It’s an age of cinematic universes, whether they make sense or not. It’s Marvel’s fault for starting this obsessive trend of building cinematic universes out of major studios, but not all of them have continued and received the kind of endgame success and fandom that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has obtained so far. In Hollywood itself, Sony’s DCU and Spiderverse enjoyed very mixed success, while Universal Pictures’ Dark Universe was doomed from the get-go. Now, even Indian cinema has jumped on the bandwagon and is poised to create its own cinematic universes of interconnected films and crossover characters. Thalapathy 67: Did Narain really say Thalapathy Vijay’s movie was part of Lokesh’s cinematic universe? here is the truth.
The biggest and most successful cinematic universe is none other than Rohit Shetty’s detective universe, home to blockbusters like Singham movies, Simba and Sooryavanshi, the latest film bringing together Ajay Devgn’s Singham, Ranveer Singh’s Simmba and Akshay Kumar’s Sooryavanshi for an epic climactic showdown last year. That same year, in the South, director Basil Joseph slyly created his own cinematic universe with Minnal Muraliwhere he had included Easter eggs that pointed to his previous films Kunjiramayanam and Does that were also in the same universe. Unlike MCU where almost everything was carefully planned in terms of the inter-connectedness of movies (except for casting Gemma Chan and Michelle Yeoh in two different roles), Indian cinematic universes care less about such logic. and are more meant to flatter fans.
The year 2022 has introduced more cinematic universes and there are some good exciting ones. Not everything makes sense, and some feel like they’ve gone too far before they even take off. And some are, I suppose, just playful Easter eggs with no intention of being one. Let’s review seven such cinematic universes confirmed this year! PS: SPOILERS AHEAD!
In the Astravers
Promotional photo of Brahmastra (Photo credit: Dharma Productions)
When you release a movie with “Part One” in the title, you know the directors are in for a lambi ka ghoda run (although that plan doesn’t always work out…looking at you Bhoot Part One – The Haunted Ship). The end of Brahmastra part one – Shiva has already confirmed a sequel, Part Two – Developer, while the creators threw quite a few hints at spinoffs involving Shah Rukh Khan’s ill-fated Vanarastra, or Amitabh Bachchan’s Guruji origin stories, among others. Let’s see if these are empty promises to keep fans excited or if there’s a bigger plan already in place. Brahmastra Part 1 – Shiva’s Ending Explained: Decoding the Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt Starrer Ending, the Secret Cameo and How They Expand the Astraverse.
UCL
Karthi, Kamal Haasan and Suriya (Photo credits: Twitter)
LCU or Lokesh Cinematic Universe Has Excitedly Came to Reality With the Release of Kamal Haasan’s Hit Hit VikramName This year. Lokesh Kanagaraj, the director, linked the film with his first hit, Kaithi, while preparing for a great future by playing superstar Suriya and the big bad of this planned universe. Now there are rumors that Thalapathy 67, which reunites Lokesh and Thalapathy Vijay after Master, could also be part of this universe. With a future movie that could bring together Kamal Haasan, Thalapathy Vijay, Suriya, Fahadh Faasil, Karthi in one movie, needless to say, we’re totally on board with this universe! Vikram’s Ending Explained: Decoding How Suriya’s Cameo in Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil and Vijay Sethupathi’s Film Expands Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Kaithi-Verse.
HIT Universe
Nani and Adivi Sesh (Photo credit: Instagram)
The first one HIT The film, starring Vishwak Sen, was a tense investigative thriller that ended with the promise of a sequel. BLOW 2 happened but it brought a new protagonist into Adivi Sesh’s KD, but without forgetting the events of the first movie. Now the epilogue of BLOW 2 teased a new protagonist in BLOW 3, Nani being that hero. So let’s look at a MOVE 4 who unites these three protagonists?
The YRF Spy Verse
The YRF spy worm? (Photo credit: FRJ)
The Rumblings Yash Raj Films Tries to Extend to Salman Khan Tiger franchise with new heroes, including that of Shah Rukh Khan Pathanewere heard long before 2022. However, that was when Bhai himself confirmed his appearance in Pathane during an episode of BB15even before Shah Rukh Khan confirms having done Pathane itself, that the spyverse has become a serious concept. Now the latest rumor is that Hrithik Roshan’s character, Kabir, from War will also be part of the Spy-verse, and he would have a cameo in Pathane as well.
Rohit Shetty Comic Cinematic Universe
Ranveer Singh and Rohit Shetty with the Golmaal gang during the filming of Simmba Song (Photo credit: Twitter)
Rohit Shetty established Bollywood’s most successful detective universe. Now he’s ready to tie his comedy franchises into his next movie. Circus. The trailer already showed how the Golmaal gang of Golmaal again appear in the film as children, but since Circus is set in the 60s, we’re curious how Shetty pulls it off. This also goes for Deepika Padukone’s cameo in the song”Current Laga Re“, which is teased to be the return of his iconic character Meenamma from Chennai Express.
Street-Verse
Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor and Kriti Sanon during Bhediya BTS song (Photo credit: Instagram)
The Mid-Credit Scene From Varun Dhawan’s Comedy Horror Bhediya confirmed that it is part of the same cinematic universe as Stree, the 2018 sleeper hit, directed by the same man, Amar Kaushik. This was confirmed by the surprise appearances of Rajkummar Rao and Aparshakti Khurana reprising their characters from Street. Although it’s quite an exciting match, the underperformance of Bhediya in theaters could put a damper on those plans. Let’s wait and see! Bhediya Ending Explained: How Abhishek Banerjee and Two Surprise Cameos Connect Varun Dhawan-Kriti Sanon’s Film to Stree-Universe!
Towards Aarattu (?)
Credits to Monster (Photo credit: Aashirwad Cinemas)
Yes, you read that right ? It may be nothing more than a (not) playful match, but the end credits Freak showed Mohanlal character name as shown in the picture above. There ‘?’ in there, while denoting the mystery around the true identity of the character, encourages fans to draw parallels with the role of the superstar in Aaratu (the two are from different directors, but same screenwriter and producer) while wondering if it is the same character. It’s just that after the critical and commercial thrashings of both movies, we really don’t want to know if there’s any truth to it!
(The story above first appeared on LatestLY on December 12, 2022 at 5:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle , log in to our website lately.com).