{"id":98997,"date":"2018-03-01T07:00:24","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=98997"},"modified":"2018-02-28T15:30:46","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T21:30:46","slug":"tie-ins-changing-summer-blockbuster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/tie-ins-changing-summer-blockbuster\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Spin-Offs and Media Tie-Ins Changing The Summer Blockbuster?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hollywood’s biggest franchises are increasingly creating offscreen media tie-ins. These extras can be great, but is this damaging the films themselves?<\/h2>\n

There was a time when a film would end\u00a0as soon the credits rolled. The characters had fulfilled their journey; the plot had come to its conclusion. The end. However, with the increase in studios pushing for franchises that share the “in-film\u00a0universe,” and studios clamoring to produce more films spun from previous hits, we\u2019re seeing an increase in film characters living off the screen\u00a0in short films, novels, and comics. However, more worryingly, we’re also starting to see a shift of important onscreen information offscreen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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What Is Canon?<\/h3>\n

Before we break down how\u00a0content delivery is evolving, we must first understand canon, because when we look at how spin-off media can get misused, we can see how studios are using\u00a0canon\u00a0to\u00a0encourage consumers to purchase tie-in merchandise.<\/p>\n

Canon simply is a term that\u00a0grants official merit from filmmakers or license holders to spin-off property. It\u2019s a term\u00a0you hear a lot in the science fiction and fantasy genres, and it\u2019s no coincidence that we see spin-off and tie-in media predominantly from these genres.<\/p>\n

Nathan Ditum\u00a0at\u00a0Kotaku<\/em> has a lengthy essay on “Why People Get So Worked Up About ‘Canon’<\/a>,” which is a fascinating read in itself, but there\u2019s a key area that Nathan touches upon:<\/p>\n

The reason this is such a compelling thing, despite the surface madness of it, is that love sends us crazy. When we love a world, we want to exist and revel in it. We want it to be\u00a0true<\/em>. And that truth is disrupted by inconsistency and contradiction. We need that integrity \u2014 our belief requires it. Canon is about neatness, and appreciation, and the urge to know and absorb everything about something you love. It\u2019s about ownership and protectiveness. And it can also be unexpectedly damaging.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Novels that expand a film\u2019s story are not new \u2014\u00a0they\u2019ve been around for quite some time, and film novelizations will often offer new perspectives you don’t see in the films that inspire them. For example, in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial<\/em> by William Kotzwinkle<\/a>, we\u00a0go into the mind of E.T. himself.<\/p>\n

However, the need<\/em> to know everything has perhaps been used most efficiently by the Star Wars<\/em> franchise. Since 1999’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace<\/em><\/a>, each film has\u00a0inspired novels, comics, video games, and animated cartoons that expand the themes and characters in the movies. Since The Force Awakens<\/em><\/a>, the media tie-in trend has continued, but we have also seen the franchise asking us to\u00a0discover information elsewhere, instead of presenting it to us in the film itself.<\/p>\n

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Negative Use of Spin-off Media<\/h3>\n

“Goodness<\/em>!\u00a0Han Solo! It is I, C-3PO<\/em>. You probably don’t recognize me . . . because of the red arm.”<\/p>\n

For the few who did not see Star Wars: The Force Awakens<\/em>, that line was delivered by a robotic character who usually sports identical gold arms, and as you can tell from the quote, one arm is now red.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t just a quip to Han Solo to make the audience laugh (although the people in my theatre sure did), the golden droid was also inviting us to ask the same question: “How did you get that red arm?”<\/em>\u00a0The problem is, the movie doesn’t tell us. To find out, you have to purchase the $1.99 comic from Marvel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Are
\nImage via Marvel.<\/em><\/p>\n

While you could easily read\u00a0a summary of the story somewhere online, when we’re talking about canon (and that insufferable desire to know everything about the world you love), you\u00a0might think you’re getting cheated out of a quick explanation \u2014 just so some fans\u00a0will\u00a0buy the information later. And the issue isn’t only about plot information. This trend can include characters, too.<\/p>\n

In 2017\u2019s Star Wars: The Last Jedi<\/a><\/em>, we met the stuttering McGuffin character known as “DJ.”\u00a0This character helped the protagonists get from point A to B \u2014 only to betray them in the end. Where this character came from, what his motives are, and why he works for the highest bidder are all mysteries. That is, unless you buy the tie-in comic. As one CinemaBlend reader commented,\u00a0\u201cI remember when characters in movies were written well enough that they didn\u2019t need alternative methods of storytelling to make you care about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Changing the Outcome<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In 2013, Marvel released the hotly anticipated Iron Man 3<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0It opened to favorable reviews and broke a dozen box office records. However, hardcore fans of the property were disappointed at the twist reveal of the Mandarin<\/a> \u2014 in that there wasn\u2019t one. At least, not in the style the fans are used to. In brief, The Mandarin is to Iron Man what the Joker is to Batman, and viewers didn’t get this information in the movie.<\/p>\n

The studio heard the fans loud and clear. A year later, Marvel released a direct-to-video short film titled “All Hail The King<\/a>,” which featured Trevor Slattery, the false Mandarin. In the short,\u00a0we see that there is, in fact, a terrorist group led by the real Mandarin and that Slattery\u2019s impersonation has displeased him.<\/p>\n