20 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Logan

If done well, improvisation adds an extra layer of spontaneous reality that a script is almost unable to achieve. This was most certainly the case in a handful of scenes in Logan that brilliantly deviated away from the script due to director James Mangold’s encouragement.

For starters, Patrick Stewart stated that Xavier’s brief reminisce on the 1952 western classic Shane was inspired by his own experience with the movie as a young boy. Furthermore, the mutant trio’s dinner with the kind but ill-fated Munston family, and Dafne Keen’s on-the-fly audition as Laura (which made it into the final cut) were also unscripted.

These scenes (especially the latter two) were moments of unexpected but touching brilliance that did wonders for the film’s character work and emotional depth.