Two weeks ago, the official runtime of Twentieth Century Fox’s Logan was increased by three minutes, which immediately set off speculation that a post-credits scene had been added to this latest installment of the X-Men franchise. It was speculation that was shot down fairly quickly by the studio, leaving the question of where exactly does those three minutes fit into the film? While they don’t come at the end, they instead come at the exact opposite, the beginning of the film, before even the 20th Century Fox logo.
And it features Deadpool.
The scene is set on a grimy, trash-strewn street, where a man is being held up at gunpoint. In a self-referential moment a dilapidated theater marquee in the background advertises Logan. As the mugging continues, a man in a hoodie approaches. If the song “Angel Of The Morning” leaking out of his earbuds isn’t enough of a clue to his identity, the camera swings around to reveal a maskless Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool. Seeing the mugging in process he whispers “Not on my fucking watch,” and then ducks into a filthy telephone booth to change into his more traditional costume, as John Williams’ iconic theme from Superman: The Movie swells on the soundtrack.
To say more would be to spoil how things play out. Suffice it to say, it gives audiences a little slice of the character as we wait the inevitable, but still unscheduled, Deadpool 2.
Some may want to call this a trailer for Deadpool 2, but I think that would be wrong, if only because this scene’s three minutes is a part of Logan‘s total runtime. And no trailer has ever been considered a part of a film’s runtime.
According to sources, the studio actually sent out two copies of Logan – one without the Deadpool scene at the front of the film and one with the scene. Orders to exhibitors was that they should show the version that was missing the Deadpool scene to the Thursday evening preview audiences but switch over to the version with the Deadpool scene for Friday’s ticket-buyers.
However, we have been receiving reports from screenings around the country that many theater owners are disregarding those orders and are screening the Deadpool scene this evening. And that is probably a good thing, given that withholding that scene from the diehard fans who came out for those first preview showings Thursday evening would have only angered a good portion of them.
