James Mangold Thinks Multi-Movie Universe-Building Films Are "The Death of Storytelling"
Logan director James Mangold recently shared his thoughts on cinematic universes, and it turns out that he’s not a very big fan of them. In fact, he says that multi-movie universe-building films are "the enemy of storytelling."
He shared his thoughts on this as Deadpool & Wolverine is about to be released in theaters and shortly after the trailer of his Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, dropped online.
During an interview with Rolling Stone, Mangold was asked if he’d create his own “cinematic universe” by bringing back Joaquin Phoenix’s Johnny Cash from Walk The Line, and he said:
I don’t do multiverses. … 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.
I get what he’s saying, but I also think that if done right, with care, and with a clear plan for a complete story, these cinematic universes could be a great way to tell a story! But, if there’s no clear plan in place and no real endgame, things could get really messy.
Mangold went on to talk about his goals as a filmmaker saying:
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.
Again, I do think you can get that out of a cinematic universe if there’s a proper story structure with properly mapped-out character arcs. It’s not easy, it can be done, but it really needs strong storytelling talent to pull it off.
Regardless, don’t expect to see Mangold jump in to direct a MCU movie anytime soon! He is making a Star Wars movie, but the story he’s looking to tell is so far removed from the other Star Wars films he doesn’t have to worry about connecting it to any existing film.
Mangold is also making a Swamp Thing movie for DC, but I believe that will be a standalone film that won’t necessarily connect to any of the other films that are being made.
What do you think about what Mangold had to say about cinematic universes?