Ever since Marvel showed that audiences will buy in to Expanded Universes, movie studios have been rushing to cash in, and in 2016 we finally saw it happen.
We got not one, but two DC movies in the same universe (Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad), and while they were critical failures, they still brought in a combined $1.5 Billion. Warner Brothers was also able to kick start the Harry Potter Universe films by successfully opening Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It may not have been as big as they were hoping for, but it will bring in north of $750 Million off of a $180 Million budget, and that is a return on investment studio heads will make every day of the week.
Meanwhile we are in the middle of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘s run, and it has already cashed in almost $400 Million, so it should get to about $1 Billion. Not bad for a movie that isn’t about a Skywalker. Sure there is one in it, but this is not Darth Vader’s story. Between the Marvel Universe and the Star Wars Universe, Disney may not be the House of Mouse anymore, but the Universe of Movie Universes.
After 2016 I am pretty sure every blockbuster being made will somehow link to another movie in some way. The links may be small like Fantastic Beasts, the fictional writer of one of Harry’s text books, or more substantial like Rogue One, the events leading directly in to A New Hope, but they will be there. I can’t wait for the Jurassic World Raptor Team solo film. I am sure it will be filled with intrigue. In all seriousness though I hope the Expanded Universe films they are making are at least in a universe worth exploring. The Hasbro Expanded Universe they are working on sounds like nightmare fuel, but hey at least we are getting that M.A.S.K movie! (said no one ever)