Logan director James Mangold calls multi-film universes the enemy of narrative and the death of storytelling. According to him, in them, viewers are not engaged with the story, but with how the different films are connected and all sorts of Easter eggs.
The director behind such franchises as The Wolverine, Logan, and Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny shared his views on cinematic universes during a conversation with Rolling Stone regarding the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, Total Unknown, he was asked why Joaquin Phoenix did not reprise his highly acclaimed role as Johnny Cash from the 2005 film, Walk the Line, in the new film.
“I don’t make multiverses,” Mangold replied.
“It’s weird that I worked in entertainment because I don’t like building a universe across multiple films. I think that’s the enemy of storytelling. Death to storytelling. People are more interested in how the Lego pieces fit together than how the story unfolds. I always ask, ‘What’s unique about this movie and these characters?’ Not to make you think about some other movie, or an Easter egg, or something else that’s an intellectual act rather than an emotional one. You want the movie to work on an emotional level.”
While Mangold’s filmography includes many franchise installments, he prefers to approach these films as standalone projects. Last year, he said Variety, that he has no interest in continuing to work on Indiana Jones after directing and writing the fifth installment.
“I refuse. I just can’t do it. The amount of lore and great stories and fan service at a certain point starts to become the opposite of any of those things. It’s not storytelling anymore. It’s big-time advertising,” the director says.
Mangold’s next film, The Complete Unknown, is expected to hit theaters in December, with Timothée Chalamet set to star. The director is also attached to direct Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi (working title).
Timothée Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan — first photos from the set of James Mangold’s biopic
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