Does every major blockbuster need to try and position itself as the first installment in a potential shared universe? Well, it entirely depends on who you ask.
The executives at the studios would tell you that yes it does, because it’s a lot easier to sequelize and spin off an established brand that’s proven to make money than develop an entirely new one from the ground up. As for audiences and fans, they’d probably lean towards taking it on a case-by-case basis to see if the opening salvo is worthy of launching an interconnected mythology, instead of having the concept shoved down their throats.
On that note, insider Daniel Richtman is now reporting that Warner Bros. reportedly see Space Jam as the beginning of their next major cinematic universe, which naturally invites all sorts of entirely valid questions. Especially as Richtman doesn’t say anything further, aside from mentioning that the studio is planning spinoffs.
Of course, the most obvious question here is wouldn’t a shared Space Jam universe just be the Looney Tunes? Not only that, but a list of WB properties confirmed for at least a cameo appearance in A New Legacy includes the R-rated Game of Thrones, The Matrix and Mad Max, established classics that certainly don’t possess franchise potential like Casablanca and A Clockwork Orange, along with fellow animated favorites The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo.
Quite how this is all supposed to align itself in the long run is anybody’s guess, but it’s not like Warner Bros. have ever given anyone even the slightest reason to doubt their ability to craft a coherent cinematic universe that people will 100% rally behind at all times. Wait a minute…