Did You Forget About These Cinematic Universes (That Aren’t Marvel or DC)?
How do you feel about cinematic universes? Do you find it annoying that if you want to see the latest multiplex offering, you have to have seen eighteen movies before? Or do you find it rewarding? A natural evolution for film storytelling?
If you’re in the latter camp, you owe it to yourself to check out the best cinematic universes that don’t have an M or DC before them. And even if you’re in the former camp, well, maybe these film universes will change your mind.
Find yourself a comfy seat and maybe get a whiteboard to keep track of your continuities. It’s time to deep dive into some CU’s.
The View Askewniverse
From Quick Stop to Quick Stop, filmmaker and storyteller Kevin Smith packed his View Askewniverse with lovable slackers just trying to get by.
Even when one of these works differs in tone, like the violent religious musing Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob are still there to smoke a J and deliver the point of the movie in a late act 2 monologue. Snoogans.
The Medfield-iverse
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If you’ve ever watched a movie about a wacky scientist, from Flubber to its predecessor The Absent-Minded Professor, chances are said wacky scientist attended Medfield College. The fictional university has appeared in eight Disney films, putting all of these films in the same universe. If we were in charge of university funding, we’d have some words to Medfield’s dean.
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes? Those funds were allocated for cafeteria renovations!
The Tohoverse
How many monsters has Godzilla fought in its lifetime? From Ghidorah to Mothra to even King Kong, Japanese studio Toho has used their versatile giant-lizard-cum-nuclear-war-allegory to craft a long-spanning, complicated cinematic universe.
All these films’ tones are interestingly varied, from animated sci-fi cyberpunk, to muted bureaucratic satire. There are currently 31 films in the Tohoverse, and they show no signs of stopping.
The Landis-verse
In Trading Places, the classic John Landis/Eddie Murphy ’80s comedy, the mega-rich Duke Brothers get their just desserts, losing their fortune on the stock floor.
In Coming To America, the classic John Landis/Eddie Murphy ’80s comedy, we see the Dukes again, as homeless men whom Prince Akeem takes pity on.
This crossover, combined with Landis’ penchant for “See You Next Wednesday” posters, means there is definitively a Landis-verse.