Why James Mangold (Logan) Hates the Multiverse: “It's the Death of Storytelling”

Asked about his casting change for Johnny Cash in A Complete Unknown, the director doesn't mince his words.

Johnny Cash will be in the Bob Dylan biopic, James Mangoldwhich was recently discovered the teaserbut it will no longer be played by Joaquin Phoenix. The director of Walk the Line (2005) prefers him Boyd Hoydbrookwhich he has already directed in Indiana Jones 5A choice that may have surprised his fans, who were expecting to see him create a link between his two biopics of famous American musicians.

“I don't do multiverse, James Mangold responds to Rolling Stone. I'm not a fan of creating a shared universe between movies. I know, it's weird since I work on franchises, but I don't like it. It's the enemy of storytelling for me. The death of narration. I find it more interesting to let the spectators assemble the Lego, rather than putting everything in front of them.

With each new film, the driving force for me is: 'What's unique about this movie? What about the characters?' I don't want to remind you of other works released before, nor hide from you any easter eggs everywhere, because these are intellectual choices, not emotional ones. You want the film to work on an emotional level, right?”

T-Bone Burnett: “Johnny Cash is a colossal figure in American culture”

As he points out, James Mangold is no stranger to multiverse-friendly productions, whether they be superhero blockbusters (we owe him The Wolverine: The Immortal Fight And Logan), nor to the resumption of sagas already popular before his arrival at the helm: in addition to'Indiana Jones 5he prepares a movie Star Wars for Lucasfilm. Note that at the time of release of the Dial of Destinyhe had been asked about the possibility of achieving a spin-off ofIndiana Jones by Varietyand that he already had a strong opinion on the matter.

“I refuse to do this. I am incapable of it. All this loreAnd this fan service and these easter eggs…it becomes antithetical after a while. It's not storytelling anymore, it's a giant advertisement.”

Here is the trailer forA Complete Unknownexpected in theaters in December, with Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan and Boyd Hollbrook as Johnny Cash, although he is not present in these first images.