“Suggestion,“ director James Mangold tweeted earlier today. “Hard core B&W loving LOGAN fans should not make any plans on the evening of May 16th.”
So mark your calendars accordingly, because that means that Logan – one of the most critically acclaimed superhero movies ever – is coming back to theaters, and this time it’ll be in glorious black-and-white.
James Mangold added that enterprising Logan fans shouldn’t merely desaturate their TV screens at home. Changing a color film to black and white requires more nuance than that. “To make a great B&W version of a film,“ Mangold tweeted, “the whole thing’s gotta be regraded & timed shot by shot.”
Also: This ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Review is Also a Mixtape
Re-releasing contemporary movies in black-and-white is not a common practice, but certain, acclaimed films have been able to take advantage of the practice. Frank Darabont’s terrifying Stephen King adaptation The Mist was released on home video in a black and white edition, and George Miller’s Oscar-winning post-apocalyptic car chase epic Mad Max: Fury Road was re-released on Blu-ray in a so-called “Black and Chrome” edition. These black-and-white editions have championed by the original filmmakers as their preferred presentations of these films.
James Mangold has explained in interviews that the black-and-white version of Logan was a bit of an afterthought, which came about after some monochrome behind the scenes photographs received a positive reaction. The black-and-white edition was originally planned for the film’s Blu-ray release, and is still en route to home video, but it’s more exciting that Logan fans will get to see this new version of the film in theaters, even if just for one night only.
The Top 20 Best Superhero Movie Posters:
Top Photo: 20th Century Fox
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The 20 Best Superhero Movie Posters
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3 Dev Adam
Also known as That Turkish Ripoff Film Where Captain America and El Santo Team Up to Fight Evil Spider-Man. The film is at least 70 times more spectacular than anything cooked up by Disney, and this poster reflects that.
Image: Tual Film Arsel
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Ant Man
To assure viewers that Ant-Man was tied in the The Avengers series, the marketers released a series of posters showing our tiny, tiny hero to scale with his future teammates.
Image: Disney
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Batman (1966)
Camp was the word of the day in 1966, and this is still perhaps the most enjoyable Batman film of them all.
Image: 20th Century Fox
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Batman (1989)
It may be difficult to describe just how huge Tim Burton's 1989 film really was back in the day. To tease us, the posters only displayed the Batman logo.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
In its own personal continuity, the animated Batman feature had an appropriately stylized poster.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Batman Returns
While there have been numerous iterations of Catwoman over the years, this single image has become the defining image of the character in the minds of many.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Although the film has been largely panned, it cannot be denied that these street art renditions of the two title heroes are pretty cool.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Darkman
Sam Raimi's over-the-top vigilante movie came from the era of hand-painted posters, when they all looked way cooler.
Image: Universal
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Deadpool
The snarky, self-aware superhero comedy film faked you out with these Nicholas Sparks-inspired romance posters. Surprise! It's an R-rated comedy!
Image: 20th Century Fox
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Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
The best thing about Ghost Rider is the way he looks like a living tattoo. This poster highlights that to an amazing degree.
Image: Columbia
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Guardians of the Galaxy
Although it is just a few glory shots of the team, a graphic designer thought to add some color. It certainly catches the eye.
Image: Disney
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Hellboy
This poster, painted by the legendary Drew Struzan, wasn't used in the U.S. Our loss, I suppose.
Image: Columbia
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Mystery Men
One of the funniest of all superhero movies, the clever Mystery Men took not-too-impressive superheroes (like The Shoveler and The Spleen) and made them look epic.
Image: Universal
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Spider-Man 3
Non-fans see a moral conflict. Fans see a glimpse of an evil alien blob that takes the form of a costume. Either way, good choice.
Image: 20th Century Fox
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Supergirl
Often jeered, this goofy Superman spinoff has a poster that outdoes most of its peers.
Image: TriStar Pictures
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Superman III
This hand-painted poster was only used in international markets, but the images and the colors translate all over the world.
Image: Warner Bros.
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The Amazing Spider-Man
No one asked for this reboot, but this image did lend an air of mystery to a story we already knew from a few years before.
Image: 20th Century Fox
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The Dark Knight
The kid gloves are off, and buildings got blowed up. The image became iconic. Question: Did Batman burn that building in a bat shape, or did the Joker do it to discredit Batman? I always saw it as the latter.
Image: Warner Bros.
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The Shadow
I loved how shiny and glossy blockbuster posters were in the '80s and '90s. This image became a logo for the film, and the colors are still unique to this day.
Image: Universal
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X-Men: Days of Future Past
X-Men 7 was when they started to mess around with alternate timelines in earnest, and the posters let us see the overlap.
Image: 20th Century Fox
