If you ever need a quick way to feel the icy grip of time on your soul, just remember that Logan is turning eight this year. That’s long enough for a kid to go from learning to spell Wolverine to having a strong opinion about which cinematic iteration of him was the best. Logan wins. Don’t argue.
It’s been nearly a decade since Hugh Jackman clawed his way through his swan song as the world’s most reluctant mutant babysitter, and yet, the film remains as hauntingly brilliant as ever. The dirt-stained realism, the gut-wrenching father-daughter dynamic, and Charles Xavier cursing like a grandpa who’s just realized someone stole his remote, it all still stings.
But while Logan is widely accepted as a masterpiece, there’s one thing I can never get over, the missed opportunity to bring back a certain fur-coated, sharp-toothed menace. And no, I don’t mean the creepy casino guy who kept messing with Laura.
The great what if about Logan that haunts me
Liev Schreiber’s Sabretooth was the best part of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That movie might have been a CGI fever dream with a crime against Deadpool’s face, but Schreiber’s take on Victor Creed? Perfect. He was menacing, calculating, and had that big-brother energy where you’re never sure if he’s going to ruffle your hair or throw you into traffic.
So when rumors started swirling that he might return in Logan, fans got their hopes up. Schreiber himself admitted that he was approached, but alas, scheduling conflicts and a shift in direction meant Sabretooth was left out in the cold. And look, I respect artistic choices and all, but was it really necessary to rob us of what could have been the grizzliest, most emotionally charged reunion in X-Men history?
In an interview with Cinemablend, Logan co-writer Scott Frank said that their plan was for Logan, Laura, and Professor X to seek help from Sabretooth in a gambling town. That alone sets the stage for cinematic greatness. He said,
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. 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.
Picture it, Logan, barely holding it together, knocking on a rusty trailer door. The camera pans up to reveal Schreiber’s Creed, looking even more worn down than his old nemesis. Maybe he’s gone legit, running a rundown dive bar where the only thing colder than the beer is his stare.
But no. We got nothing. Instead, Logan and Laura just fought their way through henchmen, while somewhere, Sabretooth was probably watching daytime TV, blissfully unaware that his brother was bleeding out in the desert.
The old men fight club we deserved
Liev Schreiber himself had some fun with the idea when he joked that if Hugh Jackman‘s Logan was going the Old Man Logan route, then surely there should be an Old Man Sabretooth too. Just imagine the possibilities! Two cranky, battle-scarred mutants squabbling like a couple of war vets in a retirement home.
It would’ve been the perfect full-circle moment. Sabretooth, who once relished making Logan’s life miserable, now forced into a reluctant ally role. Maybe he’s a step slower, maybe the years have dulled his bloodlust but not too much, but there’s still that deep, primal connection between them, one of the greatest, messiest sibling rivalries in comic book history.
And the action sequences? Don’t even get me started. We had X-24, sure, but imagine a two-on-one fight with Logan and Sabretooth against their younger, rage-fueled clone. Imagine them silently acknowledging, just for a moment, that the only thing worse than each other… is something made from both of them.
But instead of this cinematic goldmine, we got the world’s most depressing road trip. Great movie, yes. But just think of what could have been. And now, as Logan turns eight, I’ll raise a glass to the movie that was, while forever mourning the one scene that never came to be. That would’ve been interesting.
Logan can be streamed on Disney+.
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