What is the Cinematic Universe: Today the world of films is not limited to the story of just one film. Now makers all over the world are making such films in which different characters have their own separate stories. However, they are all part of the same world. This method is called 'Cinematic Universe'. Hollywood's Marvel and CD Studios made it popular worldwide, but now many such films are being made in Indian cinema too. You might have noticed that a character from one film suddenly appears in another film, and sometimes heroes from two different films are seen fighting the enemy together. This connection increases interest among people. But it would not be correct to consider 'Cinematic Universe' as merely the interconnectedness of films. There is also long planning of story, characters, timeline and business behind this. Let us know about this in detail.
After all, what does 'Cinematic Universe' mean?
If we understand in simple language, 'Cinematic Universe' is a world of films, where the stories of many different characters play out. But they take place in the same fictional world. Each film may have its own main character and its own battles, but characters, battles or places from other films may also appear in it. For example, in one film the story of a police officer may be shown and in another film the story of another police officer may be shown. The struggle and story of both may be different. But if they exist in the same city, timeline and story world and later on both are seen together, then it can be considered a part of the 'Cinematic Universe'. Crossover happens in many Hollywood films. That means characters from different films come together in one film. The biggest thing is the coming together of characters like Iron Man, Thor and Captain America in Marvel.
What is the difference between sequel, franchise and cinematic universe?
These three words are often considered the same, whereas the difference between them is quite clear.
Category- Easy Meaning – Example
Sequel-Continuing the story of the first film, Bahubali and Bahubali 2
Franchise- Making several films under one name or series- Dhoom, Golmaal
Cinematic Universe- Joining characters and stories of different films in one world- Marvel, YRF Spy Universe
For example, if the same hero in the first part of a film takes the story forward in the second part, then it is a sequel. If many films are made under one name, but if the story of each film is different, then it can be a franchise. In the cinematic universe, the matter goes beyond this because characters and stories from different films are interconnected.
When and how did the 'Cinematic Universe' begin?
The idea of making a 'Cinematic Universe' film is not entirely new. In the 1930s and 1940s in Hollywood, Universal Pictures featured horror characters like Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man in different films. Later these characters were also brought together in the same film. However, in today's times, the biggest credit for making the 'Cinematic Universe' popular goes to Marvel Studios. The foundation of 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' i.e. MCU was laid with Iron Man, released in 2008. In the short post-credit scene shown at the end of the film, Nick Fury talked about the Avengers Initiative. At that time perhaps people had no idea that this small scene would change the entire world of films in the coming years. After this, films of different superheroes kept getting released and gradually their stories started getting connected with each other. Eventually these characters started appearing together in big films.
'Cinematic Universe' grew rapidly in India too
Even in India, makers are making 'Cinematic Universe' films. Names like Rohit Shetty Cop Universe, YRF Spy Universe and Maddock Horror-Comedy Universe are very popular in Bollywood. Rohit Shetty's Cop Universe started in 2011 with Ajay Devgan's film Singham, followed by Singham Returns. Then in Ranveer Singh's Simmba, a new character of a police officer was introduced. At the end of Simmba, a glimpse of Akshay Kumar's Suryavanshi character was shown. After which Singham, Simmba and Sooryavanshi were seen together in Suryavanshi. That means people get a chance to see three police officers from three different films in one film.
'Cinematic Universe' of YRF Spy Universe
Yash Raj Films created a spy universe by combining spy films. It started with Ek Tha Tiger. After this, films like Tiger Zinda Hai, War and Pathan took this universe forward. Salman Khan's Tiger cameo in Pathan was much discussed among the audience. This made it clear that the world of Pathan and Tiger is the same. Hrithik Roshan's Kabir is also a part of this world. The most important thing here is that people are not just watching one star's film, but they are also excited to know which spy will be seen in the next film.
Maddock Horror-Comedy Universe
Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films created a different kind of universe by combining horror-comedy films. It started in the year 2018 with the film Stree. After this, films like Roohi, Bhediya, Munjya and Stree 2 expanded this universe. In Bhediya, the characters related to the woman's world hinted to the audience that both the stories belong to the same universe. Apart from this, 'Cinematic Universe' is seen in South films. Director Lokesh Kanagaraj created Lokesh Cinematic Universe i.e. LCU in Tamil cinema. It started with Kaithi. After this, the connection between the two worlds was shown in the film Vikram. Then the famous Rolex characters of Leo and Surya took this universe forward.
Is every connected film a 'cinematic universe'?
No. Just because a character from another film has a cameo in a film, it cannot be considered a 'Cinematic Universe'. For this, it is important to have a clear world, story or timeline between the films. If an actor just makes a cameo in another film, then he cannot be directly linked to the 'Cinematic Universe'. In the real 'Cinematic Universe', connection is very important for the further story.
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