Dr. Zander Rice (X-Men Movies)

"My goal was not to end mutant kind, but to control it. I realized, we needn't stop perfecting what we eat and drink, but we could use that as part of us to perfect ourselves. To distribute gene therapy discreetly through everything, from sweet drinks to breakfast cereals. And it worked. Random mutantcy went through the way of polio."

- Dr. Rice explaining his plans to Wolverine

Dr. Zander Rice is the main antagonist of the 2017 Marvel superhero drama film Logan. He is the head of Essex Corp., the leader and employer of The Reavers, and the one behind Project: Transigen.

He was portrayed by Richard E. Grant who also played Barkis Bittern.

Background
His father, Dale Rice, originally founded Essex Corp. After he was killed by The Wolverine, his son, Zander took over the company. He signed a project, named "Project: Transigen", whose purpose was to capture and control the mutants.

He later hired on the ex-military mercenaries, the Reavers, led by Donald Pierce, as a private security force for his company.

He kidnapped mutant children, including The Wolverine's biological daughter, Laura Kinney or X-23. Some of the children who participated in the program have even been born in The Alkali Facility. However, Laura had betrayed him, and had tried to massacre the facility. Gabriela also helped many mutant kids, including Laura, to escape. A while after that, he decided to recapture Laura and program her to be the new Weapon X.

X-Men: Apocalypse
A younger Dr. Zander Rice is seen with glasses, entering The Alkali Facility and creating X-24

Using Caliban
"My name is Dr. Rice. But you can call me Zander if you like."

- Dr. Zander Rice introducing himself to Caliban.

Dr. Zander Rice sends Pierce and his men to recapture Laura, and kill whoever stands in his way, mostly The Wolverine. After the many failed attempts of capturing them, Rice decides to "bring new tools to bear". Using mutant tracker Caliban, Rice and the Reavers track Logan, Xavier and Laura to Will Munson's house. Dr. Rice sends X-24 to kill Charles Xavier and recover Laura. Zander's attack has caused the deaths of Will Munson and his family. Zander tried to get Caliban to control the mutants, however, instead, he took control of X-24, and caused him to kill a few of Zander's soldiers. Caliban then threw two grenades, and bombed Zander's van. Zander later returned to his base to plan a strategy while the Reavers took care of X-24 and Donald Pierce. He then receives reports from Pierce about the whereabouts of the mutant kids.

Final Battle
"You will not survive any further injuries.."

- Rice's last words to Wolverine, stating that his healing factors ended

He and the Reavers later go to stop the mutants from crossing the border into Canada. Meanwhile, Dr. Rice and The Reavers chase after the mutant kids, almost managing to capture them all, until Logan enters the scene and starts tearing them down. Dr. Zander Rice reveals to Logan his plans to gain control of the mutants, and states that he does so in order continue the legacy of his father, and become rich. While speaking about his intentions to use the mutants and exploit their powers, an angered Logan kills him with a shot to the throat.

Personality
He is an incredibly pitiless individual, who exploits mutants for money, and enslaves them in the name of his father. He enjoys hurting others, as he did on Caliban, when he and Donald Pierce have tortured him. Near the climax of the film, he admits he wants to enslave the mutant kids, and become rich by exploiting their powers and abilities.

Trivia

 * Like his father, Dr. Zander Rice was killed by Logan / The Wolverine.