James Mangold said in an interview with Rolling Stone that he is not a fan of “multi-movie universe-building,” so consider him probably not interested in directing an entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The director is no stranger to helming sequels as the filmmaker behind “The Wolverine,” “Logan” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” although he’s always approached his franchise work as standalone entries.
“I don’t do multiverses,” Mangold said when the topic of Johnny Cash appearing in his upcoming Bob Dylan movie “A Complete Unknown” came up. Mangold directed Joaquin Phoenix to an Oscar nomination as Cash in 2005’s “Walk the Line.” The director’s Bob Dylan biopic stars Timothee Chalamet as the music icon. Some hoped Phoenix would pop up as Cash in “A Complete Unknown,” although Mangold did not want any crossovers between the music biopics and cast his “Indiana Jones 5” star Boyd Holbrook as Cash instead.
“It’s weird that I’ve even worked in the world of IP entertainment because I don’t like multi-movie universe-building,” Mangold then added. “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.”
“For me, the goal becomes, always, ‘What is unique about this film, and these characters?’” Mangold continued. “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.”
Mangold spoke to Variety last year ahead of the release of “Indiana Jones 5” and said bluntly that he was “not interested” in crafting any spinoffs from the movie.
“I refuse. I just can’t do it,” the director said. “The amount of lore and Easter eggs and fan service starts to become antithetical to any of this stuff at a certain point. It isn’t storytelling anymore. It’s large-scale advertising.”
Just because Mangold is against multiverses does not mean he is staying away from Hollywood franchises. He is currently attached to direct a new “Star Wars” movie, although it will mostly be a standalone effort as it is billed as a Biblical epic set centuries before the franchise’s main storyline as it tracks the origin of the Force.
Head over to Rolling Stone’s website to read Mangold’s latest interview in its entirety.