Marvel became a trailblazer with the MCU, showing just how lucrative a large, interconnected universe can be. Since 2008, they have woven their heroes, like Iron Man and Captain America, into larger Avengers team-up movies, with the franchise even sharing the same universe as several TV shows. The MCU finally seems to be showing some fatigue, but for years, others have been trying to capture the magic of the superhero franchise.
Comic book franchises are the most notable adaptations to have embraced the idea. Still, the concept became so popular that TV shows saw the benefit of connected IP, with some of the most unexpected studios backing unique plans for ever-expanding worlds that would bring together anything they thought could generate revenue. Some are still limping along, while others have moved on to new reboots, but most are simply dead. Were they boldly inspired ideas ahead of their time, or merely cash grabs always doomed to fail?
The Dark Universe
The Dark Universe had some lofty plans in place when it served its death sentence. The franchise was meant to be a universe of classic monster movies and characters, beginning with 2014’s Dracula Untold, though most audiences weren’t even aware it was part of the larger plans. Details began to get fleshed out with Tom Cruise’s 2017 remake of The Mummy. The movie introduced Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll, who was meant to be a Nick Fury-type character capable of connecting with the other planned films.
Johnny Depp was announced as the Invisible Man, and Angelina Jolie was lined up for The Bride of Frankenstein, with Javier Bardem as Frankenstein’s monster. The franchise reportedly had plans for Van Helsing, The Wolfman, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and even a sequel to Dracula Untold. Unfortunately, The Mummy was awful, earning an abysmal 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie made over $400 million worldwide. Still, it was so maligned that the entire universe was abandoned in favor of more standalone features, resulting in The Invisible Man (2020), The Wolfman (2025), and Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026).
Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe
Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe hasn’t outright failed yet, but it isn’t looking great for the franchise. Interview with the Vampire is easily the best thing the series has going on, with the show set to debut its third season later this year under the title The Vampire Lestat. The first two seasons were positively reviewed, laying the groundwork for what seemed like a promising universe based on Rice’s novels.
Mayfair Witches premiered with a shaky first season that left much to be desired. The show turned things around in a better second season, which was enough to secure it a green light for a third. The biggest issue is Talamasca: The Secret Order, which faced middle-of-the-road reviews on its way to cancellation after a single season. The interconnected universe does share some characters and details. Still, it hasn’t fully capitalized on what most fans want from a shared world, with Talamasca’s end ominously foreshadowing what may lie ahead.
The LEGO Cinematic Universe (LCU)
The LEGO Cinematic Universe started with a bang in 2014 with the release of The LEGO Movie. The $60 million movie turned that modest budget into $470 million worldwide, kicking off numerous plans for LEGO-themed movies. The LEGO Batman Movie followed in 2017, turning out equally impressive results. The first real sign of trouble was the release of The LEGO Ninjago Movie, which came out the same year. Maybe it was oversaturation or the lack of Ninjago recognition outside LEGO circles, but it reportedly cost $70 million and barely earned $123 million.
While Ninjago was seen as merely a speed bump, the franchise hoped to turn things around with The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019. However, after the five-year gap and diminishing returns of the last two films, The LEGO Movie 2 stumbled hard. The sequel had a $99 million budget but only grossed $199 million. Despite the franchise being well-reviewed, the films seemed to have enjoyed a brief flash of success before abandoning their “connected” brick universe.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU)
Where to even start with the misguided adventures of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe of films? The Venom trilogy was fine in terms of quality, with each one getting progressively worse. Still, the first movie earned far more at the box office than its reviews may warrant, inspiring Sony to trudge forward with a slew of other movies based on Spider-Man villains, as the wall-crawler was off in the MCU.
Sony gave Jared Leto the lead in Morbius, a movie that suffered from production nightmares before its release and lived up to the worrisome hype with horrid reviews. Morbius tanked at the box office, setting a bad precedent for Madame Web and Kraven to follow. Madame Web boasts an impressive cast, with Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney in the leads. However, it was even worse than anyone could have imagined, released in such an abysmal state that it barely made sense, and the lack of quality was laughable. By the time Kraven hit theaters in late 2024, the franchise was on its last legs, with the Aaron Taylor-Johnson-starring movie being the final nail in the coffin.
The Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe (HBCU)
The HBCU launched in 2020 with the animated movie Scoob!, which was poised to establish a connected universe of cartoon characters. The movie featured Scooby-Doo and Mystery Incorporated on an adventure with Blue Falcon. In an effort to introduce as many characters as possible, the plot featured Dick Dastardly, with moments that included Captain Caveman, Atom Ant, and Dr. Quest. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic threw the movie’s release into turmoil, leading to it losing out on a summer 2020 release date in favor of a home release.
Given Scoob!’s missed opportunities, the plans for expanding the universe were effectively scrapped. There was another movie in production called Scoob! Holiday Haunt. It was intended as a prequel, but was canceled and used as a tax write-off despite being nearly finished. It was part of Warner Bros. axing several projects, like Batgirl, with the HBCU dead in the water. There is more from Scooby and the gang on the way, but Scoob! was all the HBCU ever released.
DC Extended Universe (DCEU)
The trials and tribulations of the DCEU have been well documented. In an effort to capitalize on the superhero success of the MCU, DC fast-tracked its own connected universe of characters. Warner Bros. backed Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, which laid the groundwork for a darker, grittier world than the MCU. Man of Steel did well financially, though it received mixed reviews, and Snyder was set to mastermind the universe with several solo-hero movies and a multipart Justice League film saga.
While the DCEU features some standout entries, like Wonder Woman and Birds of Prey, the backlash to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice sent the studio into a panic, prompting it to adjust the tone of several projects that were well underway. Suicide Squad found itself butchered in post-production, and the turmoil Justice League endured is legendary. The DCEU struggled with quality and tone, with movies like Black Adam and The Flash being so disappointing that the franchise was shuttered, leading to James Gunn’s DCU, which is currently shining in its infancy.
The Supernatural Multiverse
Supernatural is the type of show that continues to boast legions of fans after its 15-season run. There have been several attempts to expand the Supernatural universe beyond the original series. The show featured two backdoor pilots meant to launch spin-offs set in the same world: Season 9, Episode 20, “Bloodlines” and Season 13, Episode 10, “Wayward Sisters.” Neither planned series came to fruition, with “Bloodlines” being maligned by fans and “Wayward Sisters” actually sparking some interest before the network passed.
The only official spin-off to hit the air was The Winchesters in 2022. The series was a prequel that followed Sam and Dean’s parents, John and Mary, showing how they met and fell in love. However, it was set in a parallel universe to avoid breaking Supernatural’s continuity, and it established the franchise’s multiverse. There were greater implications at play, with clear plans for more, but The Winchesters only lasted a single 13-episode season before it was canceled. Supernatural may yet return in another form, but every plan to kick-start a shared universe has failed.
The Amazing Spider-Man Universe
The Amazing Spider-Man is a genuinely entertaining origin tale. Andrew Garfield is great as Peter Parker, and Emma Stone makes the perfect Gwen Stacy, establishing the groundwork for another distinct Spider-Man franchise. The first film was a success, with plans for several sequels and spin-offs, including a Sinister Six movie. Unfortunately, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was a critical failure that didn’t quite meet the studio’s box-office hopes.
The Amazing Spider-Man films were another attempt to fast-track a shared universe of movies, leading to quickly diminishing quality. The 2014 Sony hack also played a major role in the decision, as planned franchise details were leaked. With enough problems surrounding the fledgling universe, Sony decided to kill it after just two films.
The Dark Tower Universe
Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is an expansive series of novels with a deep lore perfectly suited for a shared universe of movies and TV shows. The 2017 movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey was meant to be the first of several projects that would make up King’s Dark Tower universe. There were plans for sequels and shows that would all connect to the characters and Mid-World setting established by the movie, but those plans fell apart when the movie debuted to lackluster reviews and box-office returns.
The Dark Tower whittled the complex sci-fi universe down to an uninspired 95-minute adaptation that failed to impress general audiences and lacked the faithfulness to the source material to satiate King’s fans. Any plans for more were quickly scrapped, with the movie’s 16% Rotten Tomatoes score aiding the decision. While the troubled production may have factored into the final results, the $60 million movie only grossed $113 million worldwide, ending the grandiose plans after just one movie.
The How I Met Your Mother Universe (The HIMYM Universe)
How I Met Your Mother is notorious for its divisive finale. While many may not revisit the final season during a rewatch, the sitcom has become a pop culture sensation, making it a perfect fit for a universe of other shows connected to the original series. The first attempt to expand on HIMYM came with the 2014 pilot for How I Met Your Dad, starring Greta Gerwig, which was meant to be set in the same universe with new characters. Despite the same creative team, the show was not picked up, which may have been related to the backlash surrounding the HIMYM series finale, which aired the same year.
How I Met Your Father was the next attempt in 2022, with Hilary Duff leading the spin-off set in the HIMYM universe. Original stars like Cobie Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris appeared, and the Hulu series lasted two seasons before it was canceled. The show never reached the heights of HIMYM, proving an uninspired follow-up that rehashed the same story beats. While How I Met Your Father was short-lived, it brought the How I Met Your Mother shared universe to an end.
