As with many of the updates on the upcoming film, the news was revealed via social media. The official Instagram account for the project has posted a few intriguing photos over the last week or so — including one of Patrick Stewart as a dramatically aged Charles Xavier — and one of the latest images features actor Boyd Holbrook in the cab of a pickup truck. It’s the caption, however, that’s sparked speculation and seems to confirm the presence of at least one of Wolverine’s established enemies in the film.
At this point, a spoiler warning is probably advisable, since the identity of Holbrook’s character could reveal quite a bit about the potential plot of the film (or nothing at all, if the speculation proves false).
The caption of the photo reads “Pierce,” and while nothing has been confirmed at this point regarding Holbrook’s character, the name likely alludes to him playing Donald Pierce, a recurring and deadly foe of the X-Men in the Marvel Comics universe.
In Marvel Comics lore, Donald Pierce is a former member of the Hellfire Club (this group of powerful mutants, led by Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw, appeared in X-Men: First Class) who later left the organization to become the leader of the Reavers, a group of cybernetically enhanced mutants on a mission to exterminate all other mutants. Naturally, the anti-mutant agenda of Pierce’s group had them clash with the X-Men at various points, with one such encounter ending with Wolverine tortured and crucified.
The Reavers have long been rumored to appear in Logan, and the caption seems to confirm their presence in the film in some form.
Directed by James Mangold (who directed the previous film, The Wolverine), Logan features Jackman once again as the mutant title character, and also brings back Stewart as Charles Xavier. It’s uncertain whether the film will exist in the new timeline established by X-Men: First Class or the now-alternate timeline of the original X-Men trilogy that was established in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Along with Jackman, Stewart, and Holbrook, the cast of Logan also includes Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, and Elizabeth Rodriguez. Little is known about the plot of the film at this point, but rumors also suggest that infamous X-Men villain Mr. Sinister will also play a role in the movie, as will the secret government program that augmented Wolverine’s body, Weapon X. The first poster for the film — featuring a child’s hand holding Logan’s hand — also hints that the series could introduce Logan’s young female clone, X-23, from the comics.
Logan is scheduled to hit theaters March 3, 2017.
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