'Logan' Director Clarifies It Isn't Disney Taking Over X-Men Movies That Has Him Worried

The X-Men are one of the biggest gets for Marvel thanks to the Disney Fox deal, but Logan director James Mangold has some concerns.

Mangold is coming off of the incredibly well received Logan, a product of 20th Century Fox's growing R-Rated corner of the Marvel universe. While the studio is involved in the superhero game, they are also responsible for a myriad of other original films, and Mangold doesn't want this Disney deal to stifle that.

"If they're actually changing their mandate, if what they're supposed to do alters, that would be sad to me because it just means less movies. … The real thing that happens when you make a movie rated R, behind the scenes, is that the studio has to adjust to the reality that there will be no Happy Meals," Mangold told Deadline. "There will be no action figures. The entire merchandising, cross-pollinating side of selling the movie to children is dead before you even start. And when that's dead, it means you're making a grown-up movie."

Guys. I'm not even slightly worried about the future of XMEN movies. There's many talented folks to make those. I am worried about a further scarcity of films that aren't comic adaptations and sequels. I'm worried about the ever increasing scarcity of original theatrical films.

— Mangold (@mang0ld) December 16, 2017

Some took that to mean he was speaking about X-Men movies in particular, especially with more adult takes like Deadpool 2 and New Mutants coming up. He then offered some clarification.

"Guys. I'm not even slightly worried about the future of XMEN movies," Mangold said. "There's many talented folks to make those. I am worried about a further scarcity of films that aren't comic adaptations and sequels. I'm worried about the ever increasing scarcity of original theatrical films. Will there be Fox movies? Will they be "allowed" to open against Disney films? Reality in trenches is no one knows whether its a raid 4 licenses & library titles or how much of Fox movie/ TV apparatus will stay or be destroyed a la what car companies did to mass transit in LA."

20th Century Fox's upcoming slate includes films like Red Sparrow, The New Mutants, Deadpool 2, Alita: Battle Angel, The Darkest Minds, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Bohemian Rhapsody, Nimona, and the Avatar films, just to name a few.

Mangold is also not exactly a fan of the "more characters make better movies" philosophy. "Don't defer to me," Mangold said. "I like the discussion! It could be awesome. I am just a bit less excited on the simple shortsighted level that more Marvel heroes can now interact in the same film. IMO these films are often too crowded anyway."

It remains to be seen how Disney will handle its acquisition of 20th Century Fox, but it will likely not become clear for at least a few more months.