Non-Marvel/DC Cinematic Superhero Universes

Landshark

There's plenty of discussion about variations on the Marvel CU or on DC creating a successful counterpart for it's properties but what if another studio decided it wanted to get in on the act and create a multi-film superhero media franchise with a clear plan spread over several years? However instead of licencing properties from an existing comic publisher they decide to create a completely original universe that customers can get into without having any previous knowledge of characters and continuity. Perhaps the studio decides to create it's own little mini-production company as a semi-independent unit, kind of like Touchstone used to be Disney's adult film arm.

The two companies that immediately come to my mind are DreamWorks and Pixar, with the latter creating a separate animation unit for this purpose.
 
Jape

Jape

Its kind of the appeal to studios of the superhero boom: ready made characters and stories to pull from.

Pixar could have expanded on the Incredibles to make series of films. Given the current film climate they could be a decent earner both as kids films and send-ups/satires on superhero films.
 

SunDeep

Banned
Well, if you want to stick a finger up to DC and Marvel's family-friendly franchises with an R-rated satire, Garth Ennis' creator owned The Boys might be fun. Sounds like the kind of project that Zach Snyder would love to get involved in... :D
 

Landshark

MattII said:
As source universes, Image and Darkhorse come to mind.
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As I said, a completely original universe. One they create from scratch by putting together their own creative team.

Jape said:
Its kind of the appeal to studios of the superhero boom: ready made characters and stories to pull from.

Pixar could have expanded on the Incredibles to make series of films. Given the current film climate they could be a decent earner both as kids films and send-ups/satires on superhero films.
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True, which is why it's at best very, very unlikely to actually happen. However studios have built successful franchises based on original characters, Star Wars and Indiana Jones come to mind. The idea here is that they have a masterplan, several different characters spread over several films within a common continuity.
 
Heavy

Heavy

Banned
Any one of the original Image properties (Cyber-Force, Youngblood, Wetworks, WildC.A.T.S. etc) could probably form the basis of a cinematic superhero universe, because they were all basically X-Men rip-offs anyway.

As far as current examples go, Robert Kirkman's Invincible universe is probably your best bet.
 

Landshark

Landshark said:
However instead of licencing properties from an existing comic publisher they decide to create a completely original universe that customers can get into without having any previous knowledge of characters and continuity.
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What part of completely original universe are people failing to understand?
 

Landshark

SunDeep said:
Well, then it's pretty hard to speculate on a franchise which by definition can't exist in any shape or form yet, isn't it?
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It's an alternative history site. I've seen stuff where people can speculate on the politics of North America in 2014 in threads where the POD is a longer lasting Sumerian civilisation.
 

phx1138

Landshark said:
There's plenty of discussion about variations on the Marvel CU or on DC creating a successful counterpart for it's properties but what if another studio decided it wanted to get in on the act and create a multi-film superhero media franchise with a clear plan spread over several years? However instead of licencing properties from an existing comic publisher they decide to create a completely original universe that customers can get into without having any previous knowledge of characters and continuity.
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Except, it's the previous knowledge that makes the superhero films work, isn't it? Just like the "ST" franchise: if you don't have a built-in fan base to begin with, you're gambling (& gambling big, as much as these are liable to cost:eek:) on getting an audience. Which may explain why "The Indredibles" was a one-shot.

Even with a built-in audience, frachise or universe films can bomb. How many Captain America films were there before one became a hit? Four? This isn't a recipe for keeping your job as a studio suit.:rolleyes:
 

Landshark

Saphroneth said:
Really? That sounds interesting, actually. Where?
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That was more a general metaphor for the number of threads that start with POD's in the Ancient World and go on to have detailed histories that run through to the present day than a specific example.

Though there's probably a thread on that subject in Pre-1900.
 

Dave Howery

Megamind, the Incredibles, Unbreakable, Hancock... were any of these 'completely original', or were they based on existing comics/novels?
 
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