Logan Almost Had a Sabretooth Cameo

CBR

By Meagan Damore

Published Mar 3, 2017

In Logan, Wolverine's longtime nemesis Sabretooth was nowhere to be found -- but that doesn't mean he was never considered for the film.

In "Logan," Hugh Jackman's last ride as Wolverine, the clawed mutant's longtime nemesis Sabretooth was nowhere to be found -- but that doesn't mean he was never considered for the final "Wolverine" film. Speaking to CinemaBlend, screenwriter Scott Frank recalled how director James Mangold tried to work in a cameo for Wolverine's adversary.

"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 [Sabretooth] for help," Frank explained. "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."

Ultimately, however, the scene was scrapped from the script and never made it into the film, though -- as described above -- Logan, Laura and Professor X still do go on the run in a gambling town in the film. As CinemaBlend points out, this would have been a dramatic shift for Sabretooth, who has spent a "Wolverine" movie and even an "X-Men" film antagonizing Wolverine; that being the case, there simply may not have been time to both include the character and explain why he had changed so drastically.

In February last year, Liev Schrieber -- who starred as Sabretooth in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” -- mentioned that Jackman had come to talk about the film with him. “We talked about it… I don’t know. He’s mentioned it to me," Schrieber said at the time. "The ‘Old Man Logan’ story -- that’s appealing. That’s something that I can do. Old, being the operative word.” Unfortunately, nothing came of these talks, though it shows that there was some interest in bringing him back.

Indeed, "Logan" removes Wolverine from most other popular "X-Men" characters by placing him in a world where no mutants have been born in twenty years. As such, he's startled to discover Laura, a young mutant with powers very much like his own. Shortly thereafter, he's forced to take a road trip with both Laura and ailing Professor X.

Debuting in theaters March 3, “Logan” is directed by James Mangold and stars Hugh Jackman as Logan, Patrick Stewart as Charles, Dafne Keen as Laura, Boyd Holbrook as Pierce and Stephen Merchant as Caliban.