Shared Universe Syndrome

It seems that nearly every television, film and game developer is establishing their own little personal worlds within their products. This shared universal syndrome that is sweeping across Hollywood and then some is turning into an uncontrollable plague that’s infecting nearly everything attached to a screen. Of course, the appeal for both consumers and the producers is obviously there; it allows for the average Joe to see their favourite heroes – or villains… or even just similar settings – in a variety of different products, projects or outings while allowing the producers another form of “free marketing” to help sell the newer products in a so-called established world.

Despite the rather cynical opening towards this seemingly new-found method, I’m all for a shared universe – if it’s done right, that is. Over the years, movie goers and TV viewers have been subjected by studios to witness the unfurling of their shared universes whether in the form of television crossovers or building on a franchise in the form of a spin-off show.

The Simpsons/Family Guy crossover is scheduled to air this fall.

As highlighted in my previous post about spin-offs, I think they are only worth it if they can stand on their own two feet, are original and… well, check it out for yourself to know how I feel. But a spin-off or a crossover (with the exception of the upcoming Family Guy/The Simpsons crossover which is more like alternate universes) is still considered to be one universe; meaning that it’s not a new-found thing in the form of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) unquestionable success critically and financially.

But before Marvel made it the latest fad, it was still an entity that existed within our lives. You know that show that’s about a man – a Dr – who can regenerate and travel through time in a blue police box or something? I forget who he is at times, but the BBC and the creators of that show established a shared universe, or Whoniverse as it’s known to some fans. This included the Torchwood series, K9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures. This allowed the characters from all these shows that existed within the same universe to crossover into each others separate show to make an appearance and emphasise the connectivity in that world.

Or how about the animation conglomerate that is Pixar Studios? You may have noticed that in each and every one of their movies, there was a little “Easter egg” (references to other franchises) in them. You may have noticed the Toy Story star ball or the Pizza Planet truck in either Wall-E, Cars or even Finding Nemo, or how about a Nemo teddy in Monsters Inc.?  Well, due to extensive research by Jon Negroni, he’s discovered that all the Pixar films are potentially connected into one shared universe and dubbed it The Pixar Theory. This theory presents a working narrative that ties all of the Pixar movies into one cohesive timeline with a main theme from Toy Story to Monsters University. Definitely worth reading over it!

To Infinity and beyond!

 

But because Marvel Studios brought comic book movies to the screen – in the form of good movies – and started their MCU, they should get all the praise, right? Wrong. Yes, they’ve done it right and well and successful beyond what anyone thought was possible but they were obviously not the first. They have just merely relit the fire of continuity while throwing millions of dollars onto it to make it bigger and better while also performing ritual dances around the fire to honour their Norse Gods and offering Edgar Wright as a sacrifice.

Marvel’s success with the MCU is an impressive entity that has spread not just from film to film, but also to TV with the successful(ish) Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the upcoming Agent Carter series and the Netflix Defender series; both looking at the different and down-to-earth aspects of the superhero-filled world. Both the different TV and film properties that are owned by Marvel Studios work to one overlying story arc that has been planned out to 2028 with each of the different characters getting their own personal problems to flesh out that story; this all then accumulates to a BIG event where they have to come together, seen in the hugely successful The Avengers and again next year in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Not only that, Marvel is continuously expanding their universe, now onto a galactic front in the form of this year’s coming Guardians of the Galaxy. If successful, it will open a new leg for Marvel to stand on and assert their monopoly on the shared universe game.

Marvel is currently in the Phase 2 plan, which only seems to be expanding from here out onwards

 

But now Marvel not only has company in the shared universe department but also competition in the comic book industry. Remember last year’s Superman flick Man of Steel? Well that was just laying the ground-work for DC’s own cinematic universe where they plan to accumulate to a Justice League movie in the near (but oh, so distant!) future. The next stepping stone for Warner Bros. Pictures however is their highly anticipated Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016 where they’ll not only introduce Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, but the rumours of Aquaman joining the mix just adds to the tension. That almost completes the roster of heroes that comprise the Justice League family but what about the Green Arrow or The Flash?... Or Green Lant- well actually after the dismal Green Lantern movie back in 2011 I'm not sure if I'm ready to see another...

You may have noticed that Oliver Queen (The Green Arrow’s alias) is currently redefining the superhero genre and the action game on the small screen in Arrow, a show that dominates Wednesday nights in America on The CW Network and is about to enter its third season this fall. This also led to the birth and the introduction of another character, Barry Allen, or The Flash, that will also be joining the schedule in his own show this fall. You can check out the trailer below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj0l7iGKh8g

So these two – who are portrayed brilliantly by Steven Amell and Grant Gustin respectively – will just be joining up with the other heavyweights in that Justice League movie soon enough, no?

I don’t know.

Including Constantine (Far right) a new show coming this fall, just throw in Wonder Woman and you have your Justice League!

As much as I would love to see these two to battle alongside Batman and Wonder Woman, with these two shows slotting right into Warner Bros.’ DC universe, I’m not sure how likely it’ll be. There are rumours that WB has constructed two separate universes – a TV universe and a film universe. This to me would seem rather foolish as – in the case of Arrow – it has an impressive following and we’ll just have to wait until this fall to see if that same success is emulated on The Flash. Or even the upcoming Gotham series which will focus on the origins of the famous characters in the Bat-verse… For all we know that could be connected to the larger DCCU (DC Cinematic Universe). If all goes well, it would be easier for WB to just move Arrow and the Flash to the big screens, adopting the shows’ continuities and characters, only making their franchise and Justice League film more appealing to viewers. Effectively, this’ll be a reverse of what Marvel achieved with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The biggest movie of the year (...So far)

Without trying to drag on too much about comic book movies, it’s hard not to mention the X-Men films or the Amazing Spiderman films that have established – or establishing – their own shared universes. The latest X-Men film Days of Future Past attempted to correct the continuity errors that were seen in the original X-Men trilogy and 2011’s X-Men: First Class and establishing a fully operational shared universe. How successful – Just shy of $100 million in its opening weekend in America successful. A little behind the pack is The Amazing Spiderman franchise, with the latest installment setting up the building blocks of their world to spin-off into a Sinister Six movie and of course more Spiderman films down the line. And who knows by 2030, we might even witness these studios with Marvel properties working together into a crossover film/s. The real Civil War story arc anyone?

Now you’ve probably read enough about all these different shared universes that are trying to aspire to the model that Marvel has now created, but there’s another platform I just want to briefly touch upon, and that’s the world of Gaming. Possibly the most obvious shared universe or platform is the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Each game takes place in a different city with some returning to those same cities, like the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto V; this even dropped in familiar faces from other games in the series. This is obviously easier as they’re still the same property/concept and you can just transfer one to the other. But what about something a little more complex between different properties and interlocking like The Pixar Theory…?

Enter Ubisoft. Ubisoft is a renowned games developer of such franchises as Assassins Creed, Far Cry and the newly released Watch Dogs. However, what could have been seen as just mere Easter eggs in their games, it has come to the attention of the internet and fans of the games that these three properties might be connected into one universe. What’s worth noting is that Ubisoft currently has film adaptations of all three properties in the works, with Assassin's Creed scheduled for a 2015 release date. What would be interesting to see is a form of interconnectivity between these films, these games and their different properties that can co-exist in one universe – this doesn’t require them to crossover characters or story ideas like in the MCU however, as they all work on their own. Still an interesting concept and fun speculation!

"Everything is Connected"? Well lets hope so Ubisoft...

 

And so, to wrap it all up, it’s worth noting that although Marvel has hit gold with their model, other properties may have potentially established their own shared universes in a less obviously successful way. But this does however seem to be the latest craze within our culture and something that looks to be around for a while! Not only that, with the use of the internet, fans of certain films, games and TV shows will continue to connect the dots of certain properties. Like the theory that AMC’s Breaking Bad is essentially a prequel for The Walking Dead series. So if you’re not infected by the ever-mutating Shared Universe Syndrome then you’ll need to get out now!

That's it for today! Thanks for getting to the end. Let me know what you think about shared universes and your favourites. Look for me on Twitter @Miarls for more up-to-date goings on.