Deadpool & Wolverine could well be one of the biggest films of the summer, peppered with its distinctive humour and wild mix of characters from different universes and franchises. But is this messy storytelling a good thing?
No, says Logan director James Mangold, who argues that large cinematic universes made up of multiple films are detrimental to, or even ‘kill’, traditional storytelling. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mangold said:
“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.
“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”.
Do you agree with what Mangold says?