Disney+’s strategy to keep us hooked is a symptom of how today’s corporatist Hollywood is more concerned with subscriptions than stories.
I’m going to start this article by making a confession: I haven’t seen ‘boba fett book‘. I’m a casual fan of ‘Star Wars’, that is, I’ve seen all the movies, some several times, but I don’t know what the “expanded universe” is, I don’t have expensive merchandising at home nor have I investigated the animated series (although I know some of them have very good reviews). And while I’ve thoroughly enjoyed both seasons of ‘The Mandalorian’, I didn’t have much interest in a series that seemed to be… a bit the same but worse.. The critics, between regular and quite negative, did not help; nor that many outright galactic fans ranted about her and admitted seeing her only for completism.
I let it go, dedicating the little time I have as a working person who has to pay rent and buy food to other more appealing series and movies. And suddenly one day a friend writes to me: You have to watch this week’s Boba Fett episode. Do not ask. You have to see it”. It was the sixth chapter of the miniseries, which is already complete on Disney +, an episode starring Din Djarin, aka Mando, and in which such important characters for the saga appeared as Luke Skywalker, Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, and Ahsoka.
It was basically a new episode of ‘The Mandalorian’ full of cameos and references, planted to reward the viewer who has been there through thick and thin. Not only that, but it was also another installment in the story of two characters that I have developed an interest and connection with, Mando and Baby Yoda, and who I will see again in the third season of their own series. How am I not going to watch ‘The Book of Boba Fett’, if it has key information of a story that I want to follow?
That’s the franchise cage Disney has us trapped in.. Lucasfilm is developing new titles for Disney+ such as ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’, which will be released on May 25; ‘Andor’, starring the character played by Diego Luna in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’; ‘Ahsoka’; ‘The Acolyte’, a series focused on female characters set in the late era of the Old Republic; or ‘Lando’, about the legendary character brought to life by Billy Dee Williams and Donald Glover. And that without counting the animated productions. The strategy is clear: if you are a true fan of ‘Star Wars’ you will see not only all these series, but also the films they prepare, such as one directed by Patty Jenkins and another produced by Kevin Feige.
Which brings us to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the king of mega-franchises. Some time ago, following his films was an easy, comfortable and simple task: you went to the cinema every time one was released, every few months. And it didn’t matter if you skipped one for whatever reason, like ‘Thor: The Dark World’ or ‘Ant-Man’, I repeat, for whatever reason. There were also series, like ‘Agents of SHIELD’ or the Marvel titles on Netflix (‘Daredevil’ and company), but they were connected to the movies more by lip service than anything else: there were no big crossovers and the facts of the series did not influence in his older sisters (yes the other way around, although in passing and more like winks or jocular comments).
What a good times. With the arrival of Disney + and the unification of audiovisual productions in Marvel Studios under the command of Kevin Feige, the UCM is now absolutely transmedia and movies and series have the same weight equally. The producer already warned in 2019 in an interview with Bloomberg: “If you want to understand everything that will happen in future Marvel movies, you will probably need a subscription to Disney +, because events of the new series will have weight in upcoming movies like ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’”.
And so it has been: ‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’ (one of the most interesting and original titles of the UCM, on the other hand) and ‘Loki’ are two series that must be seen so as not to miss watching the sequel to Doctor Strange, co -starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen. ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ has given rise to a new Captain America movie in development, this time played by Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, who has inherited the captain’s shield and leaves behind his stage as Falcon.
I have not seen ‘Hawk’s Eye’ either, due to lack of interest in the character of Jeremy Renner and a certain allergy to Christmas movies, but it is quite clear that Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), whom I do not know, will have a lot of weight in the series from now on. As will Ms. Marvel, who after starring in her own series on Disney+ this year will join in the movie ‘The Marvels’ alongside Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau, whom we met in ‘Scarlet Witch and Vision’. Feige is weaving a web of characters that forces you to be aware of all the series and movies, whether you like them or not, whether they interest you or not.and there are not a few that are preparing: ‘Moon Knight’, ‘She-Hulk’, ‘Secret Invasion’, ‘Ironheart’, ‘Armor Wars’, a series focused on Wakanda, an Agatha Harkness spin-off…
Look, Mr. Feige: I have a life. And after being bored to death with ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, and with an overabundance of audiovisual productions to choose from, I have decided that I cannot live it within the Marvel Universe.
I am aware that it is not necessary to see absolutely everything from the UCM or ‘Star Wars’ to enjoy and even understand their titles separately, but until a few years ago I consumed these franchises with a completist desire and some OCD. I had to see everything that was released and in the right order. And the truth is that there is not even a proper order to see the galactic saga: the lists will depend on which fan makes them, because at the moment there is no real consensus between seeing it in chronological order, premiere, attending the Skywalker saga… In end, a mess.
The time has come to relax and let myself go, and above all to be aware of one thing: the franchise cage is a commercial strategy that Disney has designed to give its streaming platform added value. This stream of interconnected titles makes Disney+ a supposedly essential service that you can never unsubscribe from. Other platforms have other strategies to keep the viewer paying the fee religiously. Netflix bets on quantity (more and more series and movies, the longer the better, even to the detriment of quality) and Prime Video… does anyone know why Prime Video bets?
In an increasingly fragmented panorama of audiovisual consumption, every son of a neighbor in Hollywood wants his own franchise. DC has been trying to emulate Marvel’s strategy for years and although it has had irregular results, there is ‘The Peacemaker’, a spin-off of ‘The Suicide Squad’ on HBO Max, and ‘The Batman’ will be followed by a prequel series called ‘Gotham PD’ and another sequel focused on Colin Farrell’s Penguin. So does AMC with ‘The Walking Dead’ and all of its spin-offs and movies in development, and The CW has been successful for years with the Arrowverse. The blockbuster ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ was the crossover resulting from two previous films, and Zack Snyder is expanding ‘Army of the Dead’ on Netflix and is already preparing his own ‘Star Wars’ on the platform, ‘Rebel Moon’, which has the aspiration of giving rise to Another cinematic universe.
Not everyone will be able to get ahead or hook the public. In close memory we have examples like the ‘Dark Universe’, between the parody and the case study. Or more crazy things like the failed plan to unify ‘Class Departed’ and ‘Men in Black’ in the same universe, the Valiant comics from ‘Bloodshot’ or a universe from King Arthur (?).
A few days ago I read the words of John DiMaggio, the original voice of Bender in ‘Futurama’, who has refused to return to the series in the new resurrection that Hulu is carrying out. The actor has rejected the offer because he considers that neither he nor his companions are being paid enough. “I am tired of an industry that has become too corporatist and takes advantage of the time and talent of artists”, he said in his explanation posted on Twitter. In ‘Matrix Resurrections,’ Lana Wachowski also makes a vociferous mockery of studios like Warner Bros. and their exploitation of original ideas from the past (with or without the people who gave birth to them).
At this point, not following all these sagas blindly, not consuming every sequel that Hollywood regurgitates, turning our backs on franchises when we feel that we are hooked on them out of inertia or obligation, has become more than an optimization of our free time. It is also our duty as consumers to tell the big studios that we want originality.
Movies like ‘Flee’ or ‘The Dark Daughter’ are released this weekend. You don’t have to see anything other than themselves to understand them and they won’t have a gazillion sequels. What a relief.
Source: Fotogramas

Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.