With Deadpool & Wolverine now rolling out in theaters worldwide and many Marvel fans revisiting the two characters’ past solo adventures, it makes sense that we’d hear something from Logan director James Mangold, who tried to wrap up Hugh Jackman’s run as Wolverine back in 2017 at 20th Century Fox. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t have kind words for cinematic universes, yet almost half his big-screen career is IP work.
The filmmaker admits in an interview for Rolling Stone, following the release of the first trailer for his Bob Dylan biopic, that even he’s surprised he’s worked in “the world of IP entertainment,” which is funny considering he’s cashed three fat checks already thanks to two Wolverine movies and the fifth Indiana Jones. Moreover, he’s set to direct a Star Wars movie at Lucasfilm and Swamp Thing for James Gunn’s DCU, Warner’s new attempt at mimicking the MCU.
“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,” he explained. And you know what? The thing is that he’s not wrong. Studios and fans often get lost looking for quick profits and surface-level satisfaction even if fan-service and proper good narratives can coexist.
