‘Logan’ Director James Mangold Explains Why He Dislikes Movie Multiverses
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Director of ‘Logan’ James Mangold has something to say about cinematic multiverses.
The director is no stranger to big productions and movie sequels, with ‘The Wolverine’ (2013), ‘Logan’ (2017), and more recently ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ (2023).
“I don’t do multiverses,” Mangold recently told Rolling Stone when asked if audiences could expect Joaquin Phoenix’s Johnny Cash return in the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic ‘A Complete Unknown’ (starring Timothée Chalamet).
Mangold previously directed Phoenix’s Oscar-nominated performance in 2005’s ‘Walk the Line,’ and confirmed that fans won’t see any crossovers in the biopic — with Boyd Holbrook (‘Logan’) playing Johnny Cash in the film.
“I love Joaquin, but he’s not 30, or whatever Johnny was at this moment. They’re both young people in that moment in life,” Mangold said. “It’s weird that I’ve even worked in the world of IP entertainment because I don’t like multi-movie universe-building. I think it’s the enemy of storytelling. The death of storytelling. It’s more interesting to people the way the Legos connect than the way the story works in front of us.”
The director continued: “For me, the goal becomes, always, ‘What is unique about this film, and these characters?’ Not making you think about some other movie or some Easter egg or something else, which is all an intellectual act, not an emotional act. You want the movie to work on an emotional level.”
It’s not uncommon for franchises to include Easter eggs and cameos to capture the audience’s attention and generate excitement — and it’s something audiences have become accustomed to. This perhaps frustrates Mangold, as building a universe/franchise is in rising demand and where the most money is made for the respective studio.
Hugh Jackman is reprising his iconic role as Wolverine in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (out now), which comes several years after the character was originally killed-off at the end of ‘Logan.’
Mangold is tackling another franchise: Star Wars. He’s set to direct Lucasfilm’s upcoming feature ‘Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi’ — a story that is set 25,000 years before the events of ‘Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.’
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