10 Times A Franchise Used A Short Story To Expand Its Universe

Creators are always looking for new ways to tell their stories. For major franchises, sometimes that means going back to basics. After all, short-form content was really the start of the movie business. Before feature-length films, audiences enjoyed silent shorts.

Short stories have also been a huge part of the birth of fiction. Poems, songs, and fables are all considered to be shorts in some way. Franchises have continued to use these techniques to expand upon the worlds they have created further. It may be that a short story is a perfect way to introduce a new character. A short film might be the key to introducing a thematic element that will be touched upon in a later movie. No matter the reason, the industry still goes back to this tried and true method.

10 Pixar Popcorn

One of Pixar’s latest offerings can be found on the streaming service Disney+. With so many fantastic characters and a whole range of franchises that they can dip back into, it made sense for the animation studio to revisit some old favorites.

Pixar Popcorn was born so that the current storytellers at Pixar could create some brand new content in the worlds they love. With 10 different shorts in total, the series of short movies span from newer movies such as Coco to absolute classics such as Toy Story. 

9 Blade Runner: 2049

Blade Runner: 2049 was both a cinematic success and a financial flop. The story being told was incredibly ambitious and may not have resonated with mainstream audiences. For the die-hard fans though, there was another way to enjoy this futuristic take on a familiar setting.

A behind the scenes detail that many may have missed about this franchise is that director Denis Villeneuve commissioned a few short movies to help him tell his own story better. The trio of films, 2 live-action, and 1 anime, were titled Black Out 2022, 2036: Nexus Dawn, and 2048: Nowhere To Run and are still available on YouTube today.

8 Star Wars: Rebels Shorts

Star Wars Rebels was the second major animated project for Lucasfilm. After cutting their teeth on Clone Wars the company decided to go in a slightly different direction. They picked a new animation style and moved the narrative forward into a new place in the canon timeline.

The show would introduce a lot of loveable characters to audiences, but it was difficult to bring them all into the fold at once. Rebel Shorts were born, with 4 different minisodes of the show featuring the debut of characters like Ezra Bridger and Hera Syndulla. These are currently available to stream on Disney+.

7 Marvel One-Shot

Marvel One-Shots were a much bigger deal during phases 1 and 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They were a clever tool used to bridge the gap between the tentpole movies, allowing fans to fill in some of the details.

Some of these also worked as back door pilots for ABC TV shows, including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. The final installment, All Hail The King, teased the return of the Iron Man villain known as The Mandarin to the MCU. There’s plenty of characters that could still benefit from these shorts; although the Disney+ shows may change Marvel’s strategy.

6 Jurassic World: Battle At Big Rock

It was a huge reveal for fans when Colin Trevorrow released a brand new short film, set within the dinosaur infested planet following Jurassic World: Fall Kingdom. Titled Battle At Big Rock, the movie set the stage for the future of the franchise.

Still available on YouTube, the short demonstrates what it’s really like to live in a world where the deadliest creatures from the Parks have been unleashed on humanity. It’s exciting, tense, and a perfect way to move the series forward into different territory.

5 Tales Of Dunk And Egg

Game Of Thrones is the most well-known spin-off of George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire novels. The famous author also expanded his universe on the page further though, with a series of short novellas exploring new characters in Westeros.

The Tales Of Dunk And Egg took place over 3 different novellas and may already be in line for an adaptation at HBO. The books received just as much love as his original works and fleshed out this dangerous fantasy land further.

4 Doctor Who: The Night Of The Doctor

The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who was a huge deal for fans of the show. The Whovians expected something massive to happen and the BBC put a lot of effort into ensuring that long-time viewers wouldn’t be disappointed.

While many were anticipating the return of the much-celebrated Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, an unexpected twist was in store for audiences. Paul McGann was brought back as the underrated Eighth Doctor in The Night Of The Doctor, which saw this iteration of the character finally regenerate on screen.

3 Marvel Tales

Marvel’s comic book universe is always developing thanks to the countless titles being released every month. Sometimes editors look for other ways to explore these rich characters a little further, in a completely different medium.

Marvel Tales have therefore launched on Marvel’s website and its podcasts. The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same is a short story by Kelly Thompson which beautifully demonstrates what these short stories can do for the heroes of Earth 616 and beyond.

2 Stark Trek: Short Treks

Star Trek: Discovery took the well-known franchise and brought it to a new generation of audiences. The show has been a massive success and Star Trek appears to be heading towards its height once again.

CBS All Access wanted to capitalize on these new and returning characters even more on-screen and sought a way to tell smaller stories involving the crew of the USS Discovery. Short Treks were created for this very reason and have proven popular amongst fans. They are still available on the CBS streaming service.

1 The High Republic

The Star Wars franchise loves to take risks with its storytelling. The High Republic initiative has already begun with a number of exciting releases across comics, novels, and children’s books, all of which launched in 2020.

Throughout the year, fans will be able to continue to see more of this new era of the galaxy with further releases planned. Asides from the exciting video games and Disney+ shows though, The High Republic will find a place in Star Wars Insider, where the writers behind the initiative will pen brand new, canon short stories.

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