“Death of Storytelling”: Logan Director James Mangold Criticizes Cinematic Multiverses

[Tsing]

James Mangold, the American film director, producer, and screenwriter partially known for his work on two X-Men films—namely, Logan (2017) and The Wolverine (2013)—has shared his thoughts on cinematic universes and multiverses as part of a new interview regarding his latest film, A Complete Unknown, stating that he doesn't like them and how they're the "death of storytelling."

See full article...

 

[Grimlakin]

I mean to be fair I get the point. It's like a writer that kills a beloved super hero getting pissed that someone else brought them back because nobody remembers who killed them... but who kept them going.

 

[MadMummy76]

I mean to be fair I get the point. It's like a writer that kills a beloved super hero getting pissed that someone else brought them back because nobody remembers who killed them... but who kept them going.

That's not really the issue. If death is no longer permanent, there are no real stakes for dying either. It makes every risk meaningless, which they already do by having characters survive things without a scratch that should easily kill them. And this is not even only about superheroes, but regular human characters also.

Superheroes are even worse nowadays, because their power level and capabilities are not established properly and thus can change on a whim. Even if something was established as lore sleazy writers will retcon things because they are too lazy to read up on lore or simply too incompetent to write a story within the confines of established lore.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Here's a pretty awesome vid on this topic. Still one of my favorites.

 

[Grimlakin]

Here's a pretty awesome vid on this topic. Still one of my favorites.

That... was far more entertaining than I thought it would be.

 

[Madairna]

I totally get what Mangold is saying. I’ve felt that way about some recent movies too. Sometimes it seems like these multiverse plots are more about setting up future storylines than actually delivering a good, self-contained story. I really appreciate films that just focus on their own narrative and don’t try to connect to a bigger universe. It’s refreshing to have a story that stands on its own.