The Big Debate: Franchise Fatigue

Some people call it “being opinionated,” but here at We Got This Covered, we call it “having passion.” We love movies, TV, gaming and music; we love to write, and we love it when those pleasures combine with a good, fiery discussion. With that in mind, the idea of this feature is to take a big, popular and current topic of discussion, and let our writers argue the points for you, with the intention of presenting a complete a picture as possible of the issues involved. We know it’s not just our writers who have strong views, though, and the comments section is always ready and waiting for you to wade in and set us straight.

Last time, our Big Debate covered the comparison of the TV and film universe-building strategies employed by Marvel and DC. This time, Lauren Humphries-Brooks, James Garcia and Sarah Myles – three very different voices, with three very different points of view – are rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck into the idea of franchise fatigue.

It seems that you’re nobody in Hollywood unless you are involved in a franchise – but luckily, there are plenty to lay one’s hands on. Though many complain about them, they continue to generate big box office numbers. It could be said that such profits are the result of our natural desire to stick to the familiar, or that their success reflects our natural inability to simply let things end. Wherever you stand on the subject, it’s hard to deny that the torrential downpour of sequels shows no sign of abating. We know this, because studios are announcing their release dates years in advance.

So, as our writers head to their corners, let’s take a look at the question for this Big Debate, and get ourselves ready to rumble:

Franchise Fatigue – These days, a single successful movie is a real rarity. As soon as a title makes its money back – and sometimes, even before it has been released in the first place – it seems a franchise is immediately planned. Moreover, those franchises increasingly come with pre-claimed release dates, far into the future, as studios duke it out for dominance over the prime slots. Are the implications of these trends desirable for the film industry and audiences alike, or is one cashing in at the expense of the other?