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Before we get into it, I need to make it clear that I am not the sequel police, nor can I dictate if/when part 4 of a movie is warranted. It’s more of a feeling that I get.
For example:
Now You See Me 3 – Yes
Fast and Furious 11 – No
Shrek 5 – No (4 was literally called Forever After, let’s be real)
Spiderman: Brand New Day – Yes, a necessity
Focker in Law – Yes
Karate Kid: Legends – No
Frozen III – No
Being in a film industry that values tried and tested IP rather than original content, it’s getting to the point where no film story is truly over. Many directors have an aim to create a universe, a land flowing with milk, honey, merch, spinoffs, money and more money. Disney CEO Bob Iger defines franchising as “something that creates value across multiple businesses and…territories over a long period of time”. The transmedia nature of franchises allow for fans to form cultures around characters by cosplaying them, couple shipping them, playing with them as toys etc. The concept of a franchise or a cinematic universe has divided many, with Scorsese calling Marvel “amusement park films” and others being so devoted to their franchise that they will watch whatever is given to them. But with a never ending universe and several offshoots, is there an end?
Jennifer Lawrence Didn’t Get an Oscar for Mystique
Martin Scorsese rose as a major player in the New Hollywood era (1960s-1980s) where the themes were more pessimistic, gritty and character driven. While he doesn’t necessarily think Marvel movies are bad, he says that they “lack mystery, revelation and genuine emotional anger. Nothing is at risk.” He says they are not cinema. Despite this, the Marvel Universe and other franchises take up our cinema screens, with the 49 of 50 of the highest grossing films ever are either sequels, remakes or part of an established universe. For now, ‘Titanic’ is the only standalone movie on the list. (Even though ‘Barbie’ is on the list too, it is a product of a 60+ year strong franchise so I can’t count it sorry). Obviously, you would say:
“Of course, if it’s good, they’re gonna make more of it!”
But in the spirit of cinema and creativity, I think it is only right for fresh ideas to get better chances at the box office, but this is difficult because they are crowded out by the familiar franchise. Now I am not saying that non-franchise films don’t get attention – because they do! Franchises are rarely recognised at big award shows like the Oscars, creating 2 camps of box office vs award winning. If you look at the list of ‘Best Picture’ winners, they are mostly original ‘one and done’ movies even though franchises are some of the biggest grossing films in history. Of all of the ‘Best Pictures’, how many of those you have watched, or how many of those even got 25% of the same revenue as a franchise film of that year? Have you watched ‘Argo’? Only 10 sequels have been Best Picture nominated, and 2 of those sequels were part II and III of ‘The Godfather’. Largely regarded as ‘popcorn movies’ – entertaining but not intellectually stimulating – franchises create a massive divide between prestige and box office success. The Academy Awards themselves are troublesome but I have written about that already.
Serial Offenders
I’m not against franchises at all, but I find them an interesting phenomenon because there seems to be no end in sight. They have a lack of prestigious recognition, but are fuelled by revenue and fan support and they just keep getting bigger and bigger. Franchises loosely started as film serials, where one movie story was released in several parts in the cinemas, encouraging audiences to come back for the full plot. Even in the early 1900s, film serials sold sheet music as merch. Universal Studios had a custom of using scrolling text in the silent era to summarise the previous film episode before the next one was watched, which inspired George Lucas to do the same with ‘Star Wars’ – one of the biggest franchises ever. Film serials took comic book heroes, literature protagonists and radio stars to form the structure of good vs evil that encapsulates a lot of the movie franchises today. There was already a known power in branding in the 1920s that translates even 100 years later. Since then, the franchise has grown, with many stating ‘Star Wars’ as the catalyst for the more modern franchise that we see now.
Point Me to the End of the Universe
Movies transformed into worlds and universes where people watch to spot connections, Easter Eggs and character progression. We have a Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Wizarding World, DCU, Bondverse and even director’s connecting their films like The Cornetto Trilogy or Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse. They stand the test of time because there is familiarity with variation. Maybe slightly different stories, directors and settings, but the familiar characters and style keep the audience engaged for generations. Between movies, fans can go to Comic-Con, play video games, buy new merch, watch the sequel/prequel show/spinoffs about minor characters. Especially if you love the franchise during childhood, you could even create a paracosm.
Paracosm: a detailed imaginary world with its own language, lore, logic and history, like the characters exist beyond the cameras rolling.
Some of you can describe to me what Shrek is doing in Far Far Away right now because that’s how locked in you are. A franchise goes beyond linear development. You can do a prequel after 4 sequels and create a TV series about the prequel protagonist’s grandma and people will even thank you for it and design grandma’s cottage in their minds before the show’s premiere.
Sometimes, sequels feel like a money grab which can make them seem easy. But there is a different type of pressure – each upcoming instalment holds the responsibility of the franchise on its shoulders. The longer the franchise goes, the more intricate the story and it can be confusing, messy or stray too far from the original, and the fans will happily tell you that they hate it *cough* ‘JOKER 2’ *cough*. So when is enough, enough?
That’s why I find it so refreshing when an original film comes out. When a Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Jordan Peele, or Bong Joon Ho movie premieres, it’s an event! So are franchises just a filler, waiting for originals to be released, or is it the other way around? It’s not my place to say! I just write then run away!
Anyway, I’ll see you in 2028 when the Donkey movie comes out.
