Little C: Universes Are Made for Sharing
The news came down the wire today that Universal is abandoning the concept of a shared universe for their monster movies. They had big plans for the "Universal Dark" movies but we all had some big doubts from the minute that Tom Cruise marched his non-Rick O'Connell self into the picture. This is not the only shared universe that hasn't quite worked out. From the minute Marvel hit the scene every big player has been chomping at the bit trying to figure out how to tie all of their big properties together. Sometimes it works out, like the DC TV 'verse. Sometimes it's a little shakey like the DC movie 'verse. I'm starting to think that the executives in charge don't understand what it is that makes a shared universe work. So let's start them off with some ground rules.
1) You have to introduce characters slowly. And give us time and reasons to care about them.
This is a big one that for whatever reason lots of people seem to miss. In order for the audience to get on board with a universe that has dozens of moving parts we need to remember and care about each character. One of my big issues with shared universes is that they want to jump in to The Avengers stage where seven different heroes come together. But that movie was four years and five movies after the Marvel world started construction. Take it from someone who took a friend who had never seen a Marvel movie to see Captain America: Civil War... the build up is completely necessary. I spent most of the movie alternating between trying to explain who everyone was and what they were doing and just telling her to "look at the pretty Chris." So for those trying to start a shared 'verse, start with one character. Iron Man, Oliver Queen, whoever. Introduce us to one character and then pull other people in to that story.
2) Give your universe clear rules. Then follow the rules.
Boy howdy does this one piss CT and I off. When a shared universe is set in a world that doesn't follow it's own rules we are reduced to raging messes before cutting the show/movie from our lives forever. Looking straight at you Once Upon a Time. Shame on you. You know what you did. Or maybe you don't but that's why your spin-off was unwatchable! If you set up that magic or aliens exist in one part of your world, you have to acknowledge it everywhere. Oliver Queen isn't constantly dealing with the weird super-human bad guys from the Flash or the aliens from Supergirl but he knows that they are out there and the show has dealt with their existence. For the worlds to all feel cohesive you have to tell the story across an even plane.
3) Have a plan. It can change and evolve but have a plan
Universal's Dark plan was riddled with problems from the start. Not the least of which was that they wanted to have a shared universe where each movie took place in a different time period. The final straw in cancelling the universe may have been that the producers in charge left, but most people who have been following the planned films were confused by how the movies would interconnect. There was no clear plan. Ditto to the film side of the DC 'verse. It became clear with Suicide Squad that DC is basically throwing everything they can against the wall to see what sticks. There's not a cohesive plan in place. Marvel changes their plan, taking Inhumans from movie to TV show, expanding a Netflix side of their world. Their plan changes as different characters succeed or fail in a property but by god they always have a clear vision for how they want their world to operate. Same goes for the DC TV shows. They all have their own plan for their seasons but they allow for a variety of meet ups that become events that the fans can look forward to.
Some good guidelines that should also be mentioned: listen to your fans complaints, hire actors with talent, hire writers with talent and a clear vision, don't keep characters around that suck. Oh and it should go without saying but for the love of god, include some damn diversity in your worlds. It's 2017 for Pete's sake.
Happy world building,
Little C
1) You have to introduce characters slowly. And give us time and reasons to care about them.
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This is a big one that for whatever reason lots of people seem to miss. In order for the audience to get on board with a universe that has dozens of moving parts we need to remember and care about each character. One of my big issues with shared universes is that they want to jump in to The Avengers stage where seven different heroes come together. But that movie was four years and five movies after the Marvel world started construction. Take it from someone who took a friend who had never seen a Marvel movie to see Captain America: Civil War... the build up is completely necessary. I spent most of the movie alternating between trying to explain who everyone was and what they were doing and just telling her to "look at the pretty Chris." So for those trying to start a shared 'verse, start with one character. Iron Man, Oliver Queen, whoever. Introduce us to one character and then pull other people in to that story.
2) Give your universe clear rules. Then follow the rules.
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| source What a shit show. In all meanings of the phrase |
3) Have a plan. It can change and evolve but have a plan
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| source |
Universal's Dark plan was riddled with problems from the start. Not the least of which was that they wanted to have a shared universe where each movie took place in a different time period. The final straw in cancelling the universe may have been that the producers in charge left, but most people who have been following the planned films were confused by how the movies would interconnect. There was no clear plan. Ditto to the film side of the DC 'verse. It became clear with Suicide Squad that DC is basically throwing everything they can against the wall to see what sticks. There's not a cohesive plan in place. Marvel changes their plan, taking Inhumans from movie to TV show, expanding a Netflix side of their world. Their plan changes as different characters succeed or fail in a property but by god they always have a clear vision for how they want their world to operate. Same goes for the DC TV shows. They all have their own plan for their seasons but they allow for a variety of meet ups that become events that the fans can look forward to.
Some good guidelines that should also be mentioned: listen to your fans complaints, hire actors with talent, hire writers with talent and a clear vision, don't keep characters around that suck. Oh and it should go without saying but for the love of god, include some damn diversity in your worlds. It's 2017 for Pete's sake.
Happy world building,
Little C
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