Podcast Post: Everything to know about ‘Wolverine: The Lost Trail’
Logan returns to the world of podcasts — bigger, badder and better
When Marvel made their first foray into the world of podcasts with ‘Wolverine: The Long Night’ last year, fans were more than enthused to meet a fan favourite character in a brand new medium. That the 10-part series was a technical and creative masterpiece was just the icing on the cake. Season two of the acclaimed show released earlier in March exclusively for Stitcher Premium users, but it was last month announced that the episodes would be made available for free, starting from July 8.
Here’s everything you need to know about season two of Marvel’s ‘Wolverine’.
Wolverine’s search for redemption
In ‘The Lost Trail’, Logan/Wolverine (Richard Armitage), following the hair-raising events of ‘The Long Night’, returns to New Orleans in search of redemption, only to discover that his ex-lover, Maureen is nowhere to be found. And she’s not the only one. Dozens of humans and mutants have gone missing, including the mother of a teenage boy, Marcus Baptiste. With the shadowy organisation Weapon X in close pursuit, Logan and Marcus must team up and follow a trail of clues that leads them deep into the gothic heart of the bayou, where they encounter biker gangs, Cajun thieves and a certain lovable mutant. It is here that they find Greenhaven — a refuge run by a powerful mutant named Jason Wyngarde.
‘The Lost Trail’ tells a more straightforward story
In season one, the podcast followed the style of a procedural, much like popular podcasts such as ‘Serial’ and ‘S-Town’, possibly in a bid to lure in hard-core podcast junkies who were already used to listening to a bunch of true crime. The format forced Richard Armitage’s Wolverine to operate in the shadows; the listener knew he was around but were rarely in direct contact with him. He was more myth than man/mutant. But in ‘The Lost Trail’, Wolverine is very much front and centre and the story feels a lot more comic book-y, which should be a lot more exciting for geek fans.
Richard Armitage returns to voice Wolverine
Richard Armitage, the British actor who has previously starred in movies such as ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ and ‘Ocean’s 8’, returns to voice Logan/Wolverine. Because we get to hear so much more of him this season, Armitage get to perfect Wolverine’s shiver-inducing, signature growl, and that alone is enough to keep you coming back for more of this audio treat.
“It’s sort of a reversal of the last season, because whereby last time Logan was the hunted, he’s now kind of the hunter, the detective. But on another level, and it’s something that occurred to me after reading and performing all 10 episodes, I feel like there are so many layers of life that feel very current and relevant on a metaphysical level. But I feel like we’ve kind of lost our way as people. It’s sort of baked into this story that we’re trying to find ourselves. Through Marcus and his community, there is a kind of redemption at the end of this trail,” said Armitage about his role in season two in an interview with Slash Film.
Jason Wyngarde is the main antagonist
Comic book fans will know Jason Wyngarde by his mutant name, Mastermind. In the comics, Mastermind is a mutant with the psionic ability to generate complex telepathic illusions at will that cause his victims to see whatever he wishes them to see. Theatre great Bill Irwin, best known to X-fans as Cary Loudermilk on the TV series ‘Legion’, voices Mastermind.
A fan-favourite mutant makes an extended cameo
Fans have been waiting to see Gambit on the big screen for aeons. (Channing Tatum has been attached to play the roguish mutant in a solo film, but the film currently resides in development limbo due to the Fox/Disney deal.) In ‘The Lost Trail’, Logan goes in search of his missing ex-flame. His quest leads him to the Louisiana bayou region, and that can only mean one thing: crossing paths with Remy LeBeau, aka our very own Gambit. Broadway and TV actor Bill Heck (The Leftovers, The Good Wife) voices the mutant, who can be best described as the Han Solo of the Marvel universe.
Don’t miss it!
‘Wolverine: The Lost Trail’ is now available to stream for free wherever you listen to podcasts. A new episode drops every week, and four chapters, out of 10, have been released.