Shared universe
A shared universe or shared world is a
The term shared universe is also used within comics to reflect the overall milieu created by the comic book publisher in which characters, events, and premises from one product line appear in other product lines in a media franchise. A specific kind of shared universe that is published across a variety of media (such as novels and films), each of them contributing to the growth, history, and status of the setting is called an "imaginary entertainment environment."[2]
The term has also been used in a wider, non-literary sense to convey
Definitions
Fiction in some
It can become difficult for writers contributing to a shared universe to maintain consistency and avoid contradicting details in earlier works, especially when a shared universe grows to be very large. The version deemed "official" by the author or company controlling the setting is known as
Some writers, in an effort to ensure that a canon can be established and to keep details of the setting believable, employ tools to correct contradictions and errors that result from multiple contributors working over a long period of time. One such tool is
Readers may also object when a story or series is integrated into a shared universe, feeling it "requir[es] one hero's fans to buy other heroes' titles".[11]
Markstein's criteria
Comics historian
- If characters A and B have met, then they are in the same universe; if characters B and C have met, then, transitively, A and C are in the same universe.
- Characters cannot be connected by real people — otherwise, it could be argued that Superman and the Fantastic Four were in the same universe, as Superman met John F. Kennedy, Kennedy met Neil Armstrong, and Armstrong met the Fantastic Four.
- Characters cannot be connected by characters "that do not originate with the publisher" — otherwise it could be argued that Superman and the Fantastic Four were in the same universe, as both met Hercules.
- Specific fictionalized versions of real people — for instance, the version of The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, who was distinct from the real Jerry Lewis in that he had a housekeeper with magical powers — can be used as connections; this also applies to specific versions of public-domain fictional characters, such as Marvel Comics' version of Hercules or DC Comics' version of Robin Hood.
- Characters are only considered to have met if they appeared together on-panel in a story.
Originating in print publications
Originating in novels
The expansion of existing material into a shared universe is not restricted to settings licensed from movies and television. For example,
A setting may also be expanded in a similar manner after the death of its creator, although this posthumous expansion does not meet some strict definitions of a shared universe. One such example is
Many other published works of this nature take the form of a series of short-story
Originating in comics/based upon comics
Within comics, the term shared universe has been used to reflect the overall milieu created by the comic book publisher in which characters, events, and premises from one product line appear in other product lines in a media franchise.
By 1961,
Although DC and Marvel's shared universe approaches to comics have set them apart from competitors in the industry,
Universes in films and television
Universes in films (or television) mostly consist of a franchise featuring an umbrella of multiple franchises (film or television) set within the same continuity, each franchise within telling its own stand-alone story focusing on a different character (or group of characters), as well as featuring its own cast, directors, and writers, while also being a part of a coherent, non-contradictory continuity shared with the other works. Fictional universes with major presence in films are referred to as cinematic universes, while fictional universes with major presence in television are referred to as television universes. Universes with major presence in both films and television are also generally called cinematic universes. Some film and television universes are accompanied by video games, and print works such as novels or comics, telling additional canonical stories set within the same continuity.
Universes in films
Some universes in film have originated as film adaptations of novels, such as the
The
The Star Wars film series was created by George Lucas, produced by his self-funded production company Lucasfilm. It originated with the film Star Wars (1977), followed by two sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983); together, those three films are known as the original trilogy and focuses on Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia. The prequel trilogy composed of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) expanded the series into a Saga, and focused on Luke Skywalker's father Anakin Skywalker, new cast members portrayed younger versions of characters from the original trilogy, while other actors returned to their original trilogy roles.
On television, the lore was expanded through animation, the animated film titled Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) served as the pilot of an animated series of the same name (2008–2014, 2020). Lucas was deeply creatively involved in the previously mentioned works, but he ceased creative involvement with the Star Wars franchise in 2014. Lucasfilm announced that from April 2014, only such previously mentioned works would be considered canonical, along with all of the fictional works released after such date. The animated series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), was the first work released after. A sequel trilogy formed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) featured many returning cast members along with newcomers. The films’ main saga is conformed of the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies. A concurrent spin-off film series, known as the anthology films, expands the stories of plot points and characters from the main series.
Additionally the Star Wars series expanded into video games, comics, novels, short stories, animated series, and RPG adventures, telling original stories based on the franchise, classifying it as an imaginary entertainment environment,
As for comic book-based films, there are two cinematic universes based on Marvel Comics characters, both set within a different continuity. The X-Men film series, which originated in 2000, was the longest-running superhero film franchise to be set within the same continuity. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has the most films, as well as multiple TV shows and a separate run of tie-in comics that co-exist and share the same continuity, making the MCU an imaginary entertainment environment. The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is a movie franchise that encompasses different movie series based on the DC Comics characters, all of them sharing a continuity, while the Vought Cinematic Universe (VCU) is a television franchise that encompasses different television series based on the DC Comics/Dynamite Entertainment characters.[31][32]
Writer/director Kevin Smith created a fictional universe used in several of his films, as well as comics and a television series: the View Askewniverse,[33] which is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent Bob (played by Smith) appear in almost all the View Askewniverse media, and characters from one story often reappear or are referred to in others. Recurring characters, settings, and motifs of the View Askewniverse first appeared in Smith's debut film, Clerks, in 1994.
A cinematic universe consisting of films whose titles are the names of songs by
Universes in television
This refers to universes that are based on television shows without any films. Television series may lead to a spin-off series set in the same universe, often focusing on a single character from the original. The American sitcom Cheers led to two spin-off series, Frasier and The Tortellis.
An example of shared universes among television shows is the Tommy Westphall Universe Hypothesis, which suggests that hundreds of American television series take place in the same universe. It builds from the assumption that when an actor playing a character from one series guest-stars in a second series, in character, both of those series must take place in the same universe. The theory takes its name from a character in the final episode of St. Elsewhere, where the common interpretation of the events of that finale is that the entire St. Elsewhere universe – including all connected series – exist only within Westphall's imagination.[37]
The
Television network
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has had multiple interconnected universes through shows produced by Marvel Television, such as Marvel's ABC television series, Marvel's Netflix television series, Marvel's young adult television series, and the planned Adventure into Fear franchise.[44][45][46] After Marvel Television was folded into Marvel Studios in December 2019, streaming television shows set in the MCU were developed for Disney+, beginning with WandaVision (2021).[47]
The concept of "universes" has also occasionally been discussed in the context of
Universes in animated films and animated series
The Mickey Mouse universe dates back to the 1930s when the animated cartoon was expanded into a newspaper strip. Although the characters occasionally portray other roles and with other names, the writers address this discrepancy by thinking of the characters as being "employed" by Disney as actors. Walt Disney, when asked whether or not Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse were married, replied that the mice were indeed married in their "private life", but that they sometimes appeared as boyfriend and girlfriend for "screen purposes."[52] The Mickey Mouse universe also includes the Donald Duck universe as a subset.
The Pixar universe is an elaborate
Originating in video games and the internet
The influence of the
Other media
The 2000 musical Seussical presented several works of Dr. Seuss as taking place in the same fictional world.
Hasbro toy products including G.I. Joe and Transformers are considered by their manufacturer to exist fictionally within the Hasbro Universe. Related shared universes include the Hasbro Comic Book Universe by IDW Publishing and the Energon Universe by Skybound Entertainment.
In the music industry, all kinds of works by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, such as her songs, albums, music videos, films, tours, promotional activities, as well as the narratives surrounding her, have been collectively referred to as a musical or cinematic universe by several journalists and media outlets.[58][59][60]
See also
- Expanded universe
- Fictional crossover
- Intercompany crossover
- Fictional universe
- Literary cycle
- Media franchise
- Setting (narrative)
- Spin-off and sister show
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Literature
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