Art and Culture # 123: The Endless IP versus the End of a Franchise
As a writer of over 124 books, this question does come back to me. Endless IP’s often create an endless amount of story, plot, character development, and generating endless amounts of money. But the artistic expression of “The End” that a writer has in mind compared to a movie producer who says, “If it bleeds money, it’s a hit.” The outcome is a situation that not many IP’s can last, both critically and generate fan support for a lifetime.
When the Marvel brand was going strong, no one thought it would end. The outcome is that people eventually, in the end, got tired of the miniseries, movies, and characters that lasted beyond the first four phases, starting with Iron Man and the finale Avengers: Endgame, which ended the story of Iron Man’s Tony Stark and Captain America’s Steve Rodgers in a not so perfect, but admirable bow.
The outcome isn’t that IP’s do see their day in the sun, but the world of constant sequels, spin offs, don’t always see or generate a returning revenue.
When the last page is written, sometimes an end can change, depending on if one detail in the story creates an avenue for a new sequel trilogy. But if it doesn’t, maybe the story is done. There’s no reason to see a sequel to “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Casablanca,” or a piece of art that had a personal vision behind it.
But as Oliver Stone, the director of hit movies like Platoon, Midnight Express, Natural Born Killers, Scarface, JFK, said, “it has to become something more than yourself,” and like a true producer, rings true. Your book, novel, movie, short film, tik-tok, has to become something more than yourself. Because the “Endless IP” or stories, mean more to your brand, and more money to help branch out your ideas across multiple platforms.
But here are the options, so far.
For video games, it’s the translation into novels, movies, or television/streaming series. For books, it can mean becoming a game, movie, or television show. It also depends on what angle the creative individual wants to take their series. But if it means bastardizing the original source in order to translate it to a wider audience, it can certainly mean death to original fans, but to a passerby, who doesn’t know, might find go find the original source after they see the film or read the book.
But it’s weird. Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, released in 2024, a video game originally released in 2007, takes the name of Andrei Tchavosky’s 1978 “Stalker” film, which follows its own path from the film, which follows “Roadside Picnic” 1972 novel by the Strugatsky brothers, two Russian brother-writer team censored by the Soviet Union. But the game itself follows its own rules, and even recreates a new meaning of the name Stalker. And the game creates its own universe outside the novel and film. Only borrowing a few details, here and there.
As a brand IP, this does help both the novel and the 1979 film, but it does help create an endless IP, and not ending a series for good.
The connection is that creating a universe takes time, resources, and the inspiration a team or writer needs in order to create a long lasting world that the community and creators both love and admire. But when the team, in “War Game: The Making of Stalker 2 Documentary” stated “for us to fail” in delivering a sequel would be “catastrophic.”[1] And it proves that both fans and creative types do want the same thing. They want to fulfill their audiences wishes but also fulfill their creative intuition that the fans deserve. Deserve, not expect an audience to want or like. Even with bugs that disable the enjoyment of the game. But as PC Gamer November 22nd 2024 article, “states, through CSG’s twitter page, “A million copies were sold, and much more stalkers joined the artifact hunt with Game Pass. This is just the start of our unforgettable adventure. The Heart of Chornobyl emanates stronger with each of us. Thank You, stalkers!"[2] So, fan appeal can mean a lot, even with years of fan service “modders” who help build new levels to the original games, and keep it alive just so that CSG games could make the sequel, too.
Unlike game studios like Ubisoft, who failed to deliver what the fans wanted, in turn, ruining their IP’s, but their company, too. But there are reasons why an endless IP can turn profits, but sometimes end in ruin.
Sometimes its extreme confidence in doing the job, financing, but also what vision you want to create, too. Even if it’s Stalker, Marvel, the result is that the source must represent an intuitive creative spirit funneled through commitment from the company, artist, and the fans participation.
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[2] https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/stalker-2-sells-over-a-million-copies-this-is-just-the-start/ “Stalker 2 Sells Over a Million Copies” Found 10.08.2024.