Could there be another Star Wars?
Slightly off topic, but in the vein of this week’s shorter posts:
Do you think that there could be another Star Wars phenomenon, ever again? I’m talking the kind of multi-media sensation that spreads initially via word-of-mouth and then becomes a multi-million (billion?) dollar powerhouse?
Could social media be used to make this kind of franchise rock? Or is it a flash in the pan?
The closest phenomenon that I can think of is Harry Potter, which is a successful book series that has permeated into other media. Star Wars started as movies and spread from there.
Two other franchises had some movie success, but not in the same league as Harry or the Skywalkers. Star Trek started as a TV show, of course, and spread onward, although it has weakened considerably during the past decade. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy started as a radio drama/comedy and grew from there.
Perhaps superhero movies are the logical successor, as we see with Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, and the mixed success of the Batman and Superman movies?
What do you think? You can comment here or follow this conversation on FriendFeed.
Rick Mahn:
Sure! The secret is that you'll never see it coming. Of course, you've probably already thought about that. All these things have one thing in common. They never were intended to be the unbelievable phenomenons that they have become.
15 August 2008, 9:31 amMark Dykeman:
I think you've got something there.
15 August 2008, 9:44 amwebomatica:
Lord of the Rings?
15 August 2008, 2:48 pmMark Dykeman:
Hmmm…. will there be more movies or books about LOTR, though?
15 August 2008, 2:53 pmdcr:
George Lucas must have had some idea of the potential. Remember, he kept the merchandising and related rights for himself, as a condition of selling the movie distributions rights for a lesser fee.
15 August 2008, 3:02 pmRick Mahn:
dcr,
15 August 2008, 3:19 pmThat's true, but in 1977 there had never been such a world-wide reaction to anything like Star Wars. Had the studios known the potential – it would've been much different IMO. You're right though – George is a pretty smart, shrewd, dude.