“I think it's the enemy of storytelling” — ‘The Wolverine’ director James Mangold reveals he does not like movie multiverses

During the promotion of an upcoming film titled A Complete Unknown, the famous director James Mangold shared his opinion on why he doesn't create multi-movie universe. Speaking to Rolling Stone on July 24 about his future projects, he expressed his dislike towards making projects with interconnected movie plotlines.

When asked if audiences might see Joaquin Phoenix reprise his role as Johnny Cash (from Walk the Line) in the new Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Mangold quickly dismissed the idea.

“I don’t do multiverses,” Mangold stated firmly.

The director elaborated on his perspective:

"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."

Mangold has previously directed sequels such as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Logan, and The Wolverine.

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James Mangold on avoiding crossovers in his films

James Mangold, who directed Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar-nominated film Walk the Line (2005), recently expressed his disapproval of crossovers between his films. Speaking about potential reunions or crossovers, he explained in the same interview:

“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.”

James Mangold emphasized the importance of individuality in his filmmaking, aiming to create a unique emotional experience for the audience. He added that his motive is to identify and highlight what sets each film apart, rather than relying on intellectual references. He further explained:

"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."

Unlike Mangold, A Complete Unknown's leading star Timothée Chalamet had a different opinon about crossovers. In a March interview with NME, the actor mentioned that he would like his Dune: Part Two co-star Austin Butler to appear in his Dylan's biopic. For the uninitiated, Butler played Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's 2022 film.

The reason Mangold spoke about this topic is because nowadays, movie fans are accustomed to seeing character crossovers and easter eggs in various projects. For example, 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home viewers saw three representations of the superhero, performed by Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire.

Moreover, the MCU’s multiverse also led to Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine, despite his character arc concluding in Logan (2017).

While James Mangold avoids multiverse storytelling, he is still involved in franchise filmmaking. He is set to direct Lucasfilm's upcoming project, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi.

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About James Mangold's new film A Complete Unknown

A Complete Unknown is a 2024 American biographical drama film directed and co-written by James Mangold, alongside Jay Cocks. It is based on the 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald. Music legend Bob Dylan is portrayed by Timothée Chalamet, who is also one of the producers of this project. Boyd Holbrook plays Johnny Cash in the film.

Talking about Timothée's performance, Mangold told Rolling Stone:

“I think he does in a very poetic way, which is to suggest really empathically through his performance how one might want to make music, but one might not want to have people in your face all the time.”

This film revolves around Bob Dylan's journey from being a folk singer from Minnesota to becoming a famous musician, topping global charts. It also throws light on how he took the world by storm with his rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 where he used electric guitar for the first time. The movie is scheduled to arrive in theaters in December this year.