Logan Director Calls Out Multiverses On Deadpool & Wolverine Opening Week
The multiverse phase of the MCU has not gotten as strong praise as previous phases have, but Deadpool & Wolverine seems to be what has finally lit the fire back under the franchise. Fans are so excited to see Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine that it has turned the movie into one of this summer’s must see films. However, ironically, the director of Logan, James Mangold, recently made it clear that he is not a fan of multiverses.
Mangold Doesn’t Do Multiverses
Logan was originally supposed to be the final chapter for Jackman’s Wolverine, giving him an emotional send off after so many years playing the role. Jackman himself was emphatic about being done as well, until the MCU gained the rights to the X-Men and opened up more crossover opportunities.
But by the sound of things, James Mangold would have preferred if Logan’s ending had not been tampered with.
“I don’t do multiverses,” James Mangold said with no ambiguity. “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.”
No Joaquin Phoenix
To be clear, James Mangold was not making those comments specifically towards Deadpool & Wolverine. He is currently working on a Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, starring Timothee Chalamet.
Mangold was asked if there was potential for Joaquin Phoenix to show up as Johnny Cash, since Mangold had directed him in that role for 2005’s Walk the Line.
James Mangold made it clear that he felt such an inclusion would be forced, especially since Phoenix would no longer be a good match for a young Johnny Cash like he was in 2005.
“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.”
The Death Of Storytelling
However, James Mangold did expand on those topics to make it clear that he finds multiverses as a whole to be detrimental to movies. He even went so far as to call it “the death of storytelling”.
He feels that it distracts the audience with references to other movies rather than keeping their attention on the emotional investment of the movie they are actually watching.
There is also the reality that while multiverses can be considered fun for bringing back fan favorite characters, it does also negate a movie having stakes. The tragedy of Wolverine’s death in Logan means less in retrospect when it is now clear that won’t stop him from appearing in additional movies.
Even though Deadpool & Wolverine uses an alternate timeline version of Logan, it is still otherwise the same character. It is easy to see where James Mangold is coming from.
No Safety Net
If audiences never have to fear death being permanent in a movie, how emotionally invested can they really become in any consequences? Now there is always the knowledge that the MCU can undo any sad event to give fans the outcome that they want.
James Mangold seems to be a fan of not wanting audiences to have that safety net so they really have to fear for characters in perilous situations.
Dawn Of The Jedi
Based on that, it sounds like James Mangold will be sitting out of directing any further superhero movies for a while. Or at least until the MCU’s multiverse phase is finished. However, he will be returning to big blockbuster franchises soon, as he is currently set to direct the upcoming Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
