Why Universal and Fox Both Repeated the Same Cinematic Universe Mistake

After the Avengers made over a billion dollars in 2012, every studio in Hollywood suddenly wanted its own interconnected universe. The problem is that instead of making one good movie and then figuring out where to go next, studios kept announcing cinematic universes before audiences had even seen the first film in that universe.

That's the fundamental problem with most of these cinematic universes, putting the cart before the horse.

Universal Announced the Dark Universe Before The Mummy Even Released

Universal actually were the first studio to have an interconnected universe at all, going back to their movie monsters in the 1940s. Decades later, they decided to get the gang back together and show Marvel how it was done with a new shared universe called the Dark Universe.

Before The Mummy, the first film in that universe, was even released, Universal put out a publicity photo featuring Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Sofia Boutella, Johnny Depp, and Javier Bardem standing together as the stars of this new universe. Depp was set to play the Invisible Man, Bardem was set to play Frankenstein's Monster, and Russell Crowe was set to play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

There was just one fairly important thing Universal forgot to do first: make sure people actually liked The Mummy. When they did not, and the film bombed, the entire Dark Universe bombed right along with it.

Fox Made the Exact Same Mistake With Its Own Marvel Characters

Fox made the exact same mistake as Universal. Once the studio realized it also owned Marvel characters like the X-Men, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four, it decided to build a little Marvel Cinematic Universe of its own.

And just like Universal, Fox released a publicity photo of all the actors who were meant to populate that universe, including Channing Tatum as Gambit, who was finally going to get his own solo film after years of talk.

Then Fantastic Four came out, and Fox scrapped the entire thing.

The Real Lesson Is Putting the Cart Before the Horse

Both Universal and Fox did the same thing in the same order: build the marketing and the promise of a universe first, then release the actual movie that was supposed to justify it.