Credit: MCU
Arguing against a franchise or a cinematic universe in this day and age feels like it’s going to be regarded with a great deal of scorn and ridicule, and that’s not too far off the mark since a lot of people happen to love the cinematic universes that have been built up over the years. Some aren’t too fond of them and think that they create an unfair advantage for certain movies since they create a base from which many different stories can emerge, while effectively cutting off the chance that other movies might be able to shine. If you laughed at that notion then don’t feel bad, a lot of us have done the same thing since the irrational fear that a cinematic universe might kill off any interest that movie fans have for other movies and genres, especially since the freedom within Hollywood to come up with new ideas that aren’t associated with a much larger franchise has been and still is one of the founding principles of filmmaking. Creating new ideas is a hallmark of storytelling after all, just as retelling old tales is. Still, one major issue with the cinematic universes that have been attempted or created is that they do end up becoming exclusive groupings of movies that begin to feel stale after a while. They’re also one of the reasons that some folks apparently forgot that the box office isn’t the greatest measure of how good a movie really is.
Credit: Justice League
Of course, fans are going to want to witness the rise and continuation of a cinematic universe.
No matter what anyone says, comic books and various other stories that we enjoyed when we were younger are still going to captivate many people since the flash and the pomp are enough to get anyone to buy a ticket and see what all the hype is about. Some folks might not be as impressed and could take to waiting until the movie comes out at a later date on streaming or on DVD, but it’s often seen that once a movie is in the theaters, a lot of people are going to rush to get their seat for one or multiple showings since the experience is often better when seen on the big screen. It’s true that something is taken away when watching a movie on a smaller screen, but what tends to happen is that box office numbers will be inflated to such a degree that success will be claimed even if the movie is a general dud.
Sadly, not all of them have managed to flourish as others have.
At the moment, the cinematic universe that is doing the best is, without any doubt, the MCU, since Marvel took a chance on a character and an actor that were both fairly obscure at that time in the world of superhero movies, and they hit a home run that’s been working for them ever since. The DCEU, which has been ready but not always capable of contending with the numbers that the MCU has put up, has faltered just as much as it’s succeeded since it relies heavily on a fanbase that includes those who were young when the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman were still novel ideas that hadn’t yet gained the kind of attention that would escalate them to the movie screen. As for other universes, such as the still-floundering Dark Universe, things haven’t been going that well, and it’s fair to think that if it’s ever going to start, it will need a serious overhaul when it comes to its storytelling.
Credit: The Mummy
There’s still talk of bringing more cinematic universes to life as the years continue to roll by.
There’s no doubt that following the Godzilla vs. Kong movie people were talking about the Monsterverse, and it would appear that the hellish anti-hero of Image comics, Spawn, is destined to get his own universe if his creator has anything to say about it. But one has to wonder just how many universes are really needed to keep people happy when it comes to the movies. The argument could be that crossovers might happen from time to time and that everything does technically belong to its own universe anyway. But does it really need to be categorized in such a fashion?
Thinking that every movie should belong to, or be able to create, its own universe tends to compartmentalize storytelling in a very disturbing fashion.
Soon enough it does feel as though every movie might be stated as belonging to one universe or another, which isn’t bad all on its own but does feel a bit limiting when it comes to the art of storytelling. The trick to making a great story, which comes before a movie, like it or not, is that it can escape the boundaries that are set upon it, if necessary. With a cinematic universe for every movie, the walls might start closing in at some point.
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