The Wolverine:
The James Mangold Restoration

Bad Movies Made Less Bad Presents:
A collaborative effort with The Silver Screen Samurai to finish their passion project.
No Viper, No third act CGI crapfest.

Editing Intent:

This project aims to restore James Mangold's original vision for the film, before the studio enforced changes to the script. Knowledge of the original script, and how it was changed, comes directly from Mangold himself as well as behind the scenes commentary. The "identity reveal" of Silver Samurai being the real villain was definitely not part of that script, and Viper was also added because the studio wanted a villain with superpowers. So in this edit, she's been reduced to almost non-existence in the film as well.

Specifically, this edit completely removes the third act and any prior scenes or shots setting it up. The effect of cutting this is that it eliminates a plot-hole fuelled twist that comes totally out of left field, but that it also returns the story to being told almost exclusively from Logan's point-of-view; thus honouring Mangold's original vision, for a small-scale neo-noir grounded in real world stakes -- rather than a VFX heavy tent-pole designed to compete with bigger-scale films from that year.

I have helped Silver Screen Samurai come up with the broad strokes of the final act, but they created the first nightmare and the end of the ninja battle until the airport scene all on their own, in order to fulfil their vision completely.

In this version, when old Yashida dies at the beginning, he’s actually dead. Neither the finale in the fortress, or the inclusion of Viper, were in Mangold’s original version of the film. They were added by the studio. Thus they’ve been removed, in accordance with his wishes; rendering the film more of small-scale Neo-noir set in Japan, with real world stakes and logic, as originally intended.

Cut List:

• Base is the Theatrical Version

• Extended Edition with more graphic shot of Soldier commiting suicide used

• Extended Edition with more graphic shot of Logan's claws in Jean used

• Extended Edition with more graphic shot of Logan killing bear used

• Extended Edition with more graphic shot of the arrow in the hunter's hand used

• Trimmed Yumiko dialogue with Logan while being driven to old Yashida's home, using select parts of both theatrical and extended dialogue

• Logan and Old Yashida's meeting edited to remove some of the shots of Viper, using extended scene as starting point.

• Extended Edition scene of Shingen and old Yashida added and slightly trimmed

• Logan being poisoned by Viper scene replaced with new nightmare sequence from Silver Screen Samurai, with Jean hair FX fix done by Wakeupkeo

• Viper removed from relevance during funeral

• Extended Edition Funeral fight scene with more graphic shots used, trimmed to reduce appearance of Viper and some of Hamada's face shots

• Extended Edition Train Fight version with more graphic shots used

• Some of Logan's dialogue at the end of the scene in the vet's office trimmed

• Transition to train to Nagasaki adjusted slightly for flow

• Logan and Mariko's discussion about her and Hamada removed

• Noburo's interrogation trimmed to remove discussion of Yashida ruining the company and Shingen trying to save it

• Shingen's slap of Mariko just before her kidnapping removed.

• Interaction between Hamada and Mariko at old Yashida's house removed

• Shingen and Viper interaction removed

• Extended Edition scenes of Logan Yumiko and Shingen at old Yashida's home with more graphic shots used

• Shots of Shingen getting his swords and armor moved slightly later

• Yumiko's mentions of seeing Yashida dying removed

• Shingen's lines about Mariko and Shingen destroying company removed, dialogue trimmed down to just Shingen resenting Yashida's appreciation of Logan.

• All scenes of Viper and Hamada removed

• Extended Edition Ninja fight with more graphic shots used

• End of the Ninja fight heavily edited to be the final act.

• Final transition from snowblower crash to the dream of Jean created by Silver Screen Samurai.

• All of the scenes in the tower removed.

• New mid-credit scene edited to remove Logan's bone claws created by Silver Screen Samurai.