverine just before he succumbs to his wounds, while undoubtedly there are some of you out there that would pick Boyd Holbrook's death scene, anything with X-24, or one of the myriad of other sequences that combined to make Logan so special. But what are co-writer and director James Mangold's own favorite scenes from the blockbuster? We now know the answer to that question, as Mangold recently admitted that there are three in particular that leave him chocked up. James Mangold explained,

There are sections of the movie, even if it is the 560th time that I've seen it, probably even more than that considering I have watched it every day for two years, but I continue to look forward to seeing certain scenes. His first scene with Patrick in the tank. The scene where Laura and Logan and Charles escape from that smelting plant. And then, quite late, I always love watching the scenes between Logan and the kids, very particularly the scene where [Laura] asks him about the bullet. And he levels with her in a way that is so honest, and, I think, out of character for these kind of movies, again it's more of a straight dramatic scene than kind of an action scene and I love both of their work in it.

Those are some pretty solid choices, which James Mangold actually revealed to me when I sat down to chat with the filmmaker earlier this week about Logan and Logan Noir. The first scene between Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and Patrick Stewart's Professor X in the tank in a secluded area of Mexico is particularly harrowing, as it shows just how far Charles Xavier has fallen, and how Wolverine, X, and Stephen Merchant's Caliban are living in decrepit circumstances. Yet, despite all of these obvious negatives, there's still a togetherness and a love to their exchanges that proves just how deeply they all care for each other. Even if Wolverine ultimately leaves Caliban by the wayside a little too easily.

Of course, the smelting plant action sequence is right up there with one of the most raucous and impressive of the year so far, and no words of mine can really do it justice. While the exchange between X-23 and Logan about the adamantium bullet, which he had planned to kill himself with, perfectly leads into the final scene, and amplifies that X-23 has finally given Logan a new reason to live, as well as die. You can watch James Mangold discussing his three favorite scenes from Logan below.

Logan is now available on Digital HD, while it will be on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD on May 23rd. These releases also include Logan Noir, which is a presentation of the film in black and white, and it is utterly divine.