Last month, Marvel and Disney co-released the film, Avengers: Age of Ultron. In just three short weeks, it has grossed over a billion dollars in ticket revenue. That’s a significant chunk of change, and other film studios are definitely taking notice. Since Disney acquired Marvel back in 2009, the two have produced twelve major blockbusters, including the new Age of Ultron, that together have managed to rake in a total of close to $8 billion. Let that sink in for a minute… $8 billion over the course of six years. And Disney’s not stopping there; they see the same potential for Lucasarts and the Star Wars franchise, starting with Star Wars Episode VII, which is almost guaranteed enormous success due to the immense popularity of the Star Wars brand.
Seeing this success, studios like Universal, Warner Bros., Fox, and Sony are looking to get their own cinematic universes off the ground. Fox has a head start with its revived X-Men series and is hoping to strike it big with their reboot of the Fantastic Four. Warner Bros, Sony, and Universal, on the other hand, are laying the foundation for cinematic universes using properties like DC Comics (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.), Ghostbusters, and Jurassic Park, respectively. Each studio is planning film releases for the next four to five years. In fact, Warner Bros. has already planned to release ten movies based on the stories of DC Comics between now and 2020, in the hopes that they can catch up to Marvel.
While it’s exciting that many of our favorite characters and brands are making comebacks, it begs the question: do these films foster creativity in filmmaking? Some would say “no.” One of the major complaints that film critics had about Age of Ultron was the fact that, while it had its strong moments, the film might not stand on its own without the franchise. They point out that most of the movie sets up large plot points for all of the forthcoming sequels. With much of the film filling this role or presenting standard action sequences, there was very little time left for character and plot development – two significant components for making a great movie.
Philosophically, there is also the recurring criticism that all of these sequels and spin-offs are creating laziness within the film industry. Why spend the effort to develop an original premise when you can just make billions by recycling the Captain America story and characters? The fact is that the bulk of movies being released today are sequels and spin-offs, or reboots of older films.
Only time will tell if audiences have a long-term appetite for Hollywood’s retooling and retelling of nostalgic cinematic stories. If Disney’s bank account is any indication, they do for now.