Movie Shared Universes that Worked!

Not All Movie Shared Universes Are Great, but these Ones Are!

Nothing get’s fans more excited than big screen shared universes. Movies that expand on characters and mythos from fictional worlds are not only fun, but they make a ton of money at the box office. Of course, you can’t have a shared universe without a franchise, but there’s a major difference between the two. Franchises usually follow a specific set of characters in a number of sequels expanding upon their adventures or simply follow a long term adventure from start to finish (such as Lord of the Rings). Shared universes though will often veer off to follow fan-favorite characters or look deep into new and exciting aspects from the mythology within that cinematic universe. Not many great movie shared universes exist out there, but the ones that do often dominate the theaters when new installments hit. So, it seemed appropriate to take a look at the few shared universes out there that actually worked and what makes them so good.

View Askewniverse

While it might not be the most popular, the View Askewniverse is probably one of the best-done shared universes out there. Kevin Smith birthed it with his first film, Clerks, that followed a day in the life of weirdo blue-collar workers in New Jersey. It also introduced us to Jay and Silent Bob (played by Jason Mewes and Smith respectively), two characters that have managed to tie together most of the films that came after. It’s one of the craziest shared universes out there featuring angels, comic book heroes, and plenty of slackers just trying to get by. Despite how “small” it might be, the View Askewniverse has featured some incredible talent over the years including the likes of Rosario Dawson, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon. The whole thing is headed for a reboot though and I’m hoping this leads to a ton more adventures in this shared universe. Even if it doesn’t, the fact that this entire universe is because of one man is pretty insane.

The Conjuring Universe

AKA The Conjurverse

The horror genre is no stranger to film franchises and features some of the longest running out there. However, shared universes don’t really exist out there. Sure, there have been a few cross overs like Alien vs Predator and Freddy vs Jason. These are usually one-off adventures that don’t really lead to much more than simple fan service. However, James Wan has changed all that with his relatively new Conjuring Universe. It started all started with the titular Conjuring films based on the adventures of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. However, it soon branched off to examine the origins of the terrifying demonic doll Annabelle (which is set to become a full-blown trilogy), and now includes The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona. This shared universe has really taken off over the past few years and doesn’t show any sign of slowing down, which is great since most of the movies are actually pretty scary so far.  

Star Wars

Originally Star Wars was pretty much focused on the misadventures of the Skywalker family over the course of three generations (Anakin, Luke and Leia, and Kylo). Recently they branched out into a full-blown shared universe with Rogue One and Solo. Rogue One followed a scrappy group of rebels that managed to steal the plans for the Death Star and completing their mission just moments before A New Hope begins. It’s easily one of the best spin-off movies ever made and my personal favorite of the Star Wars films. Solo, on the other hand, is an origin story for everyone’s favorite space scoundrel, Han Solo. As much as fans enjoyed Star Wars finally expanding on the universe it takes place in, it looks like we’re going to be waiting a while to see more in theaters. Still, this has the potential to be the biggest shared universe out there.

The Wizarding World

I’m still amazed at how incredibly popular Harry Potter has been. The eight-film franchise recently expanded to include a prequel series focused on the misadventures of Wizard zoologist, Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne), who existed years before baby Harry threw down with He Who Shall Not Be Named. The Fantastic Beast films have had trouble living up to the Harry Potter franchise as far as quality is concerned, but they’ve potentially opened a door to examine the entire Wizarding World on the big screen. As of right now, there aren’t any announcements about new franchises joining this shared universe, but given the box office returns on past movies in the series, it’s probably only a matter of time. Outside theaters, The Wizarding World shared universe has rapidly grown to include books, online gaming, plays, and even theme parks. The possibilities (and profitability) for this shared universe are endless.  

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The biggest shared universe out there is the MCU. In ten short years, it’s spawned over 20 movies (and Disney+ mini-series) featuring the world’s greatest superheroes. As much as fans like to pretend there’s competition between the MCU and the DCEU, it’s a pretty one-sided fistfight (for now). Marvel kicked things off by introducing heroes in their own solo movies and used cameos and recurring characters to tie the films together before finally paying off with The Avengers films. DC might not be in the same league as Marvel with their shared universe, but their recent films (Aquaman and Shazam!) have proven that they’re headed in the right direction. Even still, Marvel has managed to create the ultimate shared universe. It’s even branched off to the small screen with Agents of SHIELD and the ill-fated Netflix series (though they’ve had little effect on the movies).  

There are a few other shared universes out there, but for my money, the ones above are the best of the best out there. However, I want to hear your thoughts. Be sure to leave a comment below letting me know what you think of these picks and if there are any other shared universes, you would have included among them. I’ll be sure to update this article as new shared universes appear in theaters, so check back from time to time to see what new and exciting ones show up.