FINAL

Wesleyan University The Honors College

I Understood That Reference: Mapping Viewer

Experience of the Contemporary Shared Universe

Blockbuster

Andrew Callahan

Class of 2020

A thesis submitted to the

faculty of Wesleyan University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor of Arts

with Departmental Honors from the College of Film and the Moving

Image

Middletown, Connecticut April, 2020

Acknowledgements

As is with any project of this scale, I could not have accomplished this without

help from an immeasurable number of people. Whether that help was direct or

indirect, intentional or otherwise, I owe them my thanks and appreciation.

Naming everyone who has positively influenced me since I undertook this thesis

is impossible, but I will attempt to highlight a few of the important ones.

First: my advisor, Scott Higgins, who willingly allowed me to rant and rave to

him about films I hold close to my heart once a week for nearly eight months in a

row. His guidance and motivation have been invaluable as I tried to make sense of

these stories.

The faculty of the Wesleyan film department as a whole has shaped me from a

person whose film analysis skills began and ended with “It was good” or “It was

bad” only four years ago. In every class, office hours session, and casual

conversation I found each of them welcoming and prepared to offer me any help

they could. It should go without saying that this paper is the direct product of their

lessons, advice, criticisms, and wisdom, but I will say it anyways. It is because of

them I can watch and appreciate film in the way that I do, and for that I cannot

thank them enough.

To my friends, both from Wesleyan and beyond, whom I will not list by name for

fear of accidental omission: the support and happiness you have supplied me with

throughout my life has been felt. Strongly and lastingly. I apologize for not

naming you individually, but just know that if you are reading this and know me

personally, you have affected my life for the better whether you are aware of it or

not.

To my fellow Class of 2020 film majors: it has been wonderful to learn and grow

with you for the past four years, and I would give anything to sit with you all in

the Goldsmith Family Cinema again and watch one last film. I found myself

consistently in awe of all of your intelligence, warmth, artistic vision, and

eloquence. I cannot wait to see what you all accomplish and know that I will

engage with as much of your future work as I can, for I am certain it will be

beautiful and insightful.

And finally, my family. To my father, whose passion for storytelling has become

mine and sent me on this wonderful journey. To my mother, whose hard work and

ability to fight through adversity inspired me countless times. To my brother

Quinton, my first and oldest friend whom I am glad I cannot remember my life

without. And my brother Matthew, who, despite being the youngest, I look up to

for more reasons than there are words in this thesis. Six or seven lines of twelve-

point font could never fully represent what you mean to me. I love and thank you

all, and I will never stop.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................1

CHAPTER 1: BUILDING BLOCKS OF SHARED UNIVERSE STORYTELLING............11

RECOGNITION AND FAMILIARITY……..............................................................12

FAN SERVICE: A UNIQUE TYPE OF FAMILIARITY.............................................21

CANON ................................................................................................................23

CHAPTER 2: THE CYCLE OF SPECULATION…….………................................37

PARATEXTS: MOVING FROM EXPECTATION TO SPECULATION……................42

SPOILERS……………..……..………………..……...........................................51

VIEWING WITH SPECULATION ...........................................................................55

POST-VIEWING....................................................................................................62

THE RISE OF SKYWALKER: AN ILLUSTRATION.................................................64

PRE-VIEWING ............................................................................................65

VIEWING……………………....................................................................72

POST-VIEWING...........................................................................................76

CHAPTER 3: ANALYZING AVENGERS: ENDGAME...........................................79

PRE-RELEASE: BUILDING ANTICIPATION...........................................................81

ENDGAME: AN ANALYSIS OF THE VIEWING EXPERIENCE……………...........88

DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................107

CONCLUSION .................................................................................................111

APPENDIX: THE CYCLE OF SPECULATION, VISUALIZED................117

FILMOGRAPHY ..............................................................................................119

BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................123

Introduction

“Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.”

- Nick Fury

The above quote, from the post-credits scene of Iron Man (2008), is an

invitation. It is an invitation from Fury to Tony Stark to join a team of superheroes he

is building called “The Avenger Initiative”. More than that, though, it is an invitation

to the audience, announcing the arrival of what would become the largest shared

universe in cinema history. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU for short,

currently consists of twenty-three films which have collectively grossed almost $20

billion worldwide

. Since Iron Man was released, an MCU film has finished in the

top 15 highest grossing films of every year except for 2009. No MCU film was

released in 2009. In July of 2019, the crown jewel of the MCU, Avengers: Endgame

(2019) became the highest grossing film of all-time, serving as an exclamation point

to eleven years of box office dominance

. Marvel Studios shows no sign of slowing

down either, having announced six films and five television shows that will make up

its “Phase 4” and be released in 2020 and 2021

. For the foreseeable future, Marvel

Studios and the MCU are not going anywhere.

“Marvel Cinematic Universe Franchise Box Office History.” The Numbers, n.d. https://www.the-

numbers.com/movies/franchise/Marvel-Cinematic-

Universe#tab=summary&franchise_movies_overview=od5.

D'Alessandro, Anthony. “'Avengers: Endgame' Finally Conquers King Of The World James

Cameron's 'Avatar' To Become Highest-Grossing Film Of All Time.” Deadline. Deadline, July 21,

2019. https://deadline.com/2019/07/avengers-endgame-finally-conquers-king-of-the-world-james-

camerons-avatar-to-becoming-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time-1202649741/.

Alexander, Julia, and Andrew Liptak. “Marvel Reveals Massive Phase Four Film and Television

Plan.” The Verge. The Verge, July 21, 2019. https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/20/20702328/marvel-

disney-plus-thor-eternals-doctor-strange-wandavision-hawkeye-black-widow-san-diego-comic-con.

Perhaps just as notable as its financial success is the narrative ambition of the

shared universe. Never before have twenty-three feature length films fully connected

to the degree of the MCU, with shared settings, events, and characters. MCU films

are commonly referred to as having a “shared universe”, meaning there is one

fictional setting in which it all takes place. More than telling a story, shared universe

films flesh out a world. Every film influences and is influenced by every other film

and emotional arcs carry over throughout to create one cohesive story made up of

many smaller stories. The only cinematic franchise to eclipse Marvel’s output is the

James Bond franchise, which will soon release its twenty-sixth film, but those films

were released over a fifty-year time span and are mostly episodic and do not share a

narrative through line.

The MCU’s unprecedented scope and financial success would be enough to

make it worth studying, but its influence on the film industry makes it even more

worthwhile. After the release of Marvel’s first major crossover film, The Avengers

(2012), other studios began to develop their own shared universes. Since then,

Warner Bros. has released films as part of a DC superhero universe and a

Godzilla/King Kong universe, and Universal unveiled plans for a “Dark Universe”

starring characters such as Frankenstein and the Mummy. Even the popular Harry

Potter film franchise began branching out into a shared universe called “The

Wizarding World” with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) as the first

film to released bearing the new label

. Studios, understandably, are chasing after the

Wizarding World. Accessed April 27, 2020. https://www.wizardingworld.com/discover/films.

type of success that Marvel found, and as a result the storytelling model seems to be

here to stay.

When films are as popular as the ones made by Marvel Studios are, it begs the

question: why? What is it about this set of movies that has captured the attention and

wallets of so many people around the world? Is it a lightning in a bottle, perfect storm

situation? Is this level of success sustainable or replicable? I am not alone in this line

of questioning, as numerous articles have been published about “superhero fatigue”

and the value of many of these blockbuster films

. Filmmakers as prolific as Martin

Scorsese have spoken or written about why Marvel’s films are less artistic than other

genres in cinema

. This thesis was directly inspired by this line of discourse.

Contemporary blockbusters, and shared cinematic universes as a whole, are

easier to dismiss if their success is only financial. After all, people enjoy watching

explosions, giant robots, and aliens fight each other. Spectacle is easier to sell than

drama in many cases, as evidenced by the box office time and time again. However,

some of these shared universes, and Marvel films in particular, are critically

acclaimed. The lowest rated Avengers film on Rotten Tomatoes, a widely used review

aggregator site, is still “certified fresh” with a score of 75%. The lowest rated MCU

film ever (Thor: The Dark World (2013)) still comes in at a mostly favorable 66%

In this thesis, I start with the assumption that to achieve the level of commercial and

critical success that Marvel has, they must be doing something right.

Bramesco, Charles. “10 Signs You Have Superhero-Movie Fatigue.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone,

June 25, 2018. https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/10-signs-you-have-superhero-

movie-fatigue-52201/.

Scorsese, Martin. “Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren't Cinema. Let Me Explain.” The

New York Times. The New York Times, November 5, 2019.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/opinion/martin-scorsese-marvel.html.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/franchise/marvel_cinematic_universe

Still, criticisms like Scorsese’s have an air of truth to them. Only one Marvel

film, Black Panther (2018), has won any major awards, taking home three Oscars for

original score, costume design, and production design. No other MCU film has even

been nominated for something other than Best Visual Effects. While the Academy

Awards are not the sole measure of artistic achievement, they do give us insight into

the way that films are regarded in terms of their technical mastery. MCU films are not

known for their stunning cinematography, top-notch acting, or skillful editing. They

may not be devoid of all art, as Scorsese and others suggest, but it is clear they do not

make use of the tools of filmmaking in the same way that many films considered

“great cinema” do. What, then, is the draw?

Having personally seen all of the MCU films in theaters (most within a week

of opening), I have made a habit of observing my fellow audience members. The first

thing I note is the attendance and the numbers do not lie: people come to see these

movies in droves. Many of these experiences have been amongst crowds in theaters

that have completely sold out multiple screening rooms in a night for a single film.

Another observation I often make is that these crowds are incredibly diverse. All

ages, ethnicities, and gender identities show up to watch the latest MCU film. The

third thought I have is based on the first two. With so many people coming from so

many different backgrounds, it is impossible that they have all engaged with this

cinematic universe on the same level as I have. Once the film ends and everyone

begins to talk about what they just saw, I wonder about the wide variety of

experiences that must have occurred. Not everyone could have gotten that reference,

or recognized that character, or even fully understood the emotional depth of some of

the film’s more tender moments. What are these differences specifically? Are they

restricted to moments of inside jokes and easter eggs or is the root of it more

fundamental to the viewing experience than that?

Maybe Scorsese is right. Maybe these films are not cinema in the same way

that the ones that he directs are. After all, there are a few key differences between the

two that are major parts of how we as viewers take them in. Audiences do not walk

out of The Departed (2006) wondering what happens next to Mark Wahlberg’s

character, and if they do then they will never have a concrete answer. Similarly, they

will not walk into Scorsese’s next theatrical release with a pre-developed, specific

“fan theory” on what will happen, who might die, and what place it holds in the

greater Scorsese Cinematic Universe. People watch these two types of different

movies so differently that they require different modes of analysis.

Intertextuality is a concept first used by Julia Kristeva, a Bulgarian-French

philosopher, to propose a new way of looking at literature. To Kristeva, texts do not

have meaning in and of themselves, but instead gain that meaning from their

relationships to other texts. No text can stand alone, since it was informed by what

came before and informs what comes next

. Later, literary critic Roland Barthes

writes that all texts are “quotations without quotation marks”, suggesting that no work

is truly original, since the references are so baked in to our cultural understandings of

how text works to begin with. If everything is referencing everything else, then

tracing any sort of affiliations or influences is ultimately meaningless. Barthes also

proposes that all cultural objects, including film, be viewed as texts rather than works,

Alfaro

since they take on a cultural meaning as soon as they consumed, becoming imbued

with something greater than the sum of their parts

. Through the definitions and

insights laid out by Kristeva and Barthes, we can see all films as intertextual, unable

to stand alone. In this thesis, I will take an intertextual approach to analyzing film,

looking at what these movies mean in the context of each other, rather than as

individual units. There will still be a focus on small, shot-by-shot and scene-by-scene

analysis, but specifically on what a shot might mean as part of a greater whole. I will

still ask how the techniques of cinema cue an audience member to feel a certain way,

but I will also ask how that audience member’s background knowledge and prior

viewing experiences affect what they feel.

I will also take a narrower look at intertextuality than Kristeva and Barthes do,

focusing only on those films that are explicitly intertextual. These are films whose

viewing almost requires other texts, whether they be other films, books, television

shows, or comic books, for their full meaning to be understood. A majority of

contemporary popular cinema fits into this category. Of the top thirty films of the

2010s at the domestic box office, only one film, Frozen (2013), was not an

adaptation, remake, sequel, or part of a cinematic universe at the time of its release.

Its sequel, Frozen 2 (2019), is also on the list

. It is clear that Marvel is not the studio

playing an explicitly intertextual game these days; not even close. The MCU does,

however, stand out as the best illustration of how we watch these movies due to its

immense success and popularity with the format. Marvel may not have invented the

Barthes, Roland. “From Work to Text.” Essay. In The Rustle of Language, translated by Richard

Howard, 57–60. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010.

Box Office Report - Domestic Box Office By Decade - 2010s. Accessed April 27, 2020.

http://www.boxofficereport.com/domestic2010s.html.

shared universe model, but they certainly have uniquely excelled with it. Another

franchise I will frequently draw from is Star Wars, whose recent trilogy of films is

both incredibly financially successful and a continuation of a story that began in

1977. Adaptations and non-serial franchises have similar viewing strategies and so

many of the concepts discussed in this thesis are generalizable to them, but they will

mostly not be used in favor of the richer and more complicated intertextual webs

formed by shared universe models of storytelling.

For this reason, I will most commonly use the terms “shared universe” or

“cinematic universe”. These are those franchises that connect using a multitude of

titles, differentiating them from other serialized stories that differentiate their entries

using numbers or subtitles. Other categories I will use repeatedly are “solo” or

“crossover” films. Solo films typically follow one protagonist or group of

protagonists, where crossover films unite protagonists of several films. These

distinctions are relevant when discussing shared universes, as crossover films tend to

include more references to other titles and also perform better financially.

With shared universe films, to focus only on what happens on the screen

would be failing to tell the complete story. People do not stop engaging with the

MCU once they leave the theater. Trailers, posters, and merchandise for these movies

are nearly impossible to avoid for even people who do not consider themselves fans

of the cinematic universe. For those who engage with the universe regularly, there is

no shortage of material on the internet to read, watch, or participate in. An online

community on reddit.com called r/marvelstudios has over one million members who

regularly log on to discuss what will happen in future films, share jokes about their

favorite characters, and generally express their love for all things MCU

. People do

not watch these films in a vacuum – to do so would be nearly impossible – and so we

should not analyze them in one. Television, as a common form of serialized

storytelling, often sees similar levels of engagement outside of the viewing

experience. The gaps between episodes resemble the gaps in between shared universe

films. Television will not be the subject of my analysis, but I will occasionally pull in

references from the medium to help illustrate my points.

The term paratext, first used by Gerard Gennette to discuss literature, can be

extended to film to cover various forms of engaging with a particular film outside of a

viewing experience. Jonathan Gray, who first brought the term into film theory,

argues that more than lie “adjacent to” the film itself, paratexts actively shape the way

that we view it

. Seeing a poster, watching a trailer, or reading a forum post about a

film prepares us for and provides insight to the experience of watching the film. In a

way, they shape our expectations and influence the way we react to events that

happen on screen. Paratexts are central to the overall experience of watching a shared

universe film, and so they will be central to our analysis of them as well.

An overview of the analysis done in this thesis would not be complete without

a reference to Janet Staiger, whose work in the field of reception studies is incredibly

influential to everything I will discuss. In Staiger’s words, reception studies “asks,

How does a text mean? For whom? In what circumstances?” The circumstances, in

the situation of contemporary shared universe storytelling, is fandom

. When a

See: https://www.reddit.com/r/marvelstudios/

Gray, Jonathan. Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts. New York,

NY: New York University Press, 2010.

Staiger, Janet. Media Reception Studies. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2005.

person engages with as many paratexts for one shared universe as they possibly can,

how does that impact their engagement with any given film? By asking this question,

we can also examine the inverse, and explore how a person might engage with that

same film after engaging with none of the relevant paratexts. As I alluded to earlier,

there is a wide spectrum of experiences to be had that are part of the architecture of

shared universe storytelling, and this thesis aims to provide a framework with which

to understand that spectrum.

To do so, I will first outline some basics of shared universes, namely,

familiarity and canon knowledge. If the emotional response to various cues

throughout a film are outputs, then one can think of these two concepts as the inputs.

They are products of a person’s engagement with a shared universe that allow them to

engage with a film on a different level. In the second chapter, I will fully describe and

illustrate the Cycle of Speculation, a model by which we can understand how people

engage with one of these films during a viewing experience. The Cycle maps the

behaviors of fans before, during, and after watching a shared universe film, as they

make sense of the various paratexts they encountered leading up to viewing. Finally, I

will dedicate an entire chapter to analysis of Avengers: Endgame (2019), the largest

and most successful shared universe film ever made. Using the frameworks and

concepts laid out, I will illustrate just how different the viewing experience of a film

like Endgame is from the films that Scorsese is championing in his New York Times

op-ed about Marvel.

At the end of this thesis, we will not only understand intertextual shared

universe storytelling as a unique form of filmmaking, but we will also outline various

techniques that separate successful franchise films from the rest. We will have a

means by which to analyze these films on their own terms and see them as a cohesive

experience rather than a collection of individual entries. Shared universe storytelling

is where the most money stands to be made in the industry today, and so I seek to

understand why.

Chapter 1: The Foundations of Shared Universe Storytelling

“We know each other! He’s a friend from work!”

- Thor

One fall evening a few years ago, a couple of friends and I decided to go see a

movie at the theater a few cities over. Traffic was especially bad that day, however,

and we missed the start time for the film we had planned on seeing by nearly thirty

minutes. Not wanting to waste our long journey, we bought tickets for the soonest

film playing in the theater which was Spectre (2015), the fourth James Bond movie to

star Daniel Craig. I had not seen any other Craig-led Bond films at this point, but we

figured that was not an issue and sat down to watch it anyways. Throughout this

experience, I was doing my best to follow along with the story and felt I was doing a

fairly good job, but there was something missing. Other people were thrilled by

moments that meant nothing to me, and references were made to people and events I

had no understanding of.

People do not watch movies in a void. To do so would be impossible. Shared

universe films in particular, however, draw from a baseline understanding of specific

pieces of information to enhance the experience of watching them. To call them

prerequisites may be oversimplifying, since it is fully possible to watch and

understand many shared universe films while knowing nothing about the universe as

a whole. Still, there is something to be said about their tendency to rely on

predeveloped knowledge in order to fully engage with the film in every way possible.

These pre-developed feelings, knowledges, and understandings create distinctive

groups within the audience based on their prior engagement with that particular

shared universe. Audience members will respond differently to various cues while

watching based on these factors, so it is important that we take them into

consideration before we can truly analyze the ways these films work. It may help to

think of these elements on a spectrum of fan knowledge. Avid, dedicated fans of the

universe, or “insiders”, as we will call them, are on one end of the spectrum, where

they know everything there is to know about a particular franchise and will

understand every emotional beat, reference, or plot detail. At the other end of the

spectrum are those who have never seen or even heard of the characters or events of a

film before watching it. Most audience members likely fit somewhere in the middle.

In this chapter, we will take a deeper look at some of the relevant pieces of

information that any given viewer might know and the ways in which that knowledge

impacts viewing. These terms and concepts will act as precursors for the framework

discussed in the next chapter, in which we will map aspects of the viewing experience

that are unique to shared universes and other intertextual forms of storytelling.

RECOGNITION AND FAMILIARITY

Throughout cinema history, there are characters who have taken on a life in

popular culture outside of their presence on the screen. Their personalities are well-

established, their names are instantly recognizable, and their backgrounds are

familiar. Luke Skywalker, Superman, James Bond, and Indiana Jones have all grown

to become household names. In her book “Serial Fu Manchu”, Ruth Mayer explores a

version of this iconicity. Some of these characters, like her principle subject Fu

Manchu, become “figures”, who undergo little character development over the years

because of their prominence in pop culture. “Such serial figures as Superman – or Fu

Manchu,” she writes, “are fated to execute certain stock scenarios of supeherodom

and villainhood in ever-changing settings and contexts and against the backdrop of

ever-more-complex and intricate scenarios”

. Not all recognizable figures fit

Mayer’s definition, but many of her concepts apply to a wide range of popular

fictional characters. Some figures have a long-lasting and/or widespread popularity

that imposes limits on change. These limitations can regard the entirety of a

character’s personality or backstory, or just a few notable aspects such as origin, look,

or a defining character trait.

Such limitations are common in and central to the concept of intertextuality

and go far beyond character development. Events, themes, settings, and overall feel

also require some degree of familiarity in order to please those viewers that have

some investment in how things “should” be. Many films with intertextual aspects,

whether they be sequels, adaptations, or remakes have failed in part due to an

inability to harness pre-established cultural meanings. Josh Trank’s 2015 reboot of

Fantastic Four is an exemplar. His dark take on the popular superhero team was

unrecognizable to fans. While other formal issues with the film likely contributed to

its box office failure, many critics point out the unfamiliar qualities of such beloved

characters. The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus for the film reads “Dull and

downbeat, this Fantastic Four proves a woefully misguided attempt to translate a

classic comic series without the humor, joy, or colorful thrills that made it great.”

The Fantastic Four were created in 1961 and have appeared in over 700 comic book

Mayer, Ruth. Serial Fu Manchu the Chinese Supervillain and the Spread of Yellow Peril Ideology.

Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2014.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fantastic_four_2015

issues over the decades, and fans had come to associate them with the colorful

costumes and settings that they had explored over the years. Additionally, a pair of

films released less than 20 years prior (Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four:

Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)) had established a visual style that Trank’s film bore

no resemblance to. Fantastic Four (2015) serves as a lesson in what can happen when

a film strays too far from audiences’ perceptions.

Familiarity works on a smaller level as well, by simply allowing audiences to

recognize objects, characters, or places they have seen before. We can think of

recognition as a subset of familiarity that does not involve emotional resonance. It is

one thing to recognize Superman and know that his alter ego is Clark Kent and that he

can fly, it is wholly another thing to care about Superman’s character. Objects work

much the same way. A person can see a shield with red and white stripes and

recognize it as Captain America’s, but that does not necessarily mean they feel the

emotional impact of seeing it split in two. Recognition does often does not take much

to foster. Figures, by Mayer’s definition, require none since their image is already

baked in to popular culture. In other cases, it might only take one other film, or can

even be established at the start of a film and used again for the climax. Full

familiarity however, associating feelings with that recognition, takes more time, but

the benefits can be great if used well. The film language in particular is based in

establishing rules and deriving meaning from deviation from those rules

Intertextual familiarity can give films a large library of rules from which to deviate. If

a franchise of films is rooted in, or known for, its fast-paced storytelling and action

For further discussion on repetition and variation, see: Grant, Barry Keith, and Malisa Kurtz. Notions

of Genre: Writings on Popular

sequences, a slower entry that focuses on character and melodramatic situations

becomes all the more meaningful. Consistency can be valuable too however, since

spending three films with a character and feeling invested in their arc can make an

event like their death much more powerful. We do not cry over the death of a

character we simply recognize. Intertextuality in some instances encourages packing

several characters into a single film, so developing emotional attachment across films

or other media saves time for plot development and a deeper exploration of

established character traits, as long as the audience is engaging with those other

stories.

Characters are perhaps the most obvious points of familiarity in a film

franchise, but intertextuality confers a host of potential for filmmakers to develop and

explore. Across multiple entries to a franchise, themes are established, developed,

subverted, and maintained. Audience pick up on these themes and use them to inform

their expectations. The Fast and Furious and Star Wars franchises repeatedly deal

with family, and the later entries both use the developed themes to create meaning

narratively and use variations on those themes to push the series forward. A more

specific example comes from the Star Wars universe, where Rey, a new character

introduced in The Force Awakens (2015), becomes the focus of fan speculation that

she is the daughter of some famous character. This speculation is, in part, fueled by

Star Wars’s history as a family-focused franchise, ever since protagonist Luke

Skywalker was revealed to the son of antagonist Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes

Back (1980) and the brother of supporting character Leia Organa in Return of the Jedi

(1983). When the The Last Jedi (2017) reveals that Rey’s parents are “nobodies”, the

familial themes are subverted, cueing the audience to have an emotional response of

betrayal and disappointment. That disappointment can add to the film in cases where

it aligns audiences with how the character feels, or it can result in a larger,

storytelling-based disappointment with the filmmaker’s decision. In either case,

intertextuality allows the meaning created by a deviation from established rules to

take place in films forty years apart.

Recognition can be used to speed up narrative progress by omitting well-

known information and backstory. In certain cases, failing to do so can even result in

audiences feeling as though the film is over-explaining, but the opposite side effect is

that unfamiliar audience members can be left behind and miss out on important

details. By the time Captain America: Civil War (2016) reached theaters and

introduced Tom Holland as Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the

well-known superhero’s origin story had been told twice in the last fifteen years. Both

Spider-Man (2002) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) had shown Peter Parker’s

transformation after being bit by a radioactive spider, and so Civil War (and the solo

film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)) opted to forego the backstory and introduce

the character after he had been working as Spider-Man for some time. There is some

brief dialogue about him developing the technology to help him shoot webs, but

otherwise the film moves ahead without answering questions about how he gained his

superhuman reflexes and strength. Spider-Man’s position in pop culture as a well-

known icon allows for this, and this decision was met with a positive response from

fans and critics alike. A review in The Atlantic states “If you really don’t know how

Peter Parker became Spider-Man, look up one of the earlier movies.”

Without the

burden of explaining the character’s history, Civil War and Homecoming are free to

use him in new and exciting ways to tell stories audiences have not seen before.

Understanding recognition and familiarity allows us to examine the strategies

of popular shared universe franchise models and use those models to illustrate the

differences between the two concepts. Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe

stand out as the most popular examples of shared universes in contemporary film.

Comparing their strategies to those of Universal Studio’s failed “Dark Universe” and

Warner Brother’s defunct “DC Extended Universe” illustrates the utility and pitfalls

of intertextual recognition and familiarity. The MCU used a strategy to develop

familiarity in their first “phase” of six films that would culminate in The Avengers

(2012), which at the time of this writing stands as the eighth highest grossing film of

all-time

. Four of the six main heroes in The Avengers were introduced in a solo film

released within the last four years, while the other two, Black Widow and Hawkeye,

appeared in a prior films as supporting characters (Iron Man 2 (2010) and Thor

(2011), respectively). Even the villain, Loki, previously featured as the antagonist in

Thor. With a developed emotional attachment to all the characters and actors (the

lone exception being Bruce Banner/the Hulk who was recast), The Avengers received

widespread critical acclaim for “a script that emphasizes its heroes’ humanity”

Director Joss Whedon did not need to create the characters or their personalities,

Orr, Christopher. “'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Is One of the Best Superhero Movies in Years.” The

Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, July 6, 2017.

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/07/spider-man-homecoming-review/532737/.

“Top Lifetime Grosses.” Box Office Mojo. Accessed April 27, 2020.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/chart/top_lifetime_gross/?area=XWW.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/marvels_the_avengers

since that work had been done in prior films. The team-up film benefits as a result.

Marvel employed this strategy again, albeit in a smaller scale, with their Netflix show

The Defenders (2017). The limited series united Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage,

and the Iron Fist, who had each been the subject of at least one thirteen-episode

season. Not only does this allow for freedom of storytelling in The Defenders, but it

drives people to go back and watch the shows that lead up to it. Marvel’s strategy

utilizes familiarity not only for storytelling, but for marketing and in support of their

overall brand.

Warner Brother’s used an inverse strategy for their superhero shared universe

with very different results. The DC Extended Universe (or DCEU) began in 2013

with Man of Steel introducing a new Superman played by Henry Cavill in a solo

origin story. The next film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) introduced

both Batman and Wonder Woman, two characters that had been featured in multiple

comic books, television shows, and movies since the 1930s and 40s, into the universe.

Justice League (2017) brought the three together as a team with new characters the

Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg a few months after a Wonder Woman solo film. Justice

League was a critical failure with a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score which cited “thin

characters” as part of the reason

. While these films benefitted from high levels of

character recognition, audiences had no emotional attachment to these versions.

People knew who Batman was but could not feel with or for actor Ben Affleck’s

portrayal, since they had not spent any significant amount of time watching him.

Warner Brothers and the DCEU have since adjusted their strategy and given up on the

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/justice_league_2017

shared universe model, citing a desire to focus in more on individual, character-driven

films

Star Wars, with their two spin-off “Star Wars Story” films, Solo (2018) and

Rogue One (2016), relied too heavily on brand and character recognition to drive

people to the theaters without a narratively justified reason to tell the story. Solo told

the history of one of the franchise’s most popular characters with all new actors and

without any narrative connection to the rest of the franchise, which left many

wondering why the film existed

. Fans were familiar with only one portrayal of Han

Solo, from Harrison Ford, and Alden Ehrenreich’s did not closely enough resemble

that. Recognition without familiarity when you are used to having strong emotional

ties to a specific character can feel alienating. Rogue One, on the other hand, was a

deeper dive into an untold story related to the franchise’s original trilogy with no

recognizable or familiar characters. These films illustrate opposite failures to utilize

recognition, where Solo relies upon it too heavily and Rogue One does not use it

enough. The MCU provides a counterpoint to both of these issues as well in Ant-Man

and the Wasp (2018). As a sequel to Ant-Man (2015), it featured characters that fans

knew and had seen in one or two previously if they were keeping up with the

cinematic universe. Narratively, it supplied a major plot device for the massive

tentpole blockbuster Avengers: Endgame (2019), introducing time travel via the

Quantum Realm. Those anticipating Endgame might be encouraged to see Ant-Man

Sharf, Zack. “Warner Bros. Pulls Back on DCEU: Shared Universe No Longer Top Priority.”

IndieWire. IndieWire, February 28, 2019. https://www.indiewire.com/2019/02/warner-bros-pulls-

back-dceu-no-shared-universe-1202047994/.

Owen, Phil. “'Solo' Is Failing Because Disney Has No Vision for the 'Star Wars' Franchise

(Commentary).” TheWrap, June 1, 2018. https://www.thewrap.com/solo-is-failing-because-disney-

had-no-vision-for-the-star-wars-franchise-commentary/.

and the Wasp for narrative reasons, and fans of Ant-Man will go because of their

established relationship with the character. Relying on recognition without familiarity

narrative can prove just as costly as failing to establish it altogether.

Universal’s Dark Universe, which began and ended with The Mummy (2017),

overestimated the familiarity of their characters and the box office numbers that

would result from it. The Mummy was to be the first film of a shared universe in the

vein of the MCU that would unite the monsters made famous in films released

between the 1920s and the 1950s. A cast photo revealed ahead of The Mummy’s

release showed off several actors who would go on to play characters such as

Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Invisible Man. A statement from the

studio stating “It’s our hope these movies will engross longtime fans and spark the

imaginations of brand-new ones” showed that they believed in the power of

familiarity of their characters

. The plan never gained traction, and every movie after

The Mummy was cancelled. Many cite The Mummy’s box office failure as the reason

for the Dark Universe’s cancellation, as it exhibited a lack of interest in a shared

universe starring the monsters

. Universal was eager to follow in Marvel’s footsteps,

but marketed their franchise based on a familiarity that did not exist.

Comparing these universes and their models brings out a few insights into

how recognition and familiarity impact the viewing experience. Just as recognition

Gilyadov, Alex. “Dark Universe Announced as Universal Monsters Shared Universe: Depp,

Bardem, Condon and Elfman Confirmed.” IGN. IGN, May 23, 2017.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/05/22/dark-universe-announced-as-universal-monsters-shared-

universe-depp-bardem-condon-and-elfman-confirmed.

Loughrey Clarisse. “Universal Abandon Dark Universe Plans as Standalone Invisible Man Movie

Gets New Director.” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, January 29, 2019.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/universal-dark-universe-invisible-man-

blumhouse-johnny-depp-movie-a8751881.html.

can be brief and is visually based, familiarity is best built with time. Marvel’s slow

process took four years and six films to culminate in The Avengers, and on a larger

scale eleven years and twenty-one films to culminate in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Conversely, the DCEU released three films in four years before Justice League and

received poor reviews and failed to match Marvel’s financial success. Speed and

number of films are not the only factors of course, but the impact of having time to

grow with, sit with, and feel with characters cannot be understated. Jumping to

massive “crossover” events without solo films has not proven to be successful.

We also see a spectrum emerge of recognition and familiarity, where on one

end filmmakers fail to create or successfully utilize their emotional and narrative

benefits and on the other there is an over-reliance on them. The most successful

models fall somewhere in the middle. Emotional resonance with the characters can be

felt, but they do not take the place of a compelling narrative. Familiarity cannot take

the place of story, especially in these expansive shared universes, but it must exist to

make the audience care.

FAN SERVICE: A UNIQUE USE OF FAMILIARITY

Previous knowledge and emotional investment can push a film forward when

utilized in combination with compelling narrative or storytelling but relying too

heavily on it or failing to cultivate it altogether can prove devastating to a film’s

critical and financial success. This is true on a broad level, as it pertains to emotional

and plot-based familiarity and recognition cues, but is also true when talking about

fan service. Fan service is a term used to describe a variety of different techniques

and moments in contemporary popular franchise cinema and is defined by Bart Beaty

as the “tendency of cultural creators to provide fans with story elements that they long

to see—to cater unabashedly to an audience’s expressed desires”

. Beaty highlights

various types of fan service including easter eggs, crossovers, and linked story

elements.

According to him, these techniques create distinctive “insiders” and

“outsiders” within the audience. The insiders gain the most from fan service, as those

moments speak to their knowledge of the films, television episodes, other texts, or

paratexts that make up the intertextual franchise. The outsiders are typically new to

the universe, or more casual fans who do not spend much time trying to learn about or

understand all the references. The outsiders can rely on the insiders for help or just

enjoy the films without an understanding of these fan service moments. The nature of

contemporary intertextuality is such that the viewing experiences of insiders and

outsiders is going to be different, due to the disparity in understanding that shapes

their interpretation of various storytelling cues throughout the films.

For the purposes of this thesis, since it aims to more deeply understand the

narrative and emotional implications of intertextual storytelling, fan service will have

a narrower definition that focuses only on those moments without those sorts of

implications. Since narrative and emotional moments have more of a basis in film

language and are developed over the course of one film or several, fan service is a

moment that does not do those things. It does not push the story forward or even

develop a character, but instead serves only to excite the insiders. Mostly, they exist

Bart Beaty (2016) Superhero fan service: Audience strategies in the

contemporary interlinked Hollywood blockbuster, The Information Society, 32:5, 318-325, DOI:

10.1080/01972243.2016.1212616

outside the artistic aspects of the film, though they can be tied into narrative and

emotion. To use Beaty’s categories, fan service moments are easter eggs, they exist to

be found and enjoyed, but that is their primary, and sometimes sole, function. Films

made by Pixar usually stand on their own but include intertextual easter eggs for

those who have seen several movies from the studio. For example, in the background

of a scene in Coco (2017), there is a poster for upcoming Pixar release Incredibles 2

(2018). Those films do not connect narratively, but this easter egg speaks to fans

familiar with both. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), a quote on the

grave of Nick Fury reads “The path of the righteous man…”, which was made

famous in Pulp Fiction (1994) by a character named Jules, serving to excite fans of

Pulp Fiction or of Samuel L. Jackson, the actor who plays both Fury and Jules.

Jackson is the only connection between the movies, and so this easter egg is not for

those who are exclusively Captain America or Marvel fans. Fan service and easter

eggs can come in many different forms and speak to a variety of different insiders,

but ultimately do not cause outsiders to miss any valuable information about the

story.

CANON

As has been illustrated to this point, intertextual storytelling has its basis in

connectivity. In its most complicated forms it is a web, connecting a multitude of

stories across all possible media, unified by a singular title or label. But what happens

when that web becomes too large? What happens when parts of this web start to

contradict each other, or when some threads continue on, so far away from the

original web that it starts to become irrelevant? Various strategies have been

developed over time for defining which stories matter more than others, and which no

longer even “count” at all. Lines in the sand are constantly drawn and redrawn to

determine which films, television shows, books, comics, or other stories are officially

part of the universe’s continuity and which have no bearing on the stories that will be

told. The group of stories that get deemed official, commonly referred to as “canon”,

is never set in stone. Whoever is in charge of writing the story at the time has control

over it, though maintaining a relatively stable canon and limiting confusion

surrounding its definition is typically in the storyteller’s best interest. Cultural factors

(such as fidelity to established character traits of “serial figures”, as described

previously) tend to guide these decisions, but ultimately the storyteller can eschew

those factors if they so choose. No two canons are comprised using the exact same

rules, although there are tendencies and methods of communicating canon decisions

that remain fairly consistent. This section will look at canon construction throughout

various time periods and media in order to better understand the practices that take

place today.

Comic books, in particular the Marvel comic books from the twentieth century

that feature many of the same characters that today’s films do, serve as a suitable

origin for today’s standards regarding interconnectivity. In the 1960s, writer Stan Lee

was penning many of the companies most popular titles, such as “Fantastic Four”,

“X-Men”, and “The Avengers”. In order to produce all of the books in the necessary

time frame, Lee developed what came to be known as “The Marvel Method” of

collaboration with his artists and co-creators. Essentially, the Marvel Method

consisted of three elements: the writer devising a general plot for each book, the artist

fleshing out the story details with their drawings, and the writer returning to fill in the

dialogue. This technique allowed the writer, in this case Lee, to be free to write many

books at a time while each had its own artist to handle the specifics of the story-

telling. As a result, Lee was able to maintain a fully consistent shared universe with

little to no contradictions, since he was overseeing the events of everything that took

place in the universe. The Marvel Method was used for several decades, leaving head

writers such as Chris Claremont and Roy Thomas in charge of whole groupings of

books to ensure the continuity did not contradict itself and maintain a level of quality

assurance throughout the brand

Since then, the Marvel comics universe has introduced various alternate

universes in which parallel versions of characters exist and interact in their own

continuity, separate from the main comic universe. This is a way to explain away

various inconsistencies and tell simultaneous stories that have no impact on each

other. The most notable of these is the “Ultimate” universe, which launched in 2000

and acted as a soft reboot where, for example, Spider-Man, who had grown to full

adulthood, could return to his teenage years that popularized the character. Each

universe had its own name and was often part of the title of the book. “Ultimate

Spider-Man” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” were each released every month and

had no plot connection. In addition to different titles, Marvel introduced a numbering

system to keep track of the various alternate realities that existed

. The main universe

Earth was “Earth-616” and was home to the main continuity that Marvel had used

O'Keefe, Matt. “Making Comics: The Ever-Evolving Marvel Style of Storytelling.” The Beat,

December 28, 2019. https://www.comicsbeat.com/marvel-style-marvel-method-comics/.

“Multiverse (Marvel Comics).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, April 18, 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse_(Marvel_Comics).

since 1939 and the Ultimate Universe Earth was “Earth-1610”. There is no limit to

the number of alternate universes that exist in Marvel comics, and all are simply parts

of the Marvel Universe canon. This strategy has found its way into the Marvel

Studios division, as the continuity from the MCU takes place on Earth-199999. These

labels help Marvel separate their various alternative universes while maintaining a

single canon.

These strategies to maintain a coherent shared universe, narrowing creative

control and creating alternate universes where different versions of characters exist,

are still used to this day across all forms of media. Film and television though, come

with other difficulties brought about by different production methods and cultural

norms. As mentioned previously, characters like Batman carry a cultural weight to

them in that everyone associates various traits and characteristics to them, but film

and television do not always aim to maintain a consistent shared universe in the ways

that comic books do. When Adam West began playing Batman in 1966, he existed in

a different continuity than the Batman played by Lewis Wilson in the 1939 serial. 20

Century Fox, who released the 1966 television series made no effort to distinguish

between the two and viewers had no expectation that the two would be connected.

Crossovers and connectivity were the exception rather than the rule, and connections

were only assumed if it was made explicit. Film and television, as mediums, are more

difficult to streamline under one creative entity as comic books could using the

Marvel Method. Films are produced by the combined efforts of many creatives and

getting multiple creative units on the same page in order to produce the degree of

interconnectivity featured in comic books is incredibly difficult.

As intertextuality became more common, and franchises such as Star Trek and

Star Wars began to spread into different media, canons became more complex. Books

were using the same characters as the movies and series, and since they originated on-

screen in a continuous story, it was important that they maintain familiarity from the

original and fit into that story. As a result, we can see a sort of canonical hierarchy of

media form, based on the most popular media that particular story gets told in. Today,

Stark Trek’s official website lists all the canonical stories and includes only the films

or shows

. Books are not treated as canon in cases where they conflict. This

hierarchy, while not always outlined as clearly, tends to be consistent in that studios

or corporations prioritize the medium in which stories became popular.

Ideally, canon decisions are driven by a creative desire to tell the best story

possible, but they can be based on factors outside of narrative clarity or coherence.

Real world contracts, creative disputes, and audience reception can all shape canon.

This section will explore the reasons that canons are formulated, how they get

communicated to audiences, and how those audiences react. In the absence of a

studio- or filmmaker-defined canon, fans often make decisions on what they deem

necessary to the franchise. Before Lucasfilm made an official statement on the Star

Wars canon and the rules that define it, fans often would argue in online forums about

which titles were and which were out

. These “canons” are hard to track, since many

fans have different opinions about what requirements a text must meet to be required

canon, and any agreements they come to are ignored once the studio makes an official

“Database Content.” Star Trek. Accessed April 27, 2020. https://www.startrek.com/database.

Brooker, Will. Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans. New York: Continuum,

2003.

declaration. For the purposes of this thesis, the focus will be only on the decisions

made at the studio level and fan reactions to those decisions. Ultimately, these are the

most authoritative and clearly defined, and so make for the most straightforward

illustration of the impact canons have on storytelling.

When Iron Man (2008) was released and the MCU detailed its plan for full

interconnectivity and a shared universe, canon became even more important. Just as

the comics did, Marvel films would exist together and have a consistent continuity.

The Iron Man films would be influenced by the events of The Avengers (2012) and

vice versa. In an intertextual web such as that, it was crucial that fans know and

understand which films influence the universe, since any film they see could

reference an event in a prior one. With the popularity of the MCU’s shared universe

model, fans began to expect this level of connection. The birth of the DCEU serves as

proof, since Man of Steel (2013) preceded Batman v. Superman (2016) and the two

heroes would no longer exist separately from each other on-screen. Still, the issue of

narrative sprawl and a fanbase hyper-focused on continuity would cause minor

problems with Marvel. In Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), a time jump of eight

years following a scene set just after the events of The Avengers caused many fans to

point out a lack of continuity in the overall timeline that still persists at the time of

this writing

. Marvel Studios has yet to comment on this inconsistency, as the brief

title card has little actual impact on the MCU timeline, but fans paying attention to

moments like that marks a new level of canon accountability that studios are held to.

Kyriazis, Stefan. “Marvel MCU Official Timeline CONFIRMS That Spider-Man Mistake but Still

DOESN'T Make Sense.” Express.co.uk. Express.co.uk, November 18, 2018.

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1047078/Marvel-MCU-timeline-Spider-Man-Infinity-

war-Avengers-chronology-mistake-release-date.

Before the “Sequel Trilogy” of Star Wars began with The Force Awakens

(2015), a series of three books written in the early 1990s by Timothy Zahn were the

official texts detailing the events that occurred after The Return of the Jedi (1983).

The Thrawn Trilogy, as it came to be known, was commissioned by Lucasfilm and

followed the lives of Han, Luke, and Leia as they started families and continued to

battle what was left of the Galactic Empire

. When Disney acquired Star Wars in

2012 and made the decision to make a new set of films set after The Return of the

Jedi, Zahn’s trilogy had to be removed from the canon. By doing so, they gained

creative freedom to tell a new story with new characters and freed themselves of the

burden of either rehashing the Thrawn Trilogy or somehow catching up audiences

who may not have read the novels. The Force Awakens could not have existed in the

same world as the Thrawn Trilogy, and so the latter had to be excised from official

Star Wars continuity.

As mentioned previously, canon decisions are motivated by other factors. A

few weeks after the Marvel Cinematic Universe ended its third “phase” of films with

Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), producer and

president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige revealed the upcoming slate of movies and

television shows the studio would be releasing over the next few years. For the first

time at one of these massive announcements, television shows were included that

would appear on Disney+, a new streaming service from Marvel Studios’ parent

company

. Marvel Television, a separate division of Marvel Entertainment, had, to

“Jedi Council - Interviews: Timothy Zahn.” TheForce.Net - Your Daily Dose of Star Wars.

Accessed April 27, 2020. http://theforce.net/jedicouncil/interview/zahn.asp.

Dockterman, Eliana. “All the Marvel Shows Coming to the Disney+ Streaming Service.” Time.

Time, January 2, 2020. https://time.com/5646870/disney-plus-marvel-tv-shows/.

this point, released eleven television series, some of which aired on ABC, while

others were made available on streaming services Netflix and Hulu. These shows

were part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the time of their airing and had various

tie-in moments and episodes featuring MCU characters and events. The Netflix

series, consisting of five solo hero shows (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron

Fist, and The Punisher) as well as one crossover series (The Defenders (2017)), were

mostly popular critically and commercially, but were ultimately cancelled, with none

of them running for more than three seasons

. With Feige’s announcement of the

new Disney+ shows alongside the shuttering of Marvel Television and transfer of its

operations to Marvel Studios in early 2020, many fans wondered whether these older

shows were still canonical. A few months after, Feige stated that the television and

movie worlds would be interconnected “for the first time”

. Fans took this as

evidence that Marvel TV no longer counted. Combined with Feige’s promotion to

CCO of Marvel Studios and the dissolution of Marvel Television, this move

consolidated Feige as a sole “auteur” of the MCU. Marvel has established itself as a

strong creative force under his lead, and by eliminating Marvel Television and its

shows from the canon, they erased everything Feige had no part in. Since interactions

between the films and shows were mostly limited to short references or cameos, and

always in the direction of the shows being impacted by the films, this shift in canon

Daredevil: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/daredevil, Luke Cage:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/jessica_jones, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/luke_cage, The

Defenders: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/marvel_s_the_defenders/s01, The Punisher:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/marvel_s_the_punisher

Hoover, Vince. “Kevin Feige Confirms That Marvel TV Was NOT Part Of MCU.” ScreenGeek,

December 11, 2019. https://www.screengeek.net/2019/12/11/mcu-marvel-tv-kevin-feige/.

caused no narrative issues, and only served to make Marvel Studios more closely

resemble the Stan Lee-helmed Marvel Model of storytelling.

Creative control was likely not the only reason for this change in canon, some

of these series were not as successful as the films creatively or commercially. One

show in particular, Inhumans (2017), which followed the royal family of an altered

race of humans, received terrible reviews with an 11% from review aggregator Rotten

Tomatoesand was cancelled after the first season

. By many metrics it was the

least successful project released by Marvel Studios or Television, and so the

motivation to erase it from MCU history is clear. Complicating matters is the

popularity of the Inhuman royal family in the comic books, having existed since they

appeared in an issue of “Fantastic Four” in 1965. By removing an unsuccessful show

about popular, long-running characters from the canon, Marvel is afforded the

opportunity to reboot them and try again to profit off of them, which many have

already speculated they will do

. Inhumans could have been removed on its own,

but the authorship issue would have still persisted, and even though Netflix does not

release streaming numbers, it can be assumed they are not as commonly viewed as

the massively successful films in the universe are, and so removing all Marvel

Television products was a much easier route to go.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/marvel_s_the_inhumans

Mason, Charlie. “Marvel's Inhumans, Ten Days in the Valley Officially Cancelled at ABC.”

TVLine. TVLine, May 11, 2018. https://tvline.com/2018/05/11/marvels-inhumans-cancelled-season-2-

abc/.

Wegotthiscovered. “Marvel Planning To Reboot The Inhumans In The MCU.” We Got This

Covered, June 11, 2019. https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/marvel-planning-to-reboot-the-

inhumans-in-the-mcu/

Matadeen, Renaldo. “Captain Marvel Paves the Way For An Inhumans Reboot.” CBR. CBR, March

13, 2019. https://www.cbr.com/captain-marvel-inhumans-reboot/.

Canons also shape expectations, ensuring that fans do not hope to see a

character appear in a film they do not actually exist in the same universe as.

Removing the Daredevil TV show from the MCU canon ensures that fans are not

looking out for him in any Avengers movies. The filmmakers do not have to explain

why Daredevil was not on hand to fight the next major world threat if he does not

even exist in the universe. This is also why communication becomes incredibly

important in canon-shaping. If audience’s baseline expectation for a franchise is that

its films interact, exceptions to that rule must be clear. Managing expectations can be

incredibly important to viewer experience, as outlined later in this thesis, and canons

are a way of solidifying uniformity of expectations across an entire fanbase.

Once the canon is set, it has to be communicated to audiences so that they are

actually on the same page. Canons are rarely written down and published, making it

difficult for casual fans to keep up with any changes overtime. How is any given

audience member to know that a book they read or a comic they heard about actually

has no relevance to the film they are about to see? This is an issue of canon, but also a

general issue of intellectual property and character rights. Perhaps best illustrated by

Marvel Studios in the early 2010s, studios and filmmakers must communicate to fans

when characters that are typically associated with each other, usually in some other

medium or past film, no longer exist in the same cinematic universe. Spider-Man,

with three different portrayals in ten years, is one of the most complicated character

rights issues in the contemporary entertainment industry. Until 2015, Sony Pictures

had exclusive rights to produce Spider-Man movie content as per an agreement with

Marvel Entertainment prior to Marvel Studios opening a production division. Sony

continued to make their own Spider-Man movies and rebooted the franchise with

Andrew Garfield as the web-slinging hero and the title The Amazing Spider-Man

(2012) to differentiate it from the Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man series that ended

only five years earlier.

Despite Spider-Man having acted as a Marvel icon for decades, The Amazing

Spider-Man did need to distance itself from the MCU. The Sony logo as well as

different visual styles were enough for many fans to differentiate between the two

comic book universes. In 2015, Marvel Studios made a deal with Sony to use Spider-

Man in their movies, but now with nearly 15 years of Sony Spider-Man films, they

had to establish that this Spider-Man was different and under their control

. Previous

incarnations of the hero were not well-received critically, and showing that a new

studio was in charge was a key part of separating them from that reputation The

second trailer for Captain America: Civil War, the hero’s first MCU appearance, did

just that. At the end of the trailer, Spider-Man, wearing a new costume, jumps into the

frame and grabs Captain America’s shield, announcing his arrival with “Hey

everyone”

. Spider-Man’s greeting was directed at the other heroes as well at the

audience, and the image of him holding the shield became a visual representation that

this version of the character was different and would interact with the MCU

characters fans loved.

When Sony and Marvel later had a falling out after Spider-Man: Far From

Home (2019) was released, the news leaked to fans and was later confirmed by Sony

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_amazing_spider_man_2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGfhS1hfTWw

via a direct public statement on social media

. The contract to put Spider-Man in the

MCU had expired, and Sony and Marvel would not be creating a new one as many

had expected they would. Tom Holland would continue to play the role, but his future

films would not be in the MCU canon and exist in a separate universe. The news

circulated widely and quickly online. Fans were disappointed and angry with the

studios, with most of the ire aimed at Sony

. The studios reached an agreement and

Spider-Man rejoined the MCU

. The entire situation, while complicated, serves as an

illustration of the speed at which news travels, and the way that leaks and statements

to trade magazines can dominate the news cycle to communicate canon changes to

fans. Additionally, it serves as an example of the difficulties of maintaining a fully

consistent shared universe, especially when property rights and contractual

obligations are involved to complicate matters.

Canon communications are not always indirect, as simple title distinctions and

casting moves can announce and solidify a recalibration of canon. As mentioned

previously, Star Wars and Lucasfilm erased a sizeable portion of novels and other

stories from their canon in 2014 to make room for the new trilogy that began with The

Force Awakens. A statement published on the official Star Wars website notes that

these stories would not end, nor would they be forgotten entirely. Instead, they would

be rebranded as “Star Wars Legends” and serve as stories that may or may not have

https://twitter.com/SonyPictures/status/1164036827667238912

Boren, Jade. “Spider-Man Is Leaving The Marvel Cinematic Universe & Fans Are Furious: Report.”

Hollywood Life. Hollywood Life, September 27, 2019. https://hollywoodlife.com/2019/08/20/spider-

man-leaving-mcu-fan-reaction-tom-holland/.

Graser, Marc. “Spider-Man: How Sony, Marvel Will Benefit from Unique Deal (EXCLUSIVE).”

Variety. Variety, February 10, 2015. https://variety.com/2015/film/news/details-spider-man-appear-in-

sony-and-marvel-movies-1201429039/.

actually happened in-universe

. In doing so, Lucasfilm was able to preserve beloved

characters and histories without holding on to any obligation to adhere to them. They

moved on from nearly thirty-five years of storytelling by saying that only the films

and recent animated television shows were canon, setting up a new brand for what

had come to be known as the “Expanded Universe”. Marvel has used similar

shortcuts to make their canon clearer by re-using prominent actors from recently de-

canonized works. In a presentation at San Diego Comic Con in 2019, Feige

announced a movie starring the vampire hunter Blade was in development and that

Mahershala Ali would star. However, Ali had already served as the antagonist of the

first season of Luke Cage. Fans, in response, questioned the canonicity of the Marvel

Television productions

. Ali was likely chosen for a number of reasons, but their

lack of concern about his double casting is a sign of the Netflix series’

decanonization. When paired with Feige’s statement about the Disney+ shows

interacting with the films “for the first time”, Marvel circumvented an official

announcement and got the message across in other ways. The absence of a clear

message, in this case, preserves the stories told on Netflix for now, but puts them

clearly behind the films and Disney+ series in a canonical hierarchy.

Intertextuality and shared universes come with the burden of maintaining

continuity, especially since the MCU burst on to the scene in the late 2000s and made

it the cinematic storytelling norm. Keeping things consistent must be countered with

“The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page.” StarWars.com. Accessed April

27, 2020. https://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-

page.

Karim, Anhar. “With Mahershala Ali As Blade, The Marvel Cinematic Universe Is Called Into

Question.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, August 1, 2019.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anharkarim/2019/07/31/with-mahershala-ali-as-blade-the-marvel-

cinematic-universe-is-called-into-question/#42fc292ba71d.

an understanding of fan familiarity and attachment, in order to ensure that the fans are

not upset when something they love is cut from canon in the name of continuity.

Canon formation and definition is a balancing act, and one that is perhaps best

handled by a singular creative source, rather than spread across a variety of teams.

The Marvel Method of comic book storytelling has leaked into cinema, and at the

moment it is being met with great success.

It should be stated that more than alienate outsiders, recognition, familiarity,

and canon knowledge are tools to foster a stronger sense of community amongst

insiders. Narrative and emotional engagement is (usually) still possible for people

who have none of this background understanding, but a third level of participation

exists for those who do. The best shared universe films let every single audience

member in, even if they are missing some parts of the viewing experience.

Chapter 2: The Cycle of Speculation

“I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of

the coming conflict.”

- Doctor Strange

Any fan of cinema can name at least one trip to the movie theater they will

never forget. Maybe it was the film they saw, the people they were with, or the

theater itself that make the experience particularly memorable. For myself, the car

rides to and from the movies are often some of my favorite parts of the whole

journey. Talking about what we will see, or just saw, with my friends is half the fun,

as we trade theories, interpretations, or anything else that struck us as particularly

noteworthy. To me, there are few greater joys in the world than leaving a theater and

turning to my friends to discuss a moment that took my breath away. Sometimes the

best part of a film is getting to talk about it, and shared universes like the MCU and

Star Wars have pushed those conversations to the forefront of their viewing

experience.

Films are often described in terms of what they do to expectations. They fail

to rise to them, they subvert them, and sometimes they meet all of them in incredibly

satisfying ways. Now more than ever, it is nearly impossible for a film to arrive in

theaters carrying zero expectations with it. Through familiarity with characters,

stories, or the settings in which a film takes place, we typically enter viewing

experiences with general ideas of what might happen. If films in a shared universe

have generally followed a certain set of rules, we expect the next entry to continue the

trend. These expectations become more specific and salient when exposed to

paratexts that provide more detailed insight into an upcoming release. These precise

expectations, referred to here as speculations, can often dominate the conversation

surrounding shared universe filmgoing. Not only do movies that carry the burden of

addressing speculation have to be entertaining and meet traditional standards of

quality, but they must surprise, excite, and appease viewers who, in some cases,

dedicate a significant portion of their lives to learning about and celebrating the

characters, events, or universes featured in these films.

The difference between expectation and speculation lies in the latter’s

specificity. Rarely do people watch something without holding some sort of

expectation about it. Genre, filmmaker, year of release, star-power, and other macro

level facts about a movie can all cue expectations of some sort. These expectations,

paired with further research or knowledge, can then be refined in order to become

speculation. For example, seeing that Harrison Ford was cast in Star Wars: The Force

Awakens (2015) can increase expectation simply because Harrison Ford is a popular

actor that people know. His addition to the cast gives the film prestige and standing,

especially within the Star Wars universe. On a speculative level, Ford’s casting leads

to questions about his character Han Solo’s role in the film. What has he been doing

since his character was last seen? How will he be introduced? Expectation, in this

case, is knowing that Han Solo will be in the film, and speculation is the attempt to

hypothesize how he will be used. This distinction is important, as one is born of the

other.

Television, a common medium for telling serialized stories, is often rife with

speculation and provides a good model for us to better understand the practice and

how it works. Season five of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) ends with the

titular heroine’s death. In anticipation of the next season, predicting Buffy’s

resurrection does not qualify as speculation, as cultural and storytelling norms (for

Buffy and in general) dictate that it would be highly unusual for a show to continue on

without its main protagonist, especially when the show is named after her. It is an

expectation that she will return in some way. A speculation is more polished, often

informed by paratextual evidence. Perhaps a commercial for season six depicts

Willow, Buffy’s witch friend, performing spells in a graveyard. Fans could take that

to mean that Willow will use magic to revive the vampire slayer, thus creating a

speculative hypothesis. This exercise, an established part of television viewing, has

made its way to the silver screen and become popularized by shared universes.

It is not enough to simply note the existence of speculation, however.

Consumers of serialized media have been speculating for as long as the form has

existed. Wondering what happens next is part of storytelling, and when breaks exist

between entries in a story, there is more time to wonder in greater detail.

Contemporarily, however, speculation has become a crucial part of the film viewing

experience. With the rise of cinematic universe storytelling coinciding with the rise of

the internet, there is simultaneously an increase in films that fuel speculation and a

massive platform to discuss it on. If a person wants to know what will happen in the

next major release, the internet will supply a seemingly endless amount of theories,

speculation, and rumors to read up on and talk about. There are entire Facebook

groups, forum threads, and even websites dedicated to discussing various shared

universes and speculating about their future.

On these sites, as much as current releases are discussed, so are those that are

upcoming or in development. As soon as one new film is released, it is not long until

questions are raised about the next one. Every morsel of news or rumor can be turned

into speculation. As long as Marvel is producing new content, there will be things to

discuss, theorize about, and learn. The MCU began tapping into this fan practice by

utilizing post-credits scenes. Iron Man (2008) changed the post-credit sequence

forever, turning it from a way to make a joke at the end of a movie into a way to tease

future projects. Now, fans do not even need to leave the theater before beginning

hypothesizing about the future of the characters they love. The past, however, can be

just as relevant in speculation. Films can develop meaning as others get released.

Fans often find references they could not have understood at the time of release or

learn production secrets that change how they view certain elements of a film.

Famously, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) director James Gunn revealed to the

internet that there was an easter egg embedded in the movie that no viewer had found

yet. As a result, fans have found themselves going back to it over and over again,

with the most recent update coming five years after its theatrical run

. Fans can begin

speculation as soon as development on a film is rumored, and from there it has the

potential to go on long after a film is released.

What results from this constant, hyper-involved way of participating in shared

universes is a Cycle of Speculation. From the formation of expectations, to the

viewing experience itself, to the post-viewing revisiting of films and the revision of

Sandwell, Ian. “What's the Deal with Guardians of the Galaxy's Mystery Easter Egg?” Digital Spy.

Digital Spy, August 6, 2019. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a28604627/guardians-of-the-galaxy-

easter-egg-mystery-explained-no-one-has-found/.

expectations for the future, fans can find themselves in a storytelling loop. In the

viewing experience, those who have speculated about what might occur in the film

can have a different viewing experience than those who have not. While watching a

film, speculation gets put up against the actual events that take place. If there is a

character widely assumed to die in a film, their death would have different resonance

for those who speculated that it might occur than on those who did not. Each can feel

the pathos of the moment if the filmmaking techniques employed cue them to, but the

Cycle of Speculation adds another intertextual layer of emotion that only some

experience. If a death occurs and is being viewed by a person who thought it was a

possibility but was hoping against it, they also might feel disappointment in the

storytelling choice. Conversely, they could be excited to learn that a different death

they predicted would happen actually occurred. There can be entirely different

viewing experiences between those who participate in the Cycle of Speculation and

those who do not.

In this chapter, I will detail the Cycle of Speculation and the way it influences

how people watch shared films. I will outline a dedicated fan’s experience with a film

from the formation of expectations all the way through re-assessment and post-

viewing. After explaining the steps of the Cycle, I will illustrate the experience using

the case study of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), detailing all the

speculation fans had leading up to the finale of the nine-film Skywalker Saga and

reflecting on my experience viewing the film with all of the speculation in mind. The

Rise of Skywalker, of course, does not encompass all of the possible outcomes of the

Cycle, but showcases how it works in the conclusion of one of the most expansive

serialized stories in cinema history and demonstrate the ways people get more out of

particular moments than the traditional tools of filmmaking can elicit.

PARATEXTS: MOVING FROM EXPECTATION TO SPECULATION

In order to map the viewing experience of speculating fans, we must first

understand where those speculations come from. Most often, predictions about the

plot are not completely random or uninformed, but rather the result of expectations

that stem from a number of different inputs about the universe in which a film or

television episode take place. These inputs, called paratexts, can come in almost any

form. Jonathan Gray defines paratexts simply as anything that prepares us for a text,

better informs our viewing of a text, or provides peripheral information about a

film

. For the purposes of this chapter, the only paratexts that are relevant are those

that provide clues as to what may take place in the film or television show. For

example, trailers are incredibly important beyond helping consumers decide whether

or not to see a film. Speculation, or at least the highly specific speculation covered in

this chapter, occurs only in those who have already made up their mind about viewing

the text. If a paratext does not provide new information that can be used to shape the

expectations of a viewer prior to the viewing experience, then it will not be taken into

consideration for this chapter.

There are still a wide variety of paratexts to consider. Fans can develop

speculative theories based on merchandise, sneak preview footage, knowledge of

source material, and countless other ways. These speculation-informing paratexts can

be broken down into three principal categories, separated by their source. First and

Gray 6

most widely recognized are those generated by the studio itself. These promotional

paratexts are often, but not always, carefully calculated and considered. They are

designed to reveal the exact type and amount of information that the studio wants

audiences to have viewing the text. The Game of Thrones character posters discussed

in the introduction are exemplary of this type of paratext. HBO wanted viewers to

speculate about who would end up on the Iron Throne to end the series, and so they

provided a visualization of every possible option. While this did not provide any

clues, it did cue audiences to begin speculation, and widened the scope for anyone

with a narrow view of how the show might end. In particular, the poster featuring the

Night King, the leader of the white walkers and one of the shows major threats,

stoked discussion that perhaps the good guys might lose after all. The posters were

equal opportunity for every character, and as a result HBO inspired speculation

without hinting one way or another.

Trailers are one of the largest and most commonly consumed forms of

promotional paratexts and in recent years fans have begun relying heavily on them to

develope theories about what will happen. What used to be a means solely for

promoting a film or upcoming episode of television are now analyzed frame by frame

for clues about the what will occur in the newest installment of an shared universe.

With the rise of the internet, trailers can be watched as many times as one desires as

slowly as necessary to look at things that may only appear on-screen for a split-

second. When the first trailer was released for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015),

Lucasfilm reported that it was viewed 128 million times globally in the first twenty-

four hours of its release. Obviously, a majority of those views were people seeing it

for the first time, excited to get the first glimpse at a new Star Wars film since

Revenge of the Sith (2006). Still, there were certainly many who watched several

times in a row, either for their own purposes or for doing research for an article or

video they were making. The day after the trailer release, the internet was abuzz with

“trailer reaction videos” where people would explain or speculate about each

individual shot. These reaction videos were sometimes up to thirty minutes long and

included criticism as well as predictions about who these new characters were

Trailers work differently in modern cinematic universes. People are drawn in as much

by what they reveal, as by the questions they raise.

Sometimes trailers raise questions by introducing characters or showcasing

key events from the film they are advertising, but dedicated fans can use the explicitly

intertextual nature of cinematic universes to gain information about events that are

not depicted anywhere in the trailer. Game of Thrones fans, upon the release of the

season eight trailer, used a sequence of Arya Stark running down the hallway as

evidence of the appearance of Lady Stoneheart, a character from the novels who was

the undead version of Arya’s mother, Catelyn Stark. Fans cited the numerous shots of

the Stark crypt and Arya’s terrified face as she ran through Winterfell to speculate

that the White Walkers would raise all the deceased Stark ancestors to fight on their

side. Lady Stoneheart was a popular character in the novels, and so this seemed to

hint at her appearance in Season Eight. This prediction did not end up true, but it is an

example of fans taking the smallest clues and using them as tools for speculation.

Another example, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, comes in the release of the

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1QVZr242GA or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbg0zRA5RtI

trailer for Black Widow (2020). Fans noticed that Yelena, a new character played by

Florence Pugh, is wearing a vest in one scene that is similar to one Black Widow

wears in Infinity War. This, plus the information that Yelena is an old friend of

Widow’s, led fans to believe that Pugh’s character would die by the end of the film

and that Black Widow wears the vest in Infinity War as a tribute. At the time of this

writing, the film has not been released, but it still illustrates the great lengths fans go

to take any information given to them in order to piece together what may occur in a

given film.

As fans have begun to use the trailers as vehicles for speculation, studios have

taken notice and made them more difficult to glean information from. Famously,

Marvel Studios had several “fake” shots in the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War

(2018) designed to mislead fans and shape expectations for the film that were untrue.

One shot, featuring many of the heroes charging into battle in Wakanda, has the Hulk

centered in the frame and very much a part of the battle. Upon the release of Infinity

War, audiences discovered that not only was Hulk not present in the Battle of

Wakanda, but Bruce Banner was unable to transform into the Hulk after the first ten

minutes of the film

. Paradoxically, this did not stop any fan speculation about

trailers, but instead increased it. Now fans had a new dimension of trailers to

speculate on. On top of wondering about what the images in the trailer might mean,

they now ask if those images are even in the film. Shots that are in trailers get lost in

the editing process all the time, but those casualties are typically only small jokes or

Halliwell, Kate. “PSA: The Marvel Trailers Are Lying to You.” The Ringer. The Ringer, April 30,

2018. https://www.theringer.com/movies/2018/4/30/17303346/psa-the-marvel-trailers-are-lying-to-

you.

segments of an action sequence. The trailer for Infinity War masked a major character

arc and fabricated a whole sequence, and as a result transformed trailer watching into

a sort of investigative exercise.

Merchandise, such as toys, games, apparel, and costumes, are another avenue

for attempting to determine what will happen in an upcoming film. Action figures

have long been a way to reveal information about a film, whether they are

showcasing new characters or just a new outfit for existing characters. These toys

typically come with a short description of who the character is, and these descriptions

have varying degrees of vagueness based on how much is already known about them.

The first action figure for Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens reveals only that he is “a

dark warrior strong with the force” who “commands First Order missions with a

temper as fiery as his unconventional lightsaber”. The figure’s mask cannot be

removed, and there is no mention or clue of Kylo’s true identity. Lucasfilm was

careful to maintain the mystery behind the character. For Kylo Ren’s The Last Jedi

figure, he’s not wearing a mask and the description speaks more to his character’s

storyline. Once again, the studio is doing their best to control the flow of information

and give fans as little to discuss as possible aside from promoting their film.

There are types of paratexts, however, that are not intentionally shaped and

released by the studios. The second category of relevant paratexts includes any level

of plot information, whether it is an informed guess or a confirmed occurrence.

Sometimes leaks get the best of producers and reveal plot points well before a film’s

release. Among fans, LEGO sets have come to be a popular source of leaks and clues

to what will happen in a film. One notable case is with the LEGO set release for

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). In January 2015, months before the release of Age of

Ultron, the LEGO sets for the film were leaked online. The descriptions were mostly

innocuous, and featured scenes that fans could reasonably guess would occur in the

film, such as a fight sequence between Iron Man and Ultron. However, one set, titled

“The Hulk Buster Smash”, was described in great detail and told about a key scene in

the film. The description reads: “Hulk has been trapped by the powers of Scarlet

Witch and she is ready to fire an electrical bolt if he tries to escape! Place Iron Man in

the cockpit of the humungous Hulk Buster suit and rush to the rescue. On the way

you must fend off aerial attacks from the flying Ultron”. This turned out to be an

exact scene that happens midway through the film, and any fan who had done

research and discovered that description would not be surprised when Scarlet Witch

possesses Hulk and turn him against his Avengers teammates.

Adaptations, a common form of explicit intertextuality, have a built-in

paratext in the source material. Fidelity to that material is a unique standard by which

they are held to. Audience research shows that 89 percent of fans believe that fidelity

is at least moderately important to adaptation, even if they have not engaged directly

with the source material

. People care whether or not heroes are wearing outfits that

look like the ones they wear in the comics. Lack of fidelity, in any form, has potential

to impact viewing experience. In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007),

many fans were excited to see Galactus, the film’s major villain, depicted in live

action. When Galactus finally appears, resembling a cloud with a face, fans who were

Burke, Liam. Comic Book Film Adaptation: Exploring Modern Hollywood's Leading Genre. Place

of publication not identified: Univ Pr Of Mississippi, 2017.

hoping to see a fifty-foot-tall alien were incredibly let down

. Speculation about

adaptations often includes an assumption of fidelity, which is what makes it difficult

for fans to accept deviations from the source material.

Aside from confirmed plot details, there is a great deal of information that

people are only guessing at. Entire websites are dedicated to some of the larger

fanbases and trying to theorize about past and present films or texts. Mostly, these

sites use other types of paratexts to formulate speculation which they then publish for

others to read and comment on. Their speculation helps to inform the speculation of

anyone who encounters the sites. An article on Screen Rant, a website dedicated to

film and television news, titled “10 Fan Theories About the Black Widow Solo

Movie” compiles several predictions about what will occur in the upcoming 2020

film, using comic books as well as events of previous MCU films as evidence.

Anyone who reads this article could dismiss all the predictions entirely, but they

could also use it to support or create speculation of their own

. As a result of the

growing popularity of these websites and articles, people no longer need to have read

the source material in order to know what is contained in it. A video or article could

tell someone who has never read any of “A Song of Ice and Fire”, the book series

upon which Game of Thrones is based, all of the relevant events to this week’s

upcoming episode, and the person could speculate on their own from there. The

internet allows for people to share their own speculation and gain information from

Pooley, Jack. “10 Movies That Unbelievably Cut What We Wanted To See.” WhatCulture.com.

WhatCulture.com, September 13, 2019. https://whatculture.com/film/10-movies-that-unbelievably-cut-

what-we-wanted-to-see?page=2.

Pierce-Bohen, Kayleena. “10 Fan Theories About The Black Widow Solo Movie.” ScreenRant.

Screen Rant, May 12, 2019. https://screenrant.com/black-widow-solo-movie-fan-theories/.

others about any possible or confirmed plot events. We can think of this as

crowdsourced speculation. Fan communication leads to an amalgamation of theories

that individuals may not have been able to come up with on their own.

A third category of paratexts that can inform speculation is any real-world

news that is relevant to the production of a particular film. Casting notices can be

revelatory if the actor is known for playing a character that exists in the universe a

film takes place in. When Mark Ruffalo was revealed to be in Thor: Ragnarok

(2017), fans of the MCU wondered how the Hulk fit into the film. Deaths of actors

have similar effects, especially if they occur before or during production. When Paul

Walker died in advance of the release of Furious 7 (2015), conversation around the

film turned to speculation about how the film would handle the scenes shot after his

death as well as how his character would be written out of the franchise

. Similar

speculation occurred after Carrie Fisher’s death before Star Wars: The Last Jedi

(2017). In these examples, speculation can be formed without much actual

involvement in other types of paratexts and can cultivate interest in a film even

among outsiders. Real people and events interfere with production and shape stories,

and audience members are aware of these interferences. It would have been nearly

impossible in 2015 to watch Furious 7 without being aware of Paul Walker’s death,

and many viewers were likely focused on whether or not the filmmakers handled his

passing tastefully and logically within the confines of the universe.

All of these paratexts act as inputs that impact people’s expectations, which

can then be refined and specified to turn them into speculations. Speculations need

Wigler, Josh. “Here's How Paul Walker Will Appear In 'Fast And Furious 7'.” MTV News, March

24, 2014. http://www.mtv.com/news/1724645/paul-walker-fast-furious-7-plan/.

not be incredibly detailed in order to impact the viewing experience and can be very

simple as long as they are specific and include some prediction about what will occur.

Some viewers, especially of larger, tentpole films, will have mapped out every detail

of a film they are about to see, but others will go in with smaller speculations, perhaps

with just one or two characters they anticipate will make an appearance. In either

case, the viewer will take note when the event they speculated about does or does not

occur. There are a number of forms paratexts can take, and so it is likely that with

larger releases most of the audience members have encountered or engaged with at

least one of them. Hypothesizing can occur subconsciously in cases where culture has

become saturated with information about a film, as is often the case with Star Wars or

the MCU. Regardless of how they have come across the information, many viewers

sit down to watch a shared universe film with speculation which will affect the way

they experience it.

Only one film in a shared universe can be the first, which means everything

that follows has to reconcile with what came before. Preceding films work similarly

to paratexts and can be rich sources of evidence to inform speculation about all future

films in the universe. For example, Avengers: Endgame (2019) is the twenty-second

film in the MCU, and so each of the twenty-one that came before it is fair game for

references to plot information or continuation of emotional threads. Here lies one of

the more troublesome aspects of shared universe storytelling for filmmakers and

viewers alike, since accurate speculations for crossover films likely require insider

knowledge of everything that has transpired in the universe to date. Paratexts have

limitations speculatively, since they cannot shape expectation as strongly as films

can, only refine them. With inaccurate expectations, accurate speculation becomes all

the more difficult to develop. This is also why canon formulation and knowledge are

so important to speculation. Before we can use these films as evidence, we need to

understand if they are recognized by the filmmakers as having taken place in the

universe. Otherwise, fans can be disappointed at the absence of their favorite

character whose origins are in a television show that technically does not even count.

SPOILERS

“Spoiler” is a near impossible term to avoid on the internet and a unique form

of paratext. There are spoiler alerts tagged on to countless articles, warning those who

may read further in order to spare them from learning about plot twists or film

endings before they get the chance to have a viewing experience of their own.

Seemingly no film or television show is immune to spoilers, and there is a cultural

anxiety about learning plot details that finds its way into conversations, social media,

entertainment websites, and many other aspects of life. Their status as a non-film or

television-based means of learning about shared universes qualifies them as paratexts,

but spoilers separate themselves from the other categories in that they tend to answer

questions more than they raise them. Jonathan Gray defines spoilers as “any

information about what will happen in an ongoing narrative before the narrative itself

gets there”

. The most extreme of these, and the ones most fastidiously avoided, are

those concerning climactic moments, such as deaths or plot twists. Some fans,

however, prefer to avoid all plot details. These people may avoid even studio-

provided information such as trailers or cast lists, in fear of lessening their reaction to

Gray 147

a viewing experience. The question of how spoilers affect the viewing experience will

help shed light on the nature of shared universe storytelling. What are people so

afraid of? How has the industry reacted? Is everything a spoiler, and if not then where

do most people draw the line? When a word has become so prominent in

contemporary media vernacular, it is worth a deeper examination.

Spoilers, ultimately, have one major effect on the viewing experience. They

remove surprise from the narrative experience. The surprise, just like the information,

is taken out of the context and emotion of the rest of the film and loses impact as a

result. It is undeniable that every moment in film, especially the biggest ones, are

meant to be built to and suffer if they are not. Movies can deliver emotionally even if

we see the event coming, but part of the experience is lost. Moments of fan service

can be spoiled as well, since the thrill of seeing them on-screen is derived mostly

from the fact that they exist to begin with. Spoilers directly interfere with one of the

most common ways people interact withshared universe films: speculation. If people

are going to these films to have their speculations confirmed or denied, then having

that happen outside of a viewing experience changes the way they watch. This helps

us focus our understanding of spoilers, as usually people are most bothered by

learning things that short circuit their Cycle of Speculation. If a fan has a developed

theory about the identity of a masked villain who has been tormenting the heroes for

the last two movies, answering their speculation before the reveal gives them one less

way to engage with the film. A paper published in a journal on the psychology of

popular media culture compared the effects of spoilers and fan theories on the

viewing experience using the finale of How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014). The

researchers found that those who were given spoilers were significantly less stressed

by the episode than those who were exposed to fan theories that turned out to be true,

with stress in this case referring to “parasocial stress”, the stress that stems from an

emotional response to storytelling

. This indicates an engagement with events in the

show that are lessened by spoiler knowledge. If people want that level of engagement

with a show or movie, then spoiling the moments that bring about stress or

anticipation can take away a key part of their viewing experience. Regardless, the

narrative is no longer consumed in the way it is intended to be.

Just as degrees of intertextuality varies greatly between franchises, so too do

spoilers. What may seem like a spoiler for one community of fans might not be for

another. In adaptation, fans of the source material may know what happens in a movie

before it occurs on screen, which meets Gray’s definition for a spoiler. Viewers

unfamiliar with the source material may look to insiders for understanding about what

might happen next. This practice is not always considered to be spoiling the film or

show, which reveals that spoilers typically must have an element of confirmation to

them. Fan theories, unconfirmed or disreputable leaks are typically deemed

“acceptable” because they do not guarantee anything, and the Cycle of Speculation is

kept intact. Confidence in the source of the information is core to determining

whether or not something is a spoiler, since that confidence will also impact the

degree to which expectation and speculation are affected.

Ellithorpe, M. E., & Brookes, S. E. (2018). I didn’t see that coming: Spoilers, fan theories, and their

influence on enjoyment and parasocial breakup distress during a series finale. Psychology of Popular

Media Culture., 7(3), 250-263. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000134

With such a large influence on the way people follow popular narrative,

studios and producers have adjusted their strategies to ensure the most spoiler-free

experience possible. After Avengers: Endgame (2019), the next MCU film released

was Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). With only a few months between their

releases, the Far From Home promotional cycle began while Endgame was still in its

theatrical run. The trailer opens with a video message from Tom Holland, who plays

Spider-Man, warning audience members that it contains spoilers for Endgame in the

opening moments, so they could stop watching if they had not seen the latest

Avengers film

. The benefits of this tactic are multifaceted for Marvel. The trailer

proves their commitment to keeping fans spoiler-free as well as driving people to see

Endgame before Far From Home, but it also creates an element of mystery around

the trailer. Spoilers themselves, like fan service, create a sort of insider/outsider

dynamic between those who are up to date and those who are not. Warnings like this

preserve the viewing experience of potential audiences, but they also encourage

people to go see the movies as soon as they are released so that they can become

insiders themselves.

To the contemporary fan, spoilers can be a risky part of participating in online

communities. Spoilers could appear at any moment, no matter how soon the next

movie comes out. Footage, scripts, or other forms of spoilers can appear with any

scroll, on any comment thread, on nearly any social media platform. Dodging spoilers

can be laborious, with some muting words on social media, ensuring that any posts

containing them will not appear on their timeline, while others do not even log on in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt9L1jCKGnE

the days or weeks leading up to a release they are looking forward to

. If the Cycle of

Speculation is a game, then having a movie spoiled for you is how you lose.

Still, if only one aspect of the film was spoiled, you remain free to speculate

about others, albeit with increased accuracy. After all, a spoiler is still a paratext at its

core and informs speculation as such. With the “what” out of the way, spoiled

viewers may look to see how a particular event is handled, and if it makes sense in the

context of the rest of the film. It may also inform their speculation about other parts

of the film. With the knowledge that character X dies, perhaps it becomes less likely

that character Y also dies. Spoilers shape expectation, which in return shapes

speculation, and so they must be worked into our understanding of how people view

these films. In the end, it is up to every individual fan to determine for themselves

what information they want to know before going into a film and what will “spoil”

the experience for them, but any piece of confirmed information they expose

themselves to will invariably result in an altered level of emotional engagement and

response.

VIEWING WITH SPECULATION

Once the lights dim in the theater and the screen displays the logos of the

various production companies that worked on a film, the speculation that people enter

with can no longer be touched by anything but the film itself. That is not to say that

their speculation remains static throughout the film, but only that paratexts fall by the

wayside in favor of the text itself, which becomes authoritative and takes control of

Yee, Alaina. “How to Avoid Spoilers without Leaving Facebook or Twitter.” PCWorld. PCWorld,

April 29, 2019. https://www.pcworld.com/article/3391408/how-to-avoid-spoilers-on-facebook-and-

twitter.html.

the viewers expectations for what will occur going forward. As events unfold, the

hypotheses that dominated the viewer’s mind get put up against the facts of the film.

This comparison, between the actual and the speculated, leads to a reading of the film

that differs from what it might have been had the speculation never occurred in the

first place. The effects of these readings can be long-lasting and influence opinion of

the film. They can either work with or against the other more traditional tools of

filmmaking being utilized to cue the audience to feel certain things. Sometimes,

deviation from speculation can be a positive experience, resulting in a shocking twist

that delights audiences who never saw it coming. Other times, a fan might be

disappointed that a speculated event they were particularly excited about never comes

to fruition. Either way, speculation ultimately influences the viewing experience.

In most cases, a narrative event that corresponds in some way with a

speculated event will trigger a feeling within audience members that is affected as

much by their speculation than by on-screen cues. Once this event occurs, the viewer

can make a comparison to that speculation which will either confirm, deny, or

complicate their hypothesis. How the audience member reacts to the event depends

upon whether or not they wanted it to occur that way or simply just believed it would.

Thinking that a certain character is the murderer is different from thinking that it is a

good storytelling choice for that to be the case. Audience members want more than to

just be correct.

When a narrative event confirms a viewer’s speculation, the resulting feeling

is likely to be a sense of community and participation in the universe. Having an “I

knew it” moment can be incredibly satisfying, even if the speculation goes against

what we might consider a good storytelling direction. If a person both speculated and

like the choice made by the filmmakers, then satisfaction can become outright elation.

Think of the experience of reading a mystery novel for the first time and correctly

solving the case before the characters do. Making such a prediction might make you

feel smart, so long as the answer took some work to arrive upon and works within the

context of the novel. Being right is less rewarding if the answer is obvious or makes

no sense at all. Confirming speculation works in a similar way. Many viewers of the

Game of Thrones episode “The Long Night” began with various predictions on who

would be the one to kill the Night King, if he even died at all. If a person had

speculated that Arya would be the one to deliver the final blow, seeing it happen

would confirm their speculation and so give them a feeling of accomplishment

separate from the feeling of victory communicated by the narrative end to the battle

and the release of tension that comes with it. After the fact, the person may believe

that this moment was unearned, as many online did, but the thrill of having their

speculation confirmed still existed and affected the way they viewed the episode

Of course, speculations are often wrong. In the instance where a narrative

event denies a person’s speculation, there are at least two possible reactions, which

sometimes exist together. The first feeling, surprise, is the more common of the two

and can be either positive or negative. Learning a speculated event did not occur is

likely to result in some level of surprise given that it goes directly against what the

viewer had believed. The nature of prediction, as a calculated and often educated

belief, puts speculative viewers in a position where a film can more easily catch them

“Arya Stark Was The Wrong Choice For Winterfell Hero.” The Federalist, May 6, 2019.

https://thefederalist.com/2019/05/02/arya-stark-wrong-choice-winterfell-hero/.

off-guard. Denial of speculation based on a careful reading of hints built in to

previous films would be more shocking than denial of speculation based on one

article that referenced many unsourced leaks. Perceived quality of evidence directly

impacts how strongly the speculation is held, which in turn affects how strongly the

surprise is felt. The other outcome of incongruence between a film’s event and a

viewer’s hypothesis is disappointment. If a viewer had wholly convinced themselves

that the film would play out a certain way, and they were excited to see it on screen,

the version that exists will always be compared to the version in their head, which can

lead to a more negative reaction to the film as a whole.

To filmmakers and producers, disappointment is the most dangerous thing

about the Cycle of Speculation. A movie may be internally coherent, thrilling, and

entertaining, but if viewers’ strongly held hypotheses are denied, responses can still

be incredibly negative. Rian Johnson and Lucasfilm found this out with The Last

Jedi. Many fans entered with speculation about the parentage of the film’s main

protagonist, Rey. The previous installment, The Force Awakens, raised questions

about the orphan’s true origins, and audiences’ imaginations ran wild. Some online

had predicted she was the daughter of Luke Skywalker, others Obi-Wan Kenobi, still

others Han Solo and Leia Organa. The revelation that Rey’s parents were “nobodies”

by Kylo Ren was met with disappointment and anger. While it was only one of many

factors, many cite this as a reason for the film’s 43% audience score on Rotten

Tomatoes

. The reveal not only denied people’s speculation but denied that there

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_the_last_jedi

was anything worth speculating about to begin with

. From the backlash it becomes

clear that people hold their speculations close to their chest, and too emphatic of a

denial can crush audiences.

Confirmation and denial are not the only two ways a film can address

speculation. Some narrative events present clues without settling the answer to any

questions that may be raised. Complications of speculations often exist to keep

viewers interested, and perhaps lead to re-evaluating the speculation entirely. To

illustrate, I will pull in a personal example from my experience watching Captain

America: Civil War (2016) in theaters. As the third and final film of the Captain

America trilogy, I expected his character arc would reach some sort of conclusion. In

the comic books upon which the events of the film are loosely based, Captain

America is arrested and assassinated at the conclusion of the series. With that paratext

in mind, I speculated that the hero would meet a similar end on-screen. As the film

reached its climax, a villain I was not expecting to appear had become the primary

antagonist instead than Iron Man, who played that role in the source material. With

the arrival of this new dynamic, I was forced to re-assess my speculation despite the

fact that nothing had conclusively confirmed or denied it. In my case, no new

hypothesis arose, but I was no longer under the belief Captain America would die

because of the direction of the film. Throughout a viewing experience, any number of

things can cause us to revisit our speculations, even if we are not consciously aware

the process is occurring.

VanDerWerff, Emily. “The ‘Backlash’ against Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Explained.” Vox. Vox,

December 19, 2017. https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/18/16791844/star-wars-last-jedi-backlash-

controversy.

Occasionally, no narrative event will occur that is at all comparable to a piece

of speculation. The Last Jedi provides a good example for this, as many viewers

speculated about how Johnson would handle the death of one of the franchise’s most

iconic stars, Carrie Fisher. Ultimately, the film ended up ignoring the real world event

altogether, as her character Leia lived on. The only indication that the actress had

passed came in the form of a dedication at the conclusion of the film. Speculation

about how Leia’s character would be affected persisted throughout the entire film,

and would never have a confirmation, denial, or even a complication. Instead, viewers

would now wonder how the next installment in the saga would handle the death of an

icon. When a film lacks a narrative event that addresses elements of speculation,

seems logically that that element of speculation will have an impact on their viewing

experience. Non-events are harder to feel emotion from, since nothing ended up

occurring. The speculation is not denied necessarily, and so disappointment is far less

strong, if it exists at all.

All of these possibilities for how speculation may interact with the events of a

film result in the same thing: a re-assessment. Re-assessment can occur within a film,

or it can be pushed off to occur after the viewing experience has concluded. Which of

these two possibilities actually happen depends upon the new information received

and whether it is relevant to the current viewing experience or a future installment in

the shared universe. For example, before watching The Last Jedi, a viewer may have

speculated about the true identity of Supreme Leader Snoke. Upon his death two-

thirds of the way through the film, two levels of re-assessment can occur. First, they

must re-assess how they believe the remainder of the film will play out, since Kylo

Ren’s master is dead and he has taken over as Supreme Leader. How will this affect

he and Rey’s relationship? Active speculation continues, but only as it pertains to the

third and final act of The Last Jedi. Second, the question of Snoke’s identity still

lingers, but can likely be pushed off to a later film, since the momentum of the story

has shifted away from him as a character. This will not affect speculation, but rather

the viewer’s expectations for the shared universe as a whole.

This cycle of speculation, narrative event, reaction, and re-assessment

continues throughout the film. Speculation about the same plot point could change

multiple times through complication until an event occurs that either confirms or

denies a prediction. The journey that an audience member goes through while

watching a film with the added layer of speculation might be dynamic and completely

separate from the emotional journey brought about by the narrative. Each person in

the audience can have their own experience based on the predictions that they made.

Speculation is a game that can be played in our heads as the events of a film unfold

before our eyes. This is a game that not everyone is playing, and ultimately what

separates insiders and outsiders.

Once the credits roll and the film concludes, the Cycle of Speculation restarts

and the expectations for the next installment of the shared universe begin to be

formulated. The expectations that are made at the conclusion of a film, or in many

cases during the post-credits sequences, do not necessarily prepare viewers for the

immediate next film, but perhaps the next major release that takes place in the

universe. In some instances, fans can skip right to speculation, informed by their

engagement with relevant paratexts. Either way, one of the features of the cycle is its

ability to begin anew immediately after it concludes.

POST-VIEWING

One of the largest parts of the Cycle of Speculation is that a person’s opinion

of a film, or even the speculation they form as a result of one, does not necessarily

remain static once the film has concluded. There are a number of ways that these

aspects of film can be retroactively altered, usually as a result of some other text or

paratext that adds meaning to an event after the viewing experience has ended.

One version of this, termed retconning (short for retroactive continuity),

ignores the original intent of a moment or scene and creates a new meaning that never

existed before. Leading up to the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017),

Spider-Man actor Tom Holland revealed that a young child feat

ured briefly in Iron Man 2 (2010) was actually Peter Parker having his first

interaction with Iron Man

. Producer Kevin Feige confirmed this to be the case. In

this instance, the interview from Holland and confirmation from Feige are a paratext

that retcons Iron Man 2. There is little speculation to be gained from this moment in

terms of the plot, but a fan could easily take this as a pivotal moment in young

Parker’s life, and perhaps reference it to make further inferences about his

background. Paratexts such as interviews and speculative articles can help to re-

contextualize events in a way that helps viewers better understand without changing

the intent of the original scene. Articles and videos such as those titled “Avengers:

Lussier, Germain. “Tom Holland Confirms That Peter Parker Appeared in Iron Man 2

(UPDATED).” io9. io9, June 26, 2017. https://io9.gizmodo.com/tom-holland-confirms-that-peter-

parker-appeared-in-iron-1796423390.

Endgame Explained!” are intended to be read or viewed after the film and make

people aware of anything they missed that could add to or improve speculation.

The post-viewing stage of the Cycle of Speculation can be viewed, then, as a

reflexive practice. The viewing experience still occurred and impacted the viewer in

whatever ways the narrative events (or lack thereof) cued them to, but information

about plot and character learned after the fact can lead to a re-interpretation that

adjusts expectations for the future. Perhaps a speculation the viewer thought was

denied was actually confirmed or left open in a subtler way than they were looking

for. Instead of this affecting their speculation about the future directly, it changes

their interpretation of the film they just saw, which in turn changes expectations.

Post-viewing is where we can most clearly see the Cycle reset and begin

anew, converting new information into evidence for future speculation. Videos such

as “10 Important Details In Captain America: Civil War You Totally Missed” can be

viewed as a means of translating viewing experiences into paratexts

. These videos

can point out moments of fan service, helping people to achieve insider status, but

also are usually future-focused, talking about what elements of a film mean for the

shared universe as a whole. One explainer video, recapping Spider-Man: Far From

Home (2019), speaks on the post-credit scene reveal that Nick Fury was actually a

shape-changing alien known as a Skrull. The video’s narrator wonders how long Fury

has been a Skrull and breaks down some of the implications of the scene

. A fan

could have taken this moment to be an ultimately meaningless joke based on the

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nluL3VGiKlo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4S_5Sw2cv8

humorous nature of the scene, but watching this video might open their eyes to other

potential meanings, kickstarting the Cycle of Speculation once again.

In the next segment, I will use Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as an

illustration of the Cycle. I must note here that Rise of Skywalker was released while

this thesis was being planned and written. Inspired and informed by similar studies,

such as the one done in the book “Knowing Audiences: Judge Dredd, Its Friends,

Fans, and Foes”, I took note of theories and paratexts as they were being developed

and interpreted in real time

. Armed with a knowledge of all the speculation I could

find, I saw Rise of Skywalker on its opening weekend, noting moments of

confirmation, denial, and complication. In the weeks that followed, I observed the

reactions of fans and compared their experiences to my own. As the concluding

chapter in one of the most popular serialized stories cinema has to offer, Rise of

Skywalker serves well to showcase how fans interact with cinematic universes.

THE RISE OF SKYWALKER: AN ILLUSTRATION

In the two years between installments in what Lucasfilm dubbed the

“Skywalker Saga”, fans had plenty of time to theorize, hypothesize, and speculate

about what might happen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The film was

being sold as the conclusion not just to the trilogy that began in 2015 with The Force

Awakens, but also the end of the nine-film story that started in 1977 with the very first

Star Wars film directed by George Lucas. After the first two films in the newest

“Sequel” trilogy (The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi), there were many questions

left unanswered that fans felt needed addressing. A film of this scale can be an

Barker, Martin, and Kate Brooks. Knowing Audiences Judge Dredd, Its Friends, Fans and Foes.

Luton: University of Luton Press, 1998.

excellent illustration of the Cycle of Speculation due to the massive popularity of the

Star Wars franchise and its position at the end of a years-long story. It would

presumably be the last time fans would see characters like Leia or Rey on the big

screen, and so they were seeking answers as to how their various arcs and storylines

might be wrapped up. In the following section, I will detail a number of popular

speculations held by people online, as well as the paratexts that inform them. Then, I

will discuss the viewing experience of the film, specifically as it pertains to the

speculations that were outlined. Through this illustration, I will provide a single,

concrete example of a film’s interaction with the Cycle of Speculation and show how

it might affect audience engagement.

PRE-VIEWING

In order to understand the speculations held in the weeks and months leading

up to The Rise of Skywalker, we must first examine the questions raised in previous

films that fans were expecting to have answered. Among the most common questions

was that of Rey’s parentage. Rey, a new character introduced in The Force Awakens,

was orphaned as a child, and various flashbacks, visions, and voices in her head left

clues that she was more than just an average scavenger. In The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren

told her that her parents were nobody, and that she was nothing. However, once the

final film’s title was revealed via a teaser trailer in April of 2019, people began to

once again speculate on Rey’s true origins, believing that perhaps director JJ Abrams

would choose to reverse the decision made by The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson

Sharf, Zack. “J.J. Abrams Weighs In on Divisive New 'Star Wars' Title: 'I Know It's Provocative'.”

IndieWire. IndieWire, April 15, 2019. https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/jj-abrams-defends-star-

wars-episode-ix-title-rise-of-skywalker-provocative-1202058859/.

Suddenly, expectation for the film shifted so that many began to believe they would

re-address the subject of Rey’s lineage

In the months that followed the title announcement, speculation about Rey

spiked. The title suggested that Rey might be a Skywalker, but many fans, informed

by Kylo Ren’s declaration that her parents were “filthy junk traders”, dug deeper to

find a more complicated answer. In an episode of the show Star Wars: Rebels, a

character named Ezra Bridger time travels using a portal in a Jedi Temple. Based on

this information, a user on the site Reddit speculated that Emperor Palpatine, a Sith

master from the original trilogy who was teased via the trailer for The Rise of

Skywalker, would send Rey back in time. There, she would take on the name Shmi

and live in a farm on Tatooine. As the theory goes, Palpatine would later travel back

with her and impregnate her with Anakin Skywalker (an event shown in issue 25 of

the Darth Vader comic book series), effectively looping the nine-film saga

. This

would also explain how Palpatine, shown falling to his death in Return of the Jedi

(1983), appears in the film. This speculation, based on an expectation and informed

by various paratexts, made its rounds online, appearing in various “theory roundups”

or other articles, becoming a paratext itself that would go on to inform other viewers’

speculations

. Many of the websites that describe it dismiss it as unlikely, but the

Kain, Erik. “Star Wars: Episode 9's Newly Revealed Title 'The Rise Of Skywalker' Hints At Rey's

True Parentage.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, April 12, 2019.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2019/04/12/star-wars-episode-9s-newly-revealed-title-the-rise-

of-skywalker-hints-at-reys-true-parentage/#470bd0bc782a.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starwarsspeculation/comments/c6djx6/rey_and_shmi_are_literally_the_sa

me_person?utm_content=body&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_name=2af44dd49f9a4a769a6638b7

92b66e3c&utm_source=embedly&utm_term=c6djx6

Daley, Katerina. “10 Crazy Fan Theories About Star Wars Episode IX's Title: The Rise Of

Skywalker.” ScreenRant. Screen Rant, April 14, 2019. https://screenrant.com/star-wars-episode-9-fan-

theories-title/.

proliferation of the theory makes for an excellent example of how speculations are

formed and then shared with massive audiences online

Rey was not the only character subject to fan expectations, however, as fans

also were anticipating the end of character arcs for Kylo Ren and Leia. Kylo Ren and

Rey discovering a force-based connection in The Last Jedi combined with Kylo’s

parents’ status as rebellion heroes led many to believe he would turn to the light side

of the force and join Rey. Parallels between The Force Awakens and the original Star

Wars (1977)

as well as those between The Last Jedi and The Empire Strikes Back

(1980)

further supported this conclusion, since Darth Vader redeems himself in

Return of the Jedi, the third film in the original trilogy. Kylo was notorious for

idolizing Vader, so it made sense for fans that he would follow a similar arc. Many

people further speculated that Kylo would die following his redemption, just as Vader

did before him. We can see the evolution from franchise familiarity to speculation, as

a general trend from previous films becomes a prediction for an upcoming one.

In the case of Leia, the actress who played her, Carrie Fisher, passed away in

the winter of 2016. The Last Jedi kept her alive at the film’s conclusion. Almost all

fans were aware of Fisher’s death, and so expected it to be addressed in The Rise of

Skywalker. Since Fisher passed before the production of the film, many wondered

Nero, Dom. “This 'Star Wars' Fan Theory About Rey's Parents Suggests She's Trapped in a Time

Loop.” Esquire. Esquire, November 5, 2019.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a29697239/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-rey-

parents-theory-shmi-time-travel-loop/.

“Every Parallel Between the Original Star Wars Trilogy and Force Awakens.” Vulture, December

21, 2015. https://www.vulture.com/2015/12/every-force-awakens-similarity-original-star-wars-

trilogy.html.

Truffaut-Wong, Olivia. “All The Ways 'The Last Jedi' Is Just Like 'The Empire Strikes Back'.”

Bustle. Bustle, December 18, 2017. https://www.bustle.com/p/the-last-jedi-vs-the-empire-strikes-back-

show-just-how-much-these-movies-really-are-alike-7613938.

how Leia would appear at all. Director JJ Abrams promised she would not be

recreated via CGI, as a younger version of Leia had appeared in the final scene of

Rogue One (2016)

. Instead they would use unused footage from The Force

Awakens. Further information was revealed by Fisher’s brother, who shared that the

studio had a total of eight minutes of footage that they would use throughout the

film

. To fans, this meant that nothing Leia did could be too intensive or involved in

the plot, since any dialogue or shots featuring her would have had to be about four

years old at the time of editing. There were no noteworthy speculations circulating

about Leia, likely because of the constraints involved with writing her character, but

refined expectations about how long she would appear led many to assume her

character would hardly be involved and likely die at some point in the film

With expectations set from the prior films in the franchise, news and

marketing often take over the Cycle of Speculation. The Rise of Skywalker was

mostly absent from the popular news cycle for much of the time in between the

release of The Last Jedi and its own. The only major news or leaks about Episode IX

until the trailer release came in September of 2017 when director Colin Trevorrow

backed away due to creative differences and JJ Abrams took over development of the

film. Then, once the trailer was released and the title was revealed in April of 2019,

Robinson, Joanna. “Star Wars: How ‘Princess Leia Lives’ in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.”

Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair, April 12, 2019. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/04/star-wars-

episode-ix-rise-of-skywalker-princess-leia-carrie-fisher.

Alter, Ethan. “Carrie Fisher's Brother Reveals New Details about Leia's 'Rise of Skywalker' Role:

'She Was Going to Be the Last Jedi' (Exclusive).” Yahoo! Yahoo!, November 6, 2019.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/details-of-carrie-fishers-rise-of-skywalker-role-revealed-

210514180.html.

Kavanagh, Joanne. “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker - Which Characters Are Killed off in New

Film?” The Sun. The Sun, December 17, 2019.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/10571690/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-characters-killed-

off/

speculation for the film began to reach a high point. Most of the conversation

surrounding the first teaser was about the final seconds, when Ian McDiarmid’s

Emperor Palpatine’s laugh can be heard. McDiarmid was also at the panel where the

trailer premiered, all but confirming his character’s appearance in The Rise of

Skywalker. Fans had many questions. Was the Emperor still dead? If not, how did he

come back to life? What role did he play in the greater story? Some believed that he

would remain dead, and his appearance could be due to an old hologram recording

that Kylo Ren discovers

, while others believed he was simply alive all along

. Fans

did not have many paratexts to develop theories with on this subject until December

14, just six days before the release of the film. In the popular video game Fortnite,

Palpatine’s voice was heard delivering the following message: “At last the work of

generations is complete. The great error is corrected. The day of victory is at hand.

The day of revenge. The day of the Sith”. Leaks from the world premiere of the film,

while there was still an embargo on spoilers in place from Lucasfilm, described a

broadcast from the Emperor, and many assumed that this was that very broadcast

As mentioned previously, the title revealed in the first trailer was also a topic

of conversation as people tried to determine what The Rise of Skywalker could

possibly mean. Speculation at first was mainly focused on who the title referred to,

since there were many characters anticipated to be featured in the film who are related

to a Skywalker in some way or another. There were theories that Luke had come back

Emmanuele, Julia. “Emperor Palpatine's 'Star Wars: Episode 9' Trailer Cameo Teases His Return

From The Dead.” Bustle. Bustle, April 12, 2019. https://www.bustle.com/p/how-is-emperor-palpatine-

alive-the-star-wars-villains-return-is-teased-in-the-episode-9-trailer-17034491.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZT4SNSfqQg

Dexerto. “Emperor's Fortnite Message Meaning Possibly Revealed by Star Wars Leaker.”

Dexerto.com. Dexerto.com, December 17, 2019. https://www.dexerto.com/fortnite/emperor-fortnite-

message-meaning-possibly-revealed-star-wars-leaker-1301661.

from the dead, that Leia would become even more important, that Rey would

discover her relation to the family, or that Kylo Ren would lean further into his own

Skywalker blood and become a Jedi. Most of these hypotheses focus on the familial

lineage expectation that has become a part of Star Wars over time, starting with Luke

and Leia’s relation to Darth Vader in the original trilogy. However, one theory

pointed to one of the final scenes in The Last Jedi to propose that “Skywalker” would

instead become a new type of force user or Jedi in an homage to the family that the

nine-film saga has focused on. In The Last Jedi, a young boy is shown using the force

while imprisoned on the casino planet of Canto Bight. To fans, this suggested a new

generation of heroes, led by Rey and inspired by Luke and Leia

. “Skywalker”

becomes a much more abstract term in this interpretation, which in most cases

assumes that Rey remains a true “nobody” as she was in The Last Jedi.

The next major input into the Cycle’s speculation forming stage is, in many

cases, the press tour and media junket that come in advance of the film’s world

premiere. Oftentimes, the filmmakers and stars sit down with various reporters, talk

show hosts, and other media personalities to promote their film, and in the process

reveal new information about the plot and characters. The Rise of Skywalker was no

different. Perhaps the most talked-about takeaway from the tour came from a New

York Times article published on December 11, 2019, just five days before the world

premiere of the film in Hollywood. In it, Abrams was quoted as saying things like “I

don’t think that people go to ‘Star Wars’ to be told, ‘This doesn’t matter,’” and “a

Patches, Matt. “One Possible Meaning behind Star Wars Episode IX's The Rise of Skywalker Title.”

Polygon. Polygon, April 12, 2019. https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/12/18308173/star-wars-episode-

9-title-theory-rise-of-skywalker-meaning.

story that I think needed a pendulum swing in one direction in order to swing in the

other.” Paired with a quote from Finn actor Joh Boyega, saying “Even as a normal

person in the audience, I wanted to see where that story was going,” fans began to

believe that the upcoming Episode IX would be nothing like Rian Johnson’s The Last

Jedi

. To many, this was clear derision of a film that garnered a disappointing 43%

audience score on Rotten Tomatoes that encouraged disappointed fans to still look

forward to the saga’s finale

. There was some speculation about whether or not these

comments were honest or coached by the studio, but nonetheless, fans used it to fuel

speculation about the quality of The Rise of Skywalker based on how they felt about

The Last Jedi

Barring unusual circumstances such as an unexpected leak or major news

story, the last paratext audiences are exposed to is critic reviews of an upcoming

release. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes had The Rise of Skywalker rated at 58%

on the day of its wide release, making it the second worst reviewed Star Wars film

ever

. The critic consensus on the site reads “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

suffers from a frustrating lack of imagination but concludes this beloved saga with

fan-focused devotion”

. Reading the actual reviews published at the time paint a

Scott, A. O. “'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Review: Revolution No. 9.” The New York Times.

The New York Times, December 18, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/movies/star-wars-

the-rise-of-skywalker-review.html.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_the_last_jedi

Abad-Santos, Alex, and Alissa Wilkinson. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Was Designed to Be

the Opposite of The Last Jedi.” Vox. Vox, December 27, 2019.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/27/21034725/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-last-jedi-j-j-

abrams-rian-johnson.

Harris, LaTesha. “'Rise of Skywalker' Has Second-Worst Rotten Tomatoes Score in 'Star Wars'

Franchise.” Variety. Variety, December 20, 2019. https://variety.com/2019/film/news/the-rise-of-

skywalker-rotten-tomatoes-reviews-star-wars-1203450010/.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_the_rise_of_skywalker

similar story. ScreenCrush’s official review, published two days before the film’s

wide release, warns of a lack of development for The Last Jedi character Rose Tico,

disappointing twists in the film’s final battle, and explanations that make the events of

The Force Awakens “coincidental.”

Without confirming or denying any plot details,

reviews helped audiences put the finishing touches on their speculations going into

the film. If a fan had hypothesized a climactic moment where Rose helps defeat a

major villain, then these reviews might incite a slight revision. Since reviews are

often published one or two days before the release of a film, they can act as a final

interaction with paratexts before fans finalize their speculation and actually watch the

movie.

VIEWING

Based on the quantity and detail of fan speculation, it was clear that The Rise

of Skywalker had many questions to answer in its nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime.

The marketing for the film had also promised several new characters, the return of fan

favorite Lando Calrissian, and other events I have not described but were featured in

trailers or other promotional material. With all of the threads to tie up and plot to

develop, many of the speculations that fans entered with ended up never getting

addressed at all. In other cases, the questions were answered, but in a way that no one

had predicted at all. Many accused the film of featuring too much fan service, taking

the place of compelling narrative and developed emotion. When applied to the

questions and speculations detailed above, the Cycle of Speculation allows us to

Singer, Matt. “'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Review: The Saga Ends.” ScreenCrush, December

18, 2019. https://screencrush.com/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-review/.

understand what aspects of the film left viewers feeling let down and how various

moments affected the experience of watching it.

The first question answered in The Rise of Skywalker is about Emperor

Palpatine’s role in the film and whether or not he survived. The opening crawl, a

staple of Star Wars storytelling, begins with “The dead speak!”, revealing that

Palpatine sent a message across the galaxy announcing his return. When Kylo Ren

goes to investigate, he finds the Emperor on life support. The only explanation given

for his survival is from a rebel leader who suggests it was likely “Dark science.

Cloning. Secrets only the Sith knew”. This non-specific answer does not confirm or

deny any hypothesis, since it is framed as speculation within the film itself. There is

no straight answer, and fans are left mostly in the dark. Palpatine goes on to be the

main antagonist of the film, giving orders to Kylo Ren and combatting the Resistance

fighters with a legion of Star Destroyer ships. Fans openly wondered online about this

lack of revelation, voicing their displeasure with the decision to underexplain his

existence in the film. One writer notes that the film “asks its audience to accept it and

move on”, which can be taken as complete ignorance of fan speculation

The question of Rey’s parentage had a disappointing answer for many fans as

well, but for a completely different reason. Just before she escapes his ship, Kylo Ren

reveals to Rey that Emperor Palpatine is actually her grandfather. Technically, he had

not lied when telling her that her parents were nobodies, since they had chosen to live

a secretive life to avoid association with one of the most hated men in the galaxy. The

Lindbergh, Ben. “But Seriously, How the Hell Is Emperor Palpatine Alive?” The Ringer. The

Ringer, December 23, 2019. https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/12/23/21035070/emperor-

palpatine-return-rise-of-skywalker-explainer.

problem with this reveal is that almost no one online held this speculation. Most

people did not even consider it an option, and if they did they admitted it was an

unlikely possibility, or that he was her father via the force as he was for Anakin

Very few of the paratexts pointed to Rey’s true origins, and so, with little evidence to

support her Palpatine bloodline, many insiders saw the revelation as coming out of

nowhere

. Abrams made sure to answer the question that he raised in The Force

Awakens but in doing so failed to interact with speculation on any level. This

disappointed most of his audience with few, if any, people gaining the sense of

community that comes with speculating correctly.

A similar situation occurred with the title speculation, as very few fans

successfully guessed the meaning of The Rise of Skywalker. At the end of the film,

when Rey returns to Tatooine to bury Luke and Leia’s lightsabers, an old woman asks

for her name. Choosing not to use the Palpatine name, she instead introduces herself

as Rey Skywalker. All of the theories about Rey being Luke or Leia’s child, Luke

coming back to life, or Leia having a climactic moment were proven to be false,

while there were very few people who imagined that Rey would take on the surname

symbolically. There was no literal rise of a Skywalker, again rendering any

speculation pointless. This version of familial ties, symbolic rather than by blood or

marriage, had never been seen before in the Star Wars canon. Unfamiliar to insiders

and outsiders alike, the concluding scene has no

“A Guide to Every Theory About Rey's Parents in STAR WARS.” Nerdist. Accessed April 27,

2020. https://nerdist.com/article/reys-parents-every-theory-star-wars/.

Stefansky, Emma. “Rey's Lineage Reveal Is the Most Disappointing 'Star Wars' Twist.” Thrillist.

Thrillist, December 20, 2019. https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/star-wars-the-rise-of-

skywalker-who-is-rey-palpatine-twist.

Even questions raised during the film never received a moment of

confirmation or denial. As the protagonists get swallowed by what they believe to be

quicksand, Finn tells Rey there is something he must tell her, but he is cut off by the

sand. When they realize they have survived and are now just underground, Finn tells

Rey he will tell her later, when Poe is not around. Various interpretations of this

moment emerged after the screening, and some believe Finn was going to tell Rey he

loved her, while others believe he was going to tell her he loved Poe (Finn and Poe’s

“romance” was the subject of many short stories written by fans

). This moment was

never resolved in the film however, and viewers left theaters wondering what he

could possibly have had to say that was not important enough to follow up on during

the film. With no answer, the speculation remained speculation even after the credits

rolled and fans ended up disappointed again.

One speculation the film did successfully address was the arc of Kylo Ren,

who, after being visited by a vision from his father and hearing his mother’s voice,

decided to abandon the mission that the Emperor had sent him on and join Rey in

defeating him. Fans who predicted this transition were able to relish in the fact that

they were right as the redeemed Ben Solo became a Jedi and helped Rey. Aspects of

this development were answered hastily, as the two’s relationship in The Last Jedi

was named a dyad in the force and given no further explanation, but overall many

people gained satisfaction from correctly determining the arc of one the trilogy’s

major characters

“A History Of Finn/Poe Shipping In The STAR WARS Sequels.” Nerdist. Accessed April 27, 2020.

https://nerdist.com/article/history-of-finn-poe-shipping-star-wars/.

ComicBook. “Star Wars Fans Are Loving the Han and Ben Solo Parallels in The Rise of

Skywalker.” Star Wars. ComicBook.com, December 25, 2019…

POST-VIEWING

One of the most notable aspects of The Rise of Skywalker was the life that

film’s plot had in the days and weeks that followed its initial release. Fans,

disappointed with the answers (or non-answers) provided by the film, had questions

remaining. Many turned to social media to voice their displeasure and have their

questions answered. Some came up with theories for how some of the less explained

parts of the film occurred. One article on the pop culture site The Ringer tries to use

paratexts to answer how exactly Palpatine came back to life. The author, Ben

Lindbergh suggested, among other things, that “Sheev stashed a spare body on

Exogol, which he woke up in when he “died” on the Death Star”

. This speculation

can be entertaining for some fans seeking closure, but ultimately cannot change a

viewing experience. Instead, it illustrates some of the failures of The Rise of

Skywalker to address speculation and emphasizes the frustration that fans can have

when engaging with films in this way.

Other questions fans had after the film were answered by further paratexts that

only became available after the film was released. At a Q+A screening of Episode IX,

one fan asked JJ Abrams what Finn meant to ask Rey when they were falling into the

sand. He responded that he intended to inform her that he was force-sensitive, but

never got around to it due to the events of the movie that followed being so busy

Some fans had speculated about Finn’s ability to use the force before the film, and

various moments appeared to hint toward that conclusion. However, it was never

Lindbergh

Bisset, Jennifer. “We Just Learned What Finn Wanted to Tell Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of

Skywalker.” CNET. CNET, December 23, 2019. https://www.cnet.com/news/we-just-learned-what-

finn-wanted-to-tell-rey-in-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker/.

directly stated and was left up to fans to decide until Abrams “confirmed” it. This

retroactive plotting was dismissed by some fans, who believed that it was a mistake

that fell through the cracks and Abrams lied to cover it up

. Still, there were likely

some who adopted Abrams’s declaration as canon and changed their understanding of

the film as a result. If a person left the theater disbelieving Finn could use the force,

then this might change their mind without necessitating a second viewing.

After The Rise of Skywalker’s release, a good deal of retconning took place, as

fans used both old and new paratexts to draw conclusions about moments that were

unclear in the film. It should be noted that this form of retconning differs slightly

from the Spider-Man example used previously, since many of these threads were

likely part of the film at some point before being either cut or misinterpreted. One fan

was able to use a novel about Lando Calrissian to determine that a new character

Jannah was actually his daughter who had been kidnapped by the First Order and

made into a stormtrooper

. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual

Dictionary” was released by publisher DK on the same day as the film and helped to

fill in many other questions

. One notable example is the opening scene of the film,

which takes place on an unidentified planet and features Kylo Ren fighting

unidentified aliens, is clarified to take place on Mustafar, a prominent location from

Revenge of the Sith (2006) and the site of Darth Vader’s castle. The aliens are cultists

https://twitter.com/JennyENicholson/status/1208564204103356416?s=20

Hibberd, James. “'The Rise of Skywalker' Companion Book Adds Big Twist to Lando's Final

Scene.” EW.com. Accessed April 27, 2020. https://ew.com/movies/2019/12/21/the-rise-of-skywalker-

companion-book-lando-final-scene-twist/.

Hidalgo, Pablo. Star Wars - the Rise of Skywalker: the Visual Dictionary: with Exclusive Cross-

Sections. London: DK Children, 2019.

trying to tap into the massive force power that Vader once held

. None of this is

information that would have been possible to determine from the film alone, but that

fans were excited to learn

. This new information caused many to revisit their

viewing experience, using it to understand and interpret things differently than they

had while in the theater. Of course, the viewing experience itself remains untouched,

but since the additional context came for so many very soon after, it can shape

understanding and conceptualization of the film in the long run.

The Rise of Skywalker turned out to be a very unusual case in shared universe

storytelling, especially with so many key plot details coming to light after the viewing

experience. Still, we can use it as an example of what happens when a studio fails to

successfully manage the Cycle of Speculation and the consequences of that failure.

Speculating about films is more than just a hobby for fans of shared cinematic

universes, it is fundamental to the way that they view them. Just as the best franchises

take time to develop emotional familiarity, they take time to build to narrative events.

Surprises must feel earned, and for speculative insiders, that usually means that

something in the previous films or paratexts need to point towards an answer.

Ignoring the fans and neglecting the Cycle can result in frustration, disappointment,

and alienation of insiders and outsiders alike.

“'The Rise of Skywalker' Mystery Planet Is a Major Location We've Been to Before.” EW.com.

Accessed April 27, 2020. https://ew.com/movies/2019/12/21/the-rise-of-skywalker-mustafar/.

“8 Revelations from THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Visual Dictionary.” Nerdist. Accessed April 27,

2020. https://nerdist.com/article/the-rise-of-skywalker-visual-dictionary/

Chapter Three: Analyzing Avengers: Endgame

“Avengers! Assemble.”

- Captain America

In late 2006, news broke that disgraced actor Robert Downey Jr. was cast as

Tony Stark/Iron Man in the upcoming 2008 film Iron Man. The film was to be

Marvel Studios’ first independently produced feature, marking a transition away from

collaborative films in an effort to build their own “cinematic universe” that allows

superheroes to interact with one another. The 2012 film The Avengers proved the

viability of the model by uniting Iron Man with Thor, Hulk, and Captain America,

who were each introduced in their own films, and earning over 1.5 billion dollars

worldwide. By the time it closed, it had become the third highest grossing film of all

time. Since then, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU for short, has grown to

include twenty-three films and has produced five of the top fifteen highest grossing

films of all time. Avengers: Endgame (2019), the climax of the twenty-three-film

“Infinity Saga”, passed Avatar (2009) for the top spot, earning almost 2.8 billion

dollars in total.

Endgame featured characters and referenced plot elements of every MCU film

to date, making it one of the largest shared universe films of all time. The film’s main

villain, Thanos, who first appeared in an end credits scene from The Avengers eight

years prior, had been collecting “infinity stones” that appeared in various films

throughout the MCU. In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), he succeeded in attaining

them all and used them to wipe out half of the life in the universe. Several fan favorite

characters, such as Spider-Man, the Winter Soldier, and Black Panther, fell victim to

the event known to fans as “the snap”. Endgame featured the surviving heroes

working together to reverse the effect of the snap. With almost exactly a year in

between the cliffhanger of Infinity War and the conclusion of Endgame, fans had

plenty of time to speculate about how the Avengers might go about saving the day.

Marvel released two smaller films in the meantime, Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

and Captain Marvel (2019), which helped maintain buzz around their cinematic

universe and dropped clues for how the Infinity Saga would ultimately play out.

Anticipation for Endgame was record-setting, as online ticketing website Fandango

reported that it only took six hours for the film to become their top first-day selling

U.S. film of all-time

Opening weekend proved that the excitement was real, as it shattered the

domestic opening record by almost 100 million dollars, surpassing Infinity War. The

success of these two films is evidence for how compelling shared universes can be for

audiences around the world. Critically, the film’s achievement was undeniable as

well. Its 94% critic score, aggregating 505 reviews, is tied with Iron Man for the

MCU’s second best reviewed film behind Black Panther (2018)

. Critics and fans

alike loved the film. Something about seeing familiar characters in one massive story

brings people back to theaters over and over again, even if they missed one or several

of the antecedent films along the way. It is impossible that every person who went to

see Endgame in theaters was a committed fan of the MCU, but due to paratexts and

D'Alessandro, Anthony. “'Avengers: Endgame' Sets First-Day Presales Record For Fandango &

Atom; Marvel High For Regal: CinemaCon – Update.” Deadline. Deadline, April 2, 2019.

https://deadline.com/2019/04/avengers-endgame-presales-record-atom-fandango-amc-website-crash-

1202586799/.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/franchise/marvel_cinematic_universe

the sheer prevalence of the films in popular culture, most people likely entered with

some level of familiarity with the characters and the overall story.

Endgame exemplifies shared universe storytelling and effective use of

intertextual elements. Producer Kevin Feige and directors Joe and Anthony Russo

crafted a story that culminated eleven years of character arcs and stories to excite

insiders without alienating outsiders. This was achieved through careful planning and

vision, strong use of traditional storytelling tools, successful maneuvering of the

Cycle of Speculation, and a screenplay that works for all members of their audience.

Before delving into a detailed examination of the film itself, I will discuss the most

relevant paratexts that led up to the film’s release, starting with the first trailer and

title announcement in December of 2018. Then, I will proceed chronologically

through the film in order to best represent the emotional and speculative journey of an

audience member, along the way noting any significant moments that help elucidate

the techniques used in shared universe filmmaking. Afterwards, I will conclude with a

discussion to highlight any trends or general structural strategies that arise. With

Endgame, Marvel Studios created not only the most successful film of all time, but

also a model for shared universes to follow going forward.

PRE-RELEASE: BUILDING ANTICIPATION

From the moment the credits rolled in Avengers: Infinity War and the words

“Thanos will return” appeared, fans began to clamor for the conclusion to the epic

saga they had been watching for the last ten years. In 2014, the conclusion to Marvel

Studios’ “Phase 3” had been announced as Avengers: Infinity War – Part II and was

to be released in May of 2019. In 2016, Marvel revealed that that would no longer be

the title of the film and the film would go on to remain untitled for a little over two

years

. On December 7, 2018, the trailer for Avengers: Endgame was released, and

fans finally had an opportunity to speculate about the film’s content, aside from the

fact that it would be a continuation of Infinity War. The trailer amassed a record-

breaking 289 million views in the first 24 hours, surpassing Infinity War’s first trailer

by almost 60 million. A Google video search for “Avengers: Endgame trailer 1

reaction” shows over 3,500 results in the first two days of the trailer’s release alone.

The impact was undeniable, and the Cycle of Speculation was in full swing.

Armed with previous knowledge of Marvel’s tendency to release misleading

trailers, one of the most common conversations following every trailer release

involved determining which shots had been digitally altered or fabricated in order to

hide plot information about the film. Any shot with empty space was susceptible to

further examination, but two in particular from the TV spot released in February 2019

stood out to fans

100

. The first, featuring several surviving Avengers looking up at the

sky, had a gap between Bruce Banner and Rhodey that many speculated would likely

end up concealing a character that the studio deemed a spoiler. Black Panther’s sister

Shuri and new hero Captain Marvel were two of the most common predictions. The

second shot showed the Avengers walking in a line through the Avengers Compound

and had two spaces between people that could have been filled by others. These

spaces between characters did not present any clues to the overall story or content of

Donnelly, Matt. “Marvel Surprise: 'Avengers: Infinity War' Won't Be Split Into 2 Movies.”

TheWrap, July 29, 2016. https://www.thewrap.com/marvel-surprise-avengers-infinity-war-wont-be-

split-into-2-movies/.

100

Polo, Susana. “Did Marvel Edit a Character out of Its Avengers: Endgame Trailer?” Polygon.

Polygon, February 4, 2019. https://www.polygon.com/2019/2/3/18209890/avengers-endgame-super-

bowl-trailer-missing-character.

Endgame, but they did signal to fans that there were certainly things to speculate

about and mysteries that were left to be solved. Almost three months before the film’s

release, Marvel was raising questions and keeping conversation about the film alive

in subtle ways.

Pieces of information from outside the cinematic universe’s canon frequently

guide speculation as well, and it was widely circulated leading up to Endgame’s

release that both Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., who play Captain America and

Iron Man respectively, would not be renewing their contracts with Marvel Studios

after the film concluded production. The natural conclusion was that somehow the

screenwriters and producers behind the film would have to come up with a way to

write their characters out of the universe

101

. This paratextual information led many to

speculate that one or both of them would die in the film’s final act. Even if they were

unaware of the exact details of the actor’s contracts, there was enough conversation

both online and in real life that most viewers had some level of understanding that

Evans’s and Downey’s storylines would be wrapped up. This sense of finality was

pervasive in the film’s marketing as well, as a few of the trailers focused on a

retrospective of the universe rather than the events of Endgame

102

. There were more

specific speculations on the subject, with some predicting Tony Stark’s death and

others that he would either retire or devote himself to some other corner of the

universe

103

. No matter what the degree of an audience member’s involvement in the

101

Smithers, Dominic. “Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man Contract Finishes After 'Avengers: Endgame'.”

LADbible. LADbible, January 2, 2019. https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/film-and-tv-robert-

downy-jrs-contract-finishes-after-avengers-endgame-20190102.

102

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jNvJU52LvU

103

Wigler, Josh. “'Avengers: Endgame' Final Path - The Journey of Iron Man.” The Hollywood

Reporter, April 26, 2020. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/avengers-endgame-iron-

man-predictions-1194114.

franchise, the idea that Endgame would provide closure for the film’s two biggest

stars was likely on their mind.

Other members of the original Avengers team had arcs to close out as well,

and fans spent time speculating about them. As more dedicated fans of the MCU were

aware, fan-favorite character the Hulk was part of a complicated rights issue with

Universal Pictures

104

. The contract prevented Marvel from making any sort of solo

Hulk film without their involvement. However, Mark Ruffalo, the actor who plays

Bruce Banner/Hulk, stated that producer Kevin Feige had opted instead to give the

character a three-film storyline that would develop the character

105

. Thor: Ragnarok

(2017) was to be the first of the films and featured Banner becoming himself again

after having been stuck in Hulk form for the last several years since the events of

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Many believed Infinity War, which showed Banner

unable to transform into the Hulk for unknown reasons, to be the second stage in the

character’s development. That left Endgame as the third film in the mini-trilogy, and

so those familiar with Ruffalo’s comments predicted another major leap in Banner’s

relationship with the green monster he shared a body with. Looking to the comic

book source material as a paratext, many anticipated a sort of union of the two, with

Hulk’s body and Banner’s mind. Character development is always an expectation in

serialized storytelling but combined with the various paratextual evidence from

104

Butler, Will. “Mark Ruffalo Reveals Whether Hulk Will Ever Have a Solo Movie in the MCU:

NME.” NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM, July 16, 2017.

https://www.nme.com/news/mark-ruffalo-hulk-solo-movie-marvel-2111933.

105

Vejvoda, Jim. “Thor: Ragnarok Begins a Three-Movie Arc for Hulk.” IGN. IGN, October 12, 2017.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/10/11/thor-ragnarok-begins-a-three-movie-arc-for-hulk.

interviews and comic books, fans could go even further and craft speculation on

exactly how the arc would be completed

106

Equally exciting to fans were the new characters who would join the Avengers

in Endgame. Captain Marvel looked to be a major player after her solo film was

released a few months prior. Her involvement in Endgame was teased in an end

credits sequence in Infinity War, with SHIELD director Nick Fury using his final

moments before the snap to page her. Captain Marvel (2019) had been announced

with Brie Larson as the titular hero, and so the reveal was not a surprise to those

familiar with Marvel’s release schedule. However, her existence prior to the events of

Infinity War hinted that the film would be set in the MCU’s past. Once trailers

confirmed it to be set in the 1990s, fans wondered about her role

107

in Endgame, how

she comes to meet the Avengers, and what she has been up to in the years since her

solo film. An end credits scene in Captain Marvel showed her meeting the surviving

Avengers after they discover Fury’s pager in the aftermath of the snap, which

provided an answer to one of the questions her presence in Endgame raised. Later,

about three weeks before the release of Endgame, Marvel released a sneak peek of the

film, seemingly featuring the moments just after she meets the other heroes. In that

scene, Brie Larson’s character is interrogated about where she has been all these

years, to which she responds, “There are a lot of other planets in the universe, and,

unfortunately, they didn't have you guys.” By closing off two of the major questions

106

Abdulbaki, Mae. “'Avengers: Endgame' Spoilers: Professor Hulk Theory Has Roots in the Comics.”

Inverse. Inverse, February 13, 2019. https://www.inverse.com/article/53281-avengers-endgame-

professor-hulk-theory-could-be-a-spoiler-from-the-comics.

107

Owen, Phil, and Ross A. Lincoln. “6 Big Questions We Have After That Intense New 'Captain

Marvel' Trailer.” TheWrap, December 5, 2018. https://www.thewrap.com/biggest-questions-captain-

marvel-second-trailer-brie-larson-jude-law-annette-bening-avengers/.

around her appearance in the film, Marvel allowed fans to focus their speculation on

the original Avengers and the main storyline with Thanos

108

After Infinity War, the obvious storytelling question about Endgame was how

the Avengers would manage to reverse the effects of the snap and defeat Thanos,

after he beat them so handily in their first showdown. Some felt as though the answer

could be found in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), the first movie released by Marvel

after Infinity War. The theory suggests that its position in the release schedule is no

accident, and the Avengers will use the Quantum Realm that Ant-Man ends the film

trapped in to travel back in time and stop Thanos before he is able to snap half of the

universe out of existence in the first place

109

. In Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hank Pym’s

wife Janet van Dyne is rescued from the Quantum Realm, where she has been trapped

for decades. Combined with a leaked set photo from January 2018 featuring Captain

America in his Avengers (2012) costume standing next to Ant-Man and Iron Man

110

some hypothesized they would use the Quantum Realm to travel back to the “Battle

for New York” that takes place in the third act of The Avengers. From there, it

followed that time travel would be the key to ultimately defeating Thanos, since

doing so would allow the heroes to stop him before the events of Infinity War even

took place. This speculation was reinforced by Scott Lang/Ant-Man’s appearance in

108

Smith, Chris. “'Captain Marvel' Answers Tons of 'Avengers: Endgame' Questions – Here Are All

the Mysteries It Solved.” BGR. BGR, March 11, 2019. https://bgr.com/2019/03/10/avengers-endgame-

spoilers-captain-marvel-credits-scenes-and-secrets/.

109

Shepherd, Jack. “Avengers: Endgame: Time-Travel, the Quantum Realm and How Ant Man Could

Save the Day.” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, March 11, 2019.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/avengers-endgame-theory-time-

travel-quantum-realm-ant-man-captain-marvel-mcu-a8784716.html.

110

“Chris Evans & 'Avengers' Co-Stars Share Big Laugh in New Set Photos!” Just Jared. Accessed

April 27, 2020. http://www.justjared.com/2018/01/10/chris-evans-avengers-co-stars-share-big-laugh-

new-set-photos/.

one of the earlier trailers for the film, in which he shows up at the Avengers

Compound to visit Captain America, seemingly having escaped the Quantum Realm.

With no other major speculations circulating online, most viewers entered the theater

for Endgame either expecting a time travel film or with little to no idea of how the

Avengers would defeat their greatest foe to date.

On April 16, 2019, six days before Endgame’s world premiere and ten days

before the U.S. wide release, the film’s directors the Russo Brothers tweeted out an

open letter to their fans. In it, they noted the end of the twenty-two-film story and

asked viewers not to spoil the film for others once they had seen it

111

#DontSpoilTheEndgame began trending on Twitter for the weeks that followed, as

fans around the world expressed their commitment not to post spoilers and asking

their friends to do the same. Aside from the straightforward intentions of the

filmmakers to promote the best viewing experience possible for their film, the

message had the effect of further encouraging fans to see the film as quickly as they

possibly could. While modern audiences are typically wary of spoilers anyways, this

called attention to their presence in Endgame. As discussed previously, the threat of

spoilers is a major force to bring audiences in for opening weekend, and this letter put

MCU fans on high alert. Expectations for the film, high already, were raised further

by the thought that Endgame had twists or other moments worth talking about. While

there were certainly other factors in play, this letter is one factor that helped Endgame

achieve its record-breaking opening weekend. Between the letter, altered trailers, and

111

https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1118219449570455552

carefully plotted release schedule, we can see a concerted effort from the producers to

guide fan conversation in the months leading up to the film’s release.

All these paratexts, expectations, and speculations helped Endgame achieve

the financial success that it did, but the film wouldn’t have been a true success if it

had ultimately disappointed fans and critics. Marvel carefully controlled the questions

and speculations that fans entered the film with, but how they answered those

questions was just as important. The following section will be a dense, in-depth

analysis of the film, noting the emotional and story beats that were helped or hindered

by the film’s intertextuality. I will reference the major speculations and paratexts

detailed to this point, but also bring in other small-scale leaks and hypotheses held by

fans that may have affected their viewing experience. Ultimately, through the lens of

Avengers: Endgame, I will craft a portrait of how familiarity, the Cycle of

Speculation, and shared cinematic universes can impact how people watch movies.

ENDGAME: AN ANALYSIS OF THE VIEWING EXPERIENCE

Endgame opens on Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton spending time with his

family, and instantly the recognition and familiarity create a schism in the audience.

A brief shot of an ankle bracelet answers a plot question raised by his absence in

Infinity War, speaking to fans who may have wondered where the character has been

since his last appearance in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Soon, his family

members disintegrate, a moment that may have been anticipated by those who saw

Infinity War. The directors carry the emotional beat and return to the event from the

close of the previous film to open this one, linking the films’ continuities. There are

formal elements at work here, notably handheld shots, slow pacing, and a score that

elicits panic and grief, but for viewers of Avengers: Age of Ultron, recognition and

familiarity helps to punctuate the emotion. The Barton family homestead was first

shown in Age of Ultron, where Renner’s character, codenamed Hawkeye, hides his

family from the world to protect them from any harm that may come from his

superheroic responsibilities. Seeing him lose them brings to mind those scenes in the

second Avengers film and gains emotional resonance as a result. Opening scenes

often set the tone for the rest of the film, and if they are slow and somber like

Endgame’s is, they can be jarring for fans expecting an action-packed superhero film.

The following scenes work only to advance plot threads from Infinity War

cliffhanger and feature Nebula and Tony Stark passing time together while floating in

space. Soon, they are rescued by Captain Marvel, who carries them back down to the

Avengers Compound to rejoin the rest of the characters. This is Captain Marvel’s first

appearance in an MCU film other than her own Captain Marvel (2019), which was

released only seven weeks before. Captain Marvel’s appearance signals hope for

those viewers who saw her solo film and understand the magnitude of her power and

the themes of resilience that she represents. For those who did not see Captain

Marvel, she gets no introduction, and the characters treat her as though she has been

there all along. In order to see the scene in which she meets the other Avengers,

audience members would have to not only have seen Captain Marvel but stayed for

the mid-credit sequence. The directors of Endgame rely heavily here not necessarily

on viewership of that particular scene, but on the cultural prominence of Captain

Marvel’s rise as an iconic character in the period since her solo film was released. For

a film that was shot entirely before Captain Marvel, this illustrates unprecedented

confidence on Marvel’s part. Their characters are so pervasive and larger than life

that basic narrative beats can be spread across films. Additionally, outsiders are

allowed to just go with the flow of the film, since the introduction comes and goes

without much attention called to it.

When the narrative returns to Earth, audiences speculating about alteration of

the trailers might recognize the shot of some of the Avengers gazing up at the sky in

wonder. In the hole where many believed that Marvel had digitally removed a

character to hide a spoiler, Pepper Potts, Tony’s fiancée, stands awaiting her

husband’s return. Based upon speculations about who might have been standing

there, this moment could either be a confirmation or denial. However, speculation

about Pepper was not common, likely based on her usual role as a side character.

Speculations tend to be about large, universe-changing events, and this was not that.

For example, if someone thought that this would be a new MCU hero, or even an

existing one with plot implications (Shuri, thought dead, was a popular guess), the use

of the trailer editing to conceal the emotional reunion may be a letdown

112

. This is the

natural danger of the Cycle of Speculation. By concealing things, fans imaginations

can run wild and occasionally invent a story that they prefer to the one that actually

transpires on screen.

Once Tony has been returned, the heroes review each of the people who

were victim to the snap and Black Widow reveals that it has been twenty-three days

since the events of Infinity War. This scene relies heavily on understanding of

relationships and events established in previous films, as we see the characters

112

Polo

rehashing events that occurred just over three weeks ago. Captain Marvel sees Nick

Fury depicted among the “snapped” and reacts with sadness, but people who did not

see her film would not understand the nature of their relationship or even that they

had one in the first place. Tony puts his head in his hands after seeing Peter Parker’s

photo, and while their father/son relationship is developed further in Infinity War,

those armed with the emotion from Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man:

Homecoming (2017) are more likely to recognize and feel this moment of subtle grief.

This moment, as well as Tony’s first words to Steve that he “lost the boy”

communicate sadness to all viewers, though with added depth for insiders. For

outsiders, it serves to prime them to receive and understand later emotional cues. This

scene also addresses speculation on one of the loose ends from Endgame, namely the

fate of Black Panther’s sister Shuri. Many had hoped that she survived the snap, but

her appearance in the slideshow reveals that she met the same fate as her older

brother. This reveal is less important than some of the other speculated about

moments in the film, since there were only two possibilities and no hints in either

direction, but it is still a notable moment for those who were curious about her

whereabouts.

Tony and Steve Rogers spend the remainder of the scene arguing, going over

the events of Civil War and Age of Ultron, answering character-based questions that

are raised by Endgame’s place at the end of a massive shared universe story. For the

most part, these questions were focused in Infinity War, but that film’s cliffhanger

ending left many of them on the table. Fans wondered how Steve and Tony’s reunion

would transpire after all this time, and their frustration with each other becomes a

central emotional thread, brutal for insiders and comprehensible for outsiders. This

sequence, heavy with dialogue, also explains to outsiders some of the more salient

moments in the history of the MCU. It is the first of several deliberate “catch up”

scenes, wrought with background information that sets the stage for the rest of the

film. Endgame recognizes its place as the culmination of one of the most ambitious

continuous stories told in cinema history, but also seeks to welcome any audience

member that may be viewing the film only as a form of one-off entertainment.

The re-formed Avengers resolve to confront Thanos, ultimately killing him

and launching speculative viewers into a re-assessment about how the film will

continue. Thanos, the primary antagonist of Infinity War and Endgame has been

defeated and he has destroyed in the Infinity Stones, which are understood to be the

only tool capable of reversing “the snap”. A number of speculations are addressed

here, as many of the narrative cliffhangers from Infinity War are resolved. Exactly

twenty minutes into the film, Tony has returned to Earth, Thanos has been killed, and

the Infinity Stones have been wiped out of existence. A fade to black followed by a

title card reading “FIVE YEARS LATER” further wipes the slate clean and provides

us with an opportunity to revisit our hypotheses. Re-assessment, a crucial part of the

Cycle of Speculation, is built into Endgame in this moment. A few things happen as a

result. Endgame levels the playing field between insiders and outsiders by working in

a moment no one saw coming, and viewers are cued to wonder: where do we go from

here? With the Stones destroyed, the time travel theory gains validity as a means of

acquiring objects that no longer exist. Any fan who saw that theory but perhaps

dismissed it may now adopt it going forward. Paratexts do not stop influencing us

once we step foot into the theater. We can always re-assess, and Endgame gives us

reason to.

Not long after the time jump, the film moves to a storage facility in San

Francisco, where there lies a junked van in a unit labeled “Lang”. Recognition from

previous MCU films would immediately communicate to viewers that this is the van

that contains the machine Ant-Man used to enter the Quantum Realm, and that he’s

likely still stuck in there. This is confirmed in the following moments when a rat

presses a button to bring him back to full-size in the back of that van. This is the first

narrative event that lends itself to the time travel theory for fans, but for outsiders this

is another instance of the film raising questions. Who is this man and where did he

come from? How long has he been in this machine? Ant-Man will later answer these

questions, but for now the film leaves them open. Outsiders who engaged less with

paratextual evidence before their viewing are provided a surrogate who is just as

confused and overwhelmed with the new state of things as they might be.

The narrative follows Lang for a while, as he wanders the streets with his few

belongings in a wagon behind him. After finding a memorial for people who were

lost in the snap, he searches for his daughter’s name frantically. The camera moves

similarly to when Barton lost his family, and the effect of familiarity is similar, as

viewers of both Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) have seen Scott’s

close relationship with his daughter Cassie develop and have a level of attachment to

it. After finding his own name, new viewers can assume his disappearance was timed

with the snap and start to develop an answer to their questions about his identity and

whereabouts. When Scott finds his daughter, it is clear to those who last saw her in

Ant-Man and the Wasp that she has aged significantly, while others need the dialogue

of her calling him “dad” to understand their relationship and his dialogue of “you’re

so big” to recognize that he missed out on a significant portion of her life. Here,

recognition and familiarity work to expedite narrative understanding as well as

support an emotional beat. All audience members have been given the tools to

understand this moment, but those who have paid attention and seen the relevant

MCU films feel it faster and more deeply.

Back at the Avengers Compound, Black Widow holds a meeting with other

surviving heroes. Notably, Captain Marvel now has her hair cut short, which means

little to some viewers, but adds a level of excitement for those who would recognize a

mark of fidelity to the comic books. Rocket even calls attention to it, ensuring that

audiences take note in case they did not see it at first. After the meeting, Rhodey

mentions that he has found a group of murdered cartel members and attributes their

killing to Barton, who they have been tracking for some time now. Natasha’s tears

signal her well-established friendship with Barton, but this moment also confirms

speculation about his arc that many held entering the film

113

. In the comics, Clint

Barton gives up the alter ego of Hawkeye to take up the mantle of Ronin, a much

more violent hero. Fans long thought he may eventually take this role in the MCU,

and various clues from trailers and merchandise led some to believe that in Endgame

it would finally happen. This moment does not fully confirm this speculation but does

engage with it if the viewer holds a certain level of knowledge and understanding of

the paratexts. Since the spectrum of paratextual engagement is expansive, it is

113

Murphy, Charles. “SCOOP: Hawkeye To Take On A New Identity in 'Avengers 4'.” MCUExchange,

July 6, 2018. https://mcuexchange.com/hawkeye-ronin-avengers-4/.

reasonable to assume some viewers are avid comic fans who had not believed Ronin

would appear, which could lead to re-assessment and surprise.

Immediately following the call, Steve arrives to talk to Natasha/Widow and

they receive a call from Scott Lang, who is at the front door with the van from the

storage unit. When they invite him in, he explains that he has been in the Quantum

Realm since just before the snap occurred, but for him the five years that past only

felt like five hours. He suggests that they may be able to use this Realm as a time

machine. This all but confirms time travel speculations. The Quantum Realm time

travel in the film was predicted almost completely accurately by many online, which

supports and encourages speculation about MCU films going forward. If fans have

shown that they can use paratexts to determine a film’s story, they will likely

continue to do so in the future. The film validates speculation as another level of

engagement with characters and stories. In Endgame, there remains questions to

answer after the speculation about time travel has been confirmed. We can see,

however, a shift in the types of questions. Speculative viewers begin to ask how

rather than what. Where will they travel back in time to? What will the ramifications

of this be? How exactly will this enable the Avengers to reverse the snap? The largest

question has been answered, but the speculation game continues.

The following two scenes continue to confirm fan speculation, but in smaller,

character-based ways. The first, at Tony’s wooden cabin retreat home, shows his

daughter wearing a blue Iron Man helmet that Tony says is for a gift for her mother.

Before the film, concept art and merchandise featuring a woman wearing a blue Iron

Man suit suggested that Pepper Potts may don her comic book identity of Rescue and

join the Avengers in their adventure

114

. The fact that this blue helmet does indeed

belong to Pepper appears to confirm Rescue will factor into the MCU sometime in the

future, but not necessarily this film. Comic book fans who did not see the leaked

concept art or merchandise may think that the helmet is simply an easter egg and that

Pepper will never actually fight in a suit of her own. There are different levels of

engagement, and confirming speculation works differently based on the amount and

type of paratexts encountered before the viewing experience.

Next, we see Steve, Natasha, and Scott in a diner, and Bruce Banner has

joined them for a meeting. However, Bruce is different from the last time we saw

him, as he now has the physical body of the Hulk, but more closely resembles and is

voiced by Mark Ruffalo. He goes on to explain that he learned to start treating the

Hulk as a partner rather than something to fear and has successfully merged his two

halves. In a moment, the Professor Hulk speculation is confirmed, and despite him

never going by this name on-screen, the internet adopted the name to the point where

most fans refer to him as such

115

Endgame takes special care to not ignore MCU outsiders, by planting

emotional to be developed later and explaining previous events from the universe.

These moments could be small, such as Tony holding a photo of Peter Parker in his

cabin before deciding to go ahead with the time travel plan, but they bring some

audience members up to speed without boring the others. The film also provides new

114

Acuna, Kirsten. “A Leaked 'Avengers 4' Photo Teases Gwyneth Paltrow in an Iconic Superhero

Suit.” Insider. Insider, October 24, 2018. https://www.insider.com/avengers-4-pepper-potts-gwyneth-

paltrow-rescue-photo-2018-10.

115

Stone, Sam. “Avengers: Endgame Directors Explain 'Professor Hulk'.” CBR. CBR, May 2, 2019.

https://www.cbr.com/russo-brothers-avengers-endgame-professor-hulk/.

emotional touchstones, just as a traditional, non-serialized film might. This allows all

viewers to have some moments in which they are cued in exactly the same way. Tony

and Pepper’s daughter Morgan is an excellent example, as Tony must wrestle with the

possibility that fixing the past could mean changing his present as it has developed

since the snap. Morgan is a new character with no history in the MCU and a different

backstory in the comics. No viewer has any level of familiarity with her or this inner

conflict. Still, everyone can feel it. Endgame makes a point to create new moments

that have no obligation to the wider universe.

In the next scene with Hulk and Rocket Raccoon going to recruit Thor for

their “time heist”, the film answers a question that viewers were likely not explicitly

asking going into the film, but still helps to develop the universe as a whole while

advancing character arcs. Hulk and Rocket travel to “New Asgard”, which is the new

home of the Asgardian people after being displaced by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok

(2017). Thor’s third solo film left off with them seeking a new place to live, which

was followed by an attack on their ship by Thanos in the opening scene of Infinity

War. Some fans asked whether or not Valkyrie, a character from Ragnarok had

survived the fight with Thanos, but few were wondering about where the Asgardians

had chosen to reside after the events of Infinity War. This moment actually helps to

set expectations for future MCU films, as a fourth Thor film would likely address the

current state of Asgard, but it does not provide the same experience of having a

specific point of speculation confirmed or denied in the midst of viewing Endgame.

We see her that although Endgame ends an era of the MCU, the filmmakers include

moments that allow for the Cycle to continue.

In Hong Kong, we see a man in a black suit armed with a sword fighting

against members of a gang. Those familiar with the speculation surrounding Clint

Barton and the Ronin identity might see this sequence and immediately recognize the

man as Barton, but the film does not show his face until after the fight has ended.

This moment with Natasha definitively confirms speculation, though it does not use

the new codename for the man once known as Hawkeye. Merchandise for Endgame

refers to him as Ronin however, so people purchasing an action figure would only

know that name if they were familiar with the comic books or other paratexts. This

discrepancy between merchandise and film helps to illustrate the importance of

paratexts and speculation in the shared universe storytelling process, as Marvel is

clearly relying upon people’s interaction with them in order to sell toys.

Back at the Avengers Compound, Barton is used as a test for the time travel

process and sent back to his homestead before the snap occurred. There, he gets a

glimpse of his daughter whom he has not seen since the snap occurred five years ago.

Just missing her before he gets pulled back to the present to conclude the test, the

filmmakers of Endgame continue to use his grief to punctuate the emotional

importance of the task the Avengers have set out for themselves. This time, however,

the moment works for insiders and outsiders alike, as a result of the opening sequence

and Barton’s response of becoming a murderous vigilante. Old viewers knew that his

family held importance because of Age of Ultron and then had their familiarity

advanced with the sequences depicted in Endgame, but by this point in the film, about

sixty minutes in, those whose first MCU film is Endgame have enough understanding

to feel the same emotional beat.

At the close of the first act, the filmmakers take a moment to catch outsiders

up narratively in order for the upcoming time travel aspects to work for them. Using

Scott Lang as an audience surrogate once more, Tony Stark leads a discussion where

several members of the team stand up and briefly describe a run-in that they had with

an Infinity Stone, along the way revealing other relevant plot details from films that

took place at various points throughout the eleven-year history of the cinematic

universe. When Thor stands up to talk about the events of Thor: The Dark World

(2013), it is a refresher for those who saw the film in theaters almost six years ago,

but also a recap for those who may have missed it or chose not to watch it. After the

scene is done, audiences know about Thor’s broken relationship with Jane Foster as

well as the death of his mother, the death of Gamora in Infinity War, and the previous

appearances of all six Infinity Stones. While the insiders find humor in Scott’s

ignorance, the outsiders can enjoy the slapstick comedy of an out-of-shape Thor

sleeping on the job before tearfully recounting his past, creating an awkward situation

for the other characters in the room. Humor provides meaning for all audience

members, albeit in very different ways. When this sequence ends, a single shot of a

hologram that describes where each stone can be found sets out the plan for the time

heist so that narratively the audience can anticipate and better understand the next

section of the film. Narrative clarity is key for act two, which is heavy on references

to prior MCU films.

As the team starts to walk towards the machine that they will use to travel

back in time, a single shot addresses two elements of speculation. The shot is of the

full Avengers lineup marching single file through the Compound and is the same one

100

that had two hero-sized gaps in the TV spot aired during the Super Bowl in February.

Hulk and Thor fill the spots, denying any speculation that the empty spaces might

have been reserved for Captain Marvel or some other, new Avenger. A brief moment

of re-assessment would lead a speculative audience member to conclude that Hulk

and Thor were hidden because of the developments in their character, with Hulk

having returned to his large, green form and Thor having amassed a significant deal

of weight in the years between Endgame and Infinity War. The scene was likely

altered in the trailer not only to conceal this character development, but also to

prevent anyone from expecting that a considerable amount of time to would have

passed. Also featured in the scene are the “Quantum Realm suits” that every member

of the team is wearing to prepare them for the trip back in time. When the suits were

first leaked via concept art and later confirmed through the trailers, many

hypothesized that this would be exactly their purpose

116

. Small moments of

confirmation like this promote engagement with the film’s promotional materials and

other paratexts while providing a small sense of participation and ownership in the

community of fans of the cinematic universe.

One of the keys to Marvel’s marketing strategy for Endgame was the fact that

a majority of the scenes shown in the trailers and promotional images were from the

first part of the film, and so by the time the time heist portion begins at the one-hour

mark, there are very few paratext-based speculations left for viewers to engage

116

Orange, B. Alan. “'Avengers 4' Art Shows New Quantum Realm Suits, Is It Real or Fake?”

Movieweb. Movieweb, November 11, 2018. https://movieweb.com/avengers-4-leaked-art-quantum-

realm-costumes-fake/.

101

with

117

. Through re-assessment, speculative fans have been cued to understand that

the Avengers will need to collect the stones in order to save the day. However, the

events of Endgame have made this clear to the remainder of the viewers as well, and

the rest of the film remains equally as mysterious and predictable to insiders and

outsiders alike. This is not to say there are no questions remaining. With Thanos

killed, a re-assessment might lead speculative fans to wonder how he figures back

into the film, since he was heavily advertised as the film’s ultimate antagonist, but

basic expectations that come with the genre of superhero films might lead outsiders to

the same question. After all, Thanos was very prominently featured on the film’s

poster. There are still differences in the viewing experiences from fan to fan, but a

majority of them have to do with recognition, familiarity, and the emotional weight

that comes with them.

As the second act of the film begins and the task ahead of the Avengers is

clear, veteran watchers of the MCU will recognize the time travel events and

locations from previous films. One team goes to 2012 during the Battle for New York

featured in Avengers, another to the planet Morag where the power stone was found

just before the events of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and a third to Asgard in

2013, during Thor: The Dark World. Those who saw those films need little

explanation for what the heroes are doing there, but for new or forgetful audience

members, each group has one surrogate character who was absent from the events the

first time they occurred. This allows for natural, short explanations about what

117

Cannon, Eoghan. “There Will Be No Promotional Footage of 'Avengers: Endgame' Past the First 15

Minutes.” Entertainment.ie. Entertainment.ie, January 7, 2019. https://entertainment.ie/cinema/movie-

news/there-will-be-no-promotional-footage-of-avengers-endgame-past-the-first-15-minutes-387837/.

102

happened in previous films to clarify things for outsiders. Just as Captain America

and Iron Man are familiar with 2012’s New York, people who saw Avengers know

what will happen there and what obstacles are in their way. When SHIELD agents

come to take the space stone (in the form of the tesseract) from the Avengers, Iron

Man explains to Ant-Man that those agents are actually working for HYDRA,

although they did not know that at the time. The moment is brief and will not bother

insiders, but brings in relevant information from Captain America: The Winter

Soldier (2014) that will affect and explain the way that the time displaced heroes

respond to things in the scenes that follow. This pattern of experienced heroes

recapping events for inexperienced heroes continues throughout most of the second

act, with Thor speaking to Rocket about The Dark World and Nebula detailing

Guardians of the Galaxy for War Machine.

Still, the filmmakers of Endgame visual parallels to previous films with no

bearing on the plot to supply moments of lighthearted fan service. When Captain

America enters the elevator of Stark Tower, the SHIELD/HYDRA agents that are

already on board very closely resemble those that were part of the fan-favorite

“elevator fight” from Winter Soldier. When Captain America whispers, “Hail

HYDRA” and no fight transpires, the moment plays as comedy for those who saw the

2014 film. Iron Man’s comment to Ant-Man from before comes into play here, since

outsiders need that information to understand why Cap’s plan worked. To assess any

danger in the scene at all, we need to know what HYDRA is and identify the agents

on the elevator as a part of that organization. Still, fans who saw Winter Soldier can

103

use that film as a comparative touchpoint that outsiders cannot. While the narrative is

preserved for all, the humor is reserved for insiders.

Endgame relies on visual references again in the sequence with Hawkeye and

Black Widow on their quest to Vormir to retrieve the soul stone, but this time in order

to evoke a more somber feeling by comparing the relationship of Hawkeye and

Widow to that of Thanos and Gamora. Those who saw Infinity War know that in

order to retrieve the Soul Stone at Vormir, Hawkeye or Widow will have to sacrifice

themselves, as Thanos had to sacrifice Gamora. After this requirement has been

explained to the two best friends, the scene plays out the same narratively for every

viewer. However, once Black Widow falls to her death, the overhead shot of her dead

body laying at the bottom of the cliff is exactly the same as the one that showed

Gamora’s death in Infinity War. For those who recognize the comparison, the emotion

carries over and can be felt more strongly, since they have seen two heroes they care

for lost forever in the exact same way. The cliff at Vormir works similarly to a visual

motif but spread across two films. Shared universes have a wide library of shots and

moments that they can repeat to create meaning. By losing Black Widow, fans

already feel as though they are losing a friend that they have known for years, and

punctuating that loss by reminding viewers of another makes this scene even more

powerful.

In the Asgard sequences, familiarity and recognition are used to more clearly

communicate Thor’s character arc in the film. After the events of Infinity War and the

first hour of Endgame, Thor has grown depressed and lost confidence in his abilities.

The quest for the reality stone sends him back to one of his darkest moments, just

104

before his mother’s death and his break up with Jane Foster. Rocket attempts to

motivate him to no avail, until his mother Frigga comes to talk with him, recognizing

he is from the future and detecting his defeated state. By getting to talk to his mother

one last time, Thor regains belief in himself and calls for his hammer Mjolnir, which

was destroyed in Thor: Ragnarok. Insiders recognize this as a discovery of Thor’s full

power. He now holds Mjolnir, a representation of his past, and Stormbreaker, the axe

he forges in Infinity War, as a representation of what he has become. Recognition and

familiarity supply Mjolnir with a deeper meaning that underscores character

development. Familiarity provides the meaning, but recognition gives that meaning a

visual component for insiders.

The middle act of Endgame is not spent entirely with the heroes, however, and

the scenes with Thanos provide the opportunity for more re-assessment of speculation

for those who may have been thrown off by the villain’s death in the first twenty

minutes. When the 2014 version of Thanos appears on-screen we now have an answer

to how Thanos re-enters the film and can speculate that he either interferes with the

Avengers time travel or manages to bring himself to the present day. These scenes

answer speculation from Infinity War as well, after which many viewers wondered if

they had seen the last of Gamora. While it is unlikely that many would have guessed

the means by which she returns to the MCU, simply seeing her on-screen again so

soon after her tragic demise is enough to thrill fans of the Guardians character.

Answering questions in the second act that were raised in the first act is not a unique

storytelling structure, but intertextuality provides even more opportunities to do so

105

and keep audiences engaged with the narrative of the film they are watching as well

as the cinematic universe as a whole.

After the team returns from their time heist and the final battle with Thanos

begins, the narrative focuses to one event in a single location but still provides several

moments for fans who have journeyed with these characters for the last eleven years.

As Thanos gains the upper hand and is about to kill Thor, Mjolnir flies in from

somewhere offscreen and stops him. The next cut reveals the thrower, Captain

America, and Thor shouts “I knew it!” thrilled at the sight of his fellow Avenger’s

ability to wield the Asgardian hammer. Thor’s elation cues the audience to feel the

same way. The moment references a scene in Age of Ultron in which all the Avengers

attempt to move the hammer, since only those who are “worthy” can do so. When

Captain America attempts to lift it, it wiggles slightly before falling back onto the

table. Some fans took this to mean that he was nearly worthy enough to wield

Mjolnir, but then no other hint or reference to the scene occurred in the MCU

118

. This

is confirmation, but of a less direct speculation, since they had not been cued to in

about four years. Without any narrative or emotional implications aside from a thrill

for insiders, Cap’s moment with Mjolnir is a textbook example of fan service. In

theaters, audiences can share in this collective moment of excitement and surprise,

strengthening the MCU community and brand.

The fan service does not stop there, however, and the next scene speaks to

even more fans, no matter what their experience with the MCU . After Hulk uses the

118

Paur, Joey. “Someone Other Than Thor May Lift Mjolnir in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR.”

GeekTyrant. GeekTyrant, June 22, 2015. https://geektyrant.com/news/someone-other-than-thor-may-

lift-mjolnir-in-captain-america-civil-war.

106

Infinity Stones to bring back those who were lost in Infinity War, the fight with

Thanos looks to be lost until portals start to open and every hero in the MCU who

was not already present arrives to join the battle. Each hero gets their own entrance

shot, letting the audience note their presence, before Captain America uses the

familiar battle cry of “Avengers Assemble” and they all rush Thanos’s army. Aside

from being visually stunning, this sequence relies heavily on emotional ties to the

characters, utilizing spectacle to serve as the climax of Endgame and the MCU as a

whole. Here, fan service makes use of familiarity from the entire cinematic universe,

paying off eleven years’ worth of films.

Nearing the films conclusion, viewers finally learn the fate of Iron Man and

Captain America, two of the most speculated about characters in Endgame. Fans

likely expected the answers to come at this point, since ending the arcs of the film’s

biggest two stars with a significant amount of time left in the movie would break

from the norms of the genre. In a final move to defeat Thanos, Iron Man steals the

Infinity Stones back and snaps his fingers to disintegrate Thanos and his army once

and for all. In doing so, he badly injures himself and ultimately dies. Here, familiarity

and speculation work on two different, but connected levels. Familiarity with the

character enhances the already sad scene, especially with his last words, “I am Iron

Man”, mirroring the iconic announcement at the end of Iron Man (2008), the film that

started the MCU. Fans feel as though they are losing more than just a movie

character, since they have seen him grow on screen for the last eleven years.

Endgame uses this history to amplify emotion, bringing in Harley Keener, a young

boy Tony befriends in Iron Man 3 (2013) and not seen since, for his funeral, attended

107

by all of the important people in Tony’s MCU career. Speculatively, those who held

that Tony Stark would die in the final battle get a moment of satisfaction that they

understand the franchise and how it works. Captain America’s farewell works

similarly, although he ultimately travels back in time to retire with Peggy Carter, the

love of his life from Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). A recognition and

familiarity with he and Peggy’s relationship gives their final dance scene a greater

emotional impact than if Endgame is your first introduction to the two, although a

few moments throughout the film prepare outsiders with the necessary emotional

beats. Simultaneously the conclusion of Endgame and the Infinity Saga as a whole,

the film’s final moments are incredibly meaningful for insiders.

DISCUSSION

Endgame is a film of enormous scope due to its three-hour runtime alone,

made even more massive by the shared universe that it serves as the climax of. As a

result, it reveals and clarifies a large number of concepts regarding the construction of

shared universe films. Endgame also happens to be incredibly successful at utilizing

almost all of these concepts, showcasing an effective crafting of the unique aspects

central to the audience experience. In doing so, it stands out as a singular viewing

experience, no matter whether you have seen every single Marvel movie ever made or

are starting with this one.

Looking at the film structurally, Endgame uses its first hour as a funnel. When

the opening credits begin, each audience member has their own previous experience

with the MCU and superhero films in general. Through careful marketing that mostly

released information only about the first fifteen to twenty minutes of the film,

108

audience surrogates, “catch up” scenes, and establishing an emotional baseline, the

filmmakers behind Endgame unify the major parts of viewer experience by the time

the first act concludes. Act two, an MCU retrospective of sorts, brings us back to

events from the universe’s eleven-year history, providing moments of fan service but

being sure to keep the overarching plot and emotional experience the same for all.

Fan service here is used as a complement to, rather than taking the place, traditional

plotting and emotional techniques that any stand-alone film might use. This general

trend continues into the third act and final battle with Thanos before spending the

final fifteen minutes to celebrate and sendoff two of its most popular heroes. The

funeral scene and everything that follows can be viewed as an epilogue to the film,

where the focus is once again on the greater universe now that the narrative of the

film has mostly concluded. Funneling the audience and streamlining the viewer

experience creates a greater sense of cohesion amongst universe insiders and

outsiders, and the strategy can certainly be viewed as one of the factors that led to

Endgame’s commercial and critical success.

Due to its status as a popular shared universe crossover film, the Cycle of

Speculation is central to how people view Endgame. The popularity and history of the

MCU created a wealth of paratexts for fans to engage with and their engagement with

those paratexts helped Endgame become the highest grossing film of all-time. The

Cycle of Speculation is self-sustaining when utilized correctly. Fans like to predict

what will happen in shared universe films and that speculation helps increase

visibility for the universe if it happens on a large enough scale. This takes time. Many

of Endgame’s most memorable moments occur as a result of the twenty-one films

109

that precede it, making it unlikely that it could have achieved this level of success as

the fifth or perhaps even the tenth film in the MCU. Familiarity, when used well,

creates a box office cushion that can be built on by creating a traditionally artistically

successful film. Endgame made its explicit intertextuality a strength rather than a

weakness.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Endgame, though, is how the

filmmakers welcomed speculation and still managed to surprise and excite fans. As

noted, people determined the time travel premise of the film even without marketing

any indications that it would exist. Fans were able to use developments in prior MCU

films as clues to solve a puzzle, and it paid off when they were correct. Endgame was

the subject of numerous articles, videos, and online forums because of this carefully

planned out universe-spanning model. The end result is a shared universe that works

as a cohesive unit, making it feel all the more real and welcoming.

With all this in mind, we can conclude that Endgame is successful because of

its part in a shared universe, not despite it. More than that, though, we can see that a

shared universe is only a piece of the puzzle. Internal and external consistency,

familiarity and recognition, and a core dedication to ensuring all members of the

audience can engage with the film in whatever way they choose set Endgame apart

from other films not only at the box office, but as an unparalleled work of cinematic

artistry.

111

Conclusion

“I came to realize I had more to offer this world than just things to blow up.”

- Tony Stark

Throughout this thesis, I have often made note of the prevalence of shared

universe storytelling and other forms of explicit intertextuality have ruled the box

office for some years now. It can be easy to look at these facts and figures and point

to the death of originality or creativity. Even I, who count myself among the millions

of superhero movie fans, am made uncomfortable by the idea of seeing the same

characters and stories on movie screens over and over again. However, we cannot

mistake the rise of the superhero film for the death of art.

Successful shared universe storytelling requires just as much strength of

vision, understanding of cinematic tools, and careful control of viewing experience.

One thing that became clear to me during my research and analysis is the power of

creative control when it comes to making these types of movies. Much like television

shows have a showrunner to handle the macro level storytelling, the MCU gains a lot

from having the solitary voice of executive producer Kevin Feige calling the shots.

His tight leash on the story of the universe has driven out filmmakers as prolific as

Edgar Wright and Joss Whedon on more than a few occasions, but at the end of the

day keeping one person in charge of sculpting the overarching storyline has proven to

be key to the franchise’s undeniable success. Looking at the team behind the most

recent Star Wars trilogy that concluded with The Rise of Skywalker emphasizes this

point further. JJ Abrams is often viewed as the mastermind behind those films, but

anecdotal evidence from various interviews suggest otherwise. In an interview with

112

Rolling Stone magazine, Abrams notes his surprise that The Last Jedi director Rian

Johnson chose to kill off Supreme Leader Snoke, who had to that point been one of

the films’ primary antagonists

119

. That Abrams was not involved in such a large

decision points to a lack of cohesion within Lucasfilm’s team. The lack of a

“showrunner” of sorts may very well factor into the poor reception that followed The

Rise of Skywalker and the “sequel trilogy” as a whole.

As we saw during our analyses of The Rise of Skywalker and Endgame,

cohesion is vital when taking on franchises as ambitious as Star Wars and the MCU.

That cohesion keeps people coming back, but it also builds familiarity, one of the

strongest tools that explicit intertextuality has to offer. Familiarity is part of what

makes Endgame feel less like a three-hour movie and more like an adventure in and

of itself. On that adventure you might hang out with old friends, meet new ones, and

generally experience events alongside characters you have “known” for years. In

many ways, long-lasting serialized franchise films can be some of the most intimate

stories because of the life these characters take on beyond the screen.

If familiarity is the heart of shared cinematic universes, then speculation is the

head. The MCU rarely (but not never) makes broad philosophical or ethical themes

the center of their films, which may be a good thing because the most dedicated fans

already have a million thoughts running through their minds as they watch their

favorite characters dispel bad guy after bad guy. Crafting hypotheses and then

watching movies to see if they actually transpire is a level of engagement that very

119

Hiatt, Brian. “J.J. Abrams and the Secrets of 'Skywalker'.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, December

12, 2019. https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/star-wars-jj-abrams-secrets-of-skywalker-

912362/.

113

few films can offer. Shared universes have that level of engagement baked in.

Speculative behaviors come in all forms and levels of commitment. One does not

need to spend hours reading fan theories to speculate about how Spider-Man will save

the day in order to have their own. Speculation does not even need to be very detailed

to affect how we respond to narrative events. “I think Iron Man will die” is as

complex as a hypothesis needs to be for a film to make your individual viewing

experience different from somebody who thinks he will survive. Entry into the

“insider” club is not hard to achieve, and that inclusiveness is part of what makes

shared universes so special.

One note on inclusion: my thesis would be missing something if I failed to

address the issue of diversity in these shared universe films which, like Hollywood in

general, tend to be overwhelmingly white, male, and straight. Recent years have seen

developments on this front, with films like Wonder Woman (2017), Black Panther,

and Captain Marvel pioneering pathways for underrepresented groups. Kevin Feige

has committed to putting more diverse teams in front of and behind the camera, and

Marvel has begun development on titles such as Ms. Marvel, a Pakistani Muslim

120

As I have said, I, along with many others, love the stories that Marvel Studios tells. I

would not have written this if I did not. However, I also look like many of the heroes

that these films feature. Representation is a big part of developing emotional

attachment, familiarity, and community, all of which I have noted are strengths of

shared universe storytelling. There has been some research done on films that became

120

Chichizola, Corey. “Kevin Feige Affirms Marvel Studio's Focus On Diversity.” CINEMABLEND.

CINEMABLEND, December 28, 2018. https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2464191/kevin-feige-

affirms-marvel-studios-focus-on-diversity.

114

cultural events like Black Panther, but more development on theories discussing

identity, representation, and the superhero film will always be beneficial

121

. I

ultimately felt that these concepts were too big to address in addition to the major

points of my thesis, and that others were more qualified to discuss them than I, but I

would be remiss to ignore them altogether.

I would also recommend future research be done in to some of the more micro

level devices that these films use to incite speculation. Post-credit scenes, spoilers,

and fan service are all concepts I struggled to find much literature on but play a

massive role in contemporary filmgoing. Iron Man and the MCU popularized the

post-credits scene to the point that there is a website devoted entirely to informing

audiences whether or not current releases have one

122

. Spoilers, as I noted, have

become an integral part of the ways in which people talk about films as they are

released, and there is room to explore the various impacts they have not only on

viewing but on conversation and criticism. Talking about films and shows can be

incredibly difficult when we are not allowed to reference certain events in certain

places. Additionally, what do people consider a spoiler? I address this briefly, but it

could likely be an entire thesis by itself. Fan service has a similar dearth of literature

about it, to the point where even defining the term took hours of research. Critics and

fans often use the term to dismiss shared universe films, but the term has a great deal

more potential worth exploring.

121

Carrington, André. (2019). From blaxploitation to fan service: watching Wakanda. Safundi. 20. 1-4.

10.1080/17533171.2019.1552350.

122

aftercredits.com

115

To return to a question I raised in the introduction: why are Marvel movies so

popular? This thesis suggests several answers, but one that I think is most accurate is

that it is because they are unique. When there are twenty-three films following a

single set of characters, it can be easy to see them as uninspired and formulaic. I

argue that that is far too narrow a view. The MCU is not about making one

masterwork of a film, it is about the bigger picture. I have said this before, but it bears

repeating: the best shared universes are greater than the sum of their parts. That is not

a side effect, but the essence of franchises like the MCU. One poorly reviewed film is

just a bump in the road for fans and filmmakers alike, because they are always

looking ahead. Currently, one full year after Endgame and almost ten months after

Spider-Man: Far From Home, we are in the midst of the longest MCU content

drought in ten years. The next film, Black Widow, is set for release in November. In

absence of new content, fans have revisited older films. Speculation and familiarity

have made the MCU something people crave, which is worth note.

Shared universe films have been the focus of my research and analysis, but it

was my aim to make all my models and the concepts discussed generalizable to other

forms of explicitly intertextual visual media. For example, adaptation provides much

to speculate about, even standalone films. The source material is paratext, as insiders

try to predict which parts of a book will be depicted on-screen and which will

inevitably be cut. Television is similar, and weekly breaks between episodes or longer

breaks between seasons often are filled with speculation from fans who cannot wait

for their favorite series to return.

116

To conclude, I turn again to a famous director I addressed directly in my

introductory chapter. Martin Scorsese is a brilliant film mind who has gone on the

record as saying he does not particularly enjoy superhero films. That is okay, not

everybody will. There is no universally adored film and there likely never will be.

There is, however, one particular comment Scorsese made on the subject with which I

could not agree more. “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they

are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks,” he

told Empire Magazine

123

. His comparison is apt. Theme parks are experiential. They

are not about one individual ride. To get the most out of a theme park, one must

spend a lot of time in it. Theme parks are carefully planned, and when done right can

bring you closer to the people you visit them with. And perhaps most of all: they are a

hell of a lot of fun.

123

Sharf, Zack. “Martin Scorsese Compares Marvel Movies to Theme Parks: 'That's Not Cinema'.”

IndieWire. IndieWire, October 4, 2019. https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/martin-scorsese-marvel-

movies-not-cinema-theme-parks-1202178747/.

117

Appendix: The Cycle of Speculation, Visualized

118

119

Filmography

FILMS

The Amazing Spider-Man. Directed by Marc Webb. Sony Pictures, 2012.

Ant-Man. Directed by Peyton Reed. Marvel Studios, 2015.

Ant-Man and the Wasp. Directed by Peyton Reed. Marvel Studios, 2018.

The Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon. Marvel Studios, 2012.

Avengers: Age of Ultron. Directed by Joss Whedon. Marvel Studios, 2015.

Avengers: Endgame. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Marvel Studios, 2019.

Avengers: Infinity War. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Marvel Studios, 2018.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Directed by Zack Snyder. Warner Bros.

Pictures, 2017.

Black Panther. Directed by Ryan Coogler. Marvel Studios, 2018.

Black Widow. Directed by Cate Shortland. Marvel Studios, 2020.

Captain America: Civil War. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Marvel Studios,

2016.

Captain America: The First Avenger. Directed by Joe Johnston. Marvel Studios,

2011.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Marvel

Studios, 2014.

Coco. Directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina. Walt Disney Pictures, 2017.

The Departed. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2006.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Directed by David Yates. Warner Bros.

Pictures, 2016.

120

Fantastic Four. Directed by Tim Story. 20

Century Fox, 2005.

Fantastic Four. Directed by Josh Trank. 20

Century Fox, 2015.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Directed by Tim Story. 20

Century Fox,

2007.

Frozen. Directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. Walt Disney Pictures, 2013.

Frozen 2. Directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. Walt Disney Pictures, 2019.

Furious 7. Directed by James Wan. Universal Pictures, 2015.

Guardians of the Galaxy. Directed by James Gunn. Marvel Studios, 2014.

Incredibles 2. Directed by Brad Bird. Walt Disney Pictures, 2018.

Iron Man. Directed by Jon Favreau. Marvel Studios, 2008.

Iron Man 2. Directed by Jon Favreau. Marvel Studios, 2010.

Iron Man 3. Directed by Jon Favreau. Marvel Studios, 2013.

Justice League. Directed by Zack Snyder. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2017.

Man of Steel. Directed by Zack Snyder. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013.

Pulp Fiction. Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Miramax Films, 1994.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Directed by Gareth Edwards. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2016.

Solo: A Star Wars Story. Directed by Ron Howard. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2018.

Spectre. Directed by Sam Mendes. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, 2015.

Spider-Man. Directed by Sam Raimi. Sony Pictures, 2002.

Spider-Man: Far From Home. Directed by Jon Watts. Marvel Studios, 2019.

Spider-Man: Homecoming. Directed by Jon Watts. Marvel Studios, 2017.

Star Wars. Directed by George Lucas. 20

Century Fox, 1977.

121

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Directed by Richard Marquand. 20

Century Fox,

1983.

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Directed by George Lucas. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2005.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Directed by Irvin Kershner.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Directed by JJ Abrams. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2015.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Directed by Rian Johnson. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2017.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Directed by JJ Abrams. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2019.

The Mummy. Directed by Alex Kurtzman. Universal Pictures, 2017.

Thor. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Marvel Studios, 2011.

Thor: Ragnarok. Directed by Taika Waititi. Marvel Studios, 2017.

Thor: The Dark World. Directed by Alan Taylor. Marvel Studios, 2013.

Wonder Woman. Directed by Patty Jenkins. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2017.

TELEVISION SERIES

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Created by Joss Whedon. The WB, 1997-2001. UPN,

2001-2003.

Daredevil. Created by Steven S. DeKnight. Netflix, 2015-2018.

Game of Thrones. Created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. HBO, 2011-2019.

How I Met Your Mother. Created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. CBS,

2005-2014.

Inhumans. Created by Scott Buck. ABC, 2017.

Iron Fist. Created by Scott Buck. Netflix, 2017-2018.

Jessica Jones. Created by Melissa Rosenberg. Netflix, 2015-2019.

122

Luke Cage. Created by Cheo Hodari Coker. Netflix, 2016-2018.

The Defenders. Created by Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez. Netflix, 2017.

The Punisher. Created by Steve Lightfoot. Netflix, 2017-2018.

123

Works Consulted

“8 Revelations from THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Visual Dictionary.” Nerdist.

Accessed April 27, 2020. https://nerdist.com/article/the-rise-of-skywalker-

visual-dictionary/.

Abad-Santos, Alex, and Alissa Wilkinson. “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Was

Designed to Be the Opposite of The Last Jedi.” Vox. Vox, December 27,

2019. https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/27/21034725/star-wars-the-rise-

of-skywalker-last-jedi-j-j-abrams-rian-johnson.

Abdulbaki, Mae. “'Avengers: Endgame' Spoilers: Professor Hulk Theory Has Roots

in the Comics.” Inverse. Inverse, February 13, 2019.

https://www.inverse.com/article/53281-avengers-endgame-professor-hulk-

theory-could-be-a-spoiler-from-the-comics.

Acuna, Kirsten. “A Leaked 'Avengers 4' Photo Teases Gwyneth Paltrow in an Iconic

Superhero Suit.” Insider. Insider, October 24, 2018.

https://www.insider.com/avengers-4-pepper-potts-gwyneth-paltrow-rescue-

photo-2018-10.

Alexander, Julia, and Andrew Liptak. “Marvel Reveals Massive Phase Four Film and

Television Plan.” The Verge. The Verge, July 21, 2019.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/20/20702328/marvel-disney-plus-thor-

eternals-doctor-strange-wandavision-hawkeye-black-widow-san-diego-comic-

con.

124

Alfaro, M. (1996). INTERTEXTUALITY: ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF

THE CONCEPT. Atlantis, 18(1/2), 268-285. Retrieved April 21, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/41054827

Alter, Ethan. “Carrie Fisher's Brother Reveals New Details about Leia's 'Rise of

Skywalker' Role: 'She Was Going to Be the Last Jedi' (Exclusive).” Yahoo!

Yahoo!, November 6, 2019. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/details-of-

carrie-fishers-rise-of-skywalker-role-revealed-210514180.html.

Altman, Rick. Film/Genre. London: BFI Publishing, 2012.

“Arya Stark Was The Wrong Choice For Winterfell Hero.” The Federalist, May 6,

2019. https://thefederalist.com/2019/05/02/arya-stark-wrong-choice-

winterfell-hero/.

Austin, Thomas. Hollywood, Hype and Audiences Selling and Watching Popular

Film in the 1990s. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002.

Barker, Martin, and Kate Brooks. Knowing Audiences Judge Dredd, Its Friends, Fans

and Foes. Luton: University of Luton Press, 1998.

Barthes, Roland. “From Work to Text.” Essay. In The Rustle of Language, translated

by Richard Howard, 57–60. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010.

Bart Beaty (2016) Superhero fan service: Audience strategies in the contemporary

interlinked Hollywood blockbuster, The Information Society, 32:5,318-325,

DOI: 10.1080/01972243.2016.1212616

Bisset, Jennifer. “We Just Learned What Finn Wanted to Tell Rey in Star Wars: The

Rise of Skywalker.” CNET. CNET, December 23, 2019.

125

https://www.cnet.com/news/we-just-learned-what-finn-wanted-to-tell-rey-in-

star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker/.

Boren, Jade. “Spider-Man Is Leaving The Marvel Cinematic Universe & Fans Are

Furious: Report.” Hollywood Life. Hollywood Life, September 27, 2019.

https://hollywoodlife.com/2019/08/20/spider-man-leaving-mcu-fan-reaction-

tom-holland/.

Box Office Report - Domestic Box Office By Decade - 2010s. Accessed April 27,

2020. http://www.boxofficereport.com/domestic2010s.html.

Bramesco, Charles. “10 Signs You Have Superhero-Movie Fatigue.” Rolling Stone.

Rolling Stone, June 25, 2018. https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-

news/10-signs-you-have-superhero-movie-fatigue-52201/.

Brooker, Will. Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans. New

York: Continuum, 2003.

Burke, Liam. Comic Book Film Adaptation: Exploring Modern Hollywood's Leading

Genre. Place of publication not identified: Univ Pr Of Mississippi, 2017.

Butler, Will. “Mark Ruffalo Reveals Whether Hulk Will Ever Have a Solo Movie in

the MCU: NME.” NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and

Blogs | NME.COM, July 16, 2017. https://www.nme.com/news/mark-ruffalo-

hulk-solo-movie-marvel-2111933.

Cannon, Eoghan. “There Will Be No Promotional Footage of 'Avengers: Endgame'

Past the First 15 Minutes.” Entertainment.ie. Entertainment.ie, January 7,

2019. https://entertainment.ie/cinema/movie-news/there-will-be-no-

promotional-footage-of-avengers-endgame-past-the-first-15-minutes-387837/.

126

Carrington, André. (2019). From blaxploitation to fan service: watching Wakanda.

Safundi. 20. 1-4. 10.1080/17533171.2019.1552350.

Carroll, Noel. Philosophy of Horror: or, Paradoxes of the Heart. Place of publication

not identified: Routledge, 2015.

Chichizola, Corey. “Kevin Feige Affirms Marvel Studio's Focus On Diversity.”

CINEMABLEND. CINEMABLEND, December 28, 2018.

https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2464191/kevin-feige-affirms-marvel-

studios-focus-on-diversity.

“Chris Evans & 'Avengers' Co-Stars Share Big Laugh in New Set Photos!” Just Jared.

Accessed April 27, 2020. http://www.justjared.com/2018/01/10/chris-evans-

avengers-co-stars-share-big-laugh-new-set-photos/.

ComicBook. “Star Wars Fans Are Loving the Han and Ben Solo Parallels in The Rise

of Skywalker.” Star Wars. ComicBook.com, December 25, 2019.

https://comicbook.com/starwars/news/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-han-

solo-ben-kylo-similarities-comparison/.

D'Alessandro, Anthony. “'Avengers: Endgame' Finally Conquers King Of The World

James Cameron's 'Avatar' To Become Highest-Grossing Film Of All Time.”

Deadline. Deadline, July 21, 2019. https://deadline.com/2019/07/avengers-

endgame-finally-conquers-king-of-the-world-james-camerons-avatar-to-

becoming-the-highest-grossing-film-of-all-time-1202649741/.

D'Alessandro, Anthony. “'Avengers: Endgame' Sets First-Day Presales Record For

Fandango & Atom; Marvel High For Regal: CinemaCon – Update.” Deadline.

127

Deadline, April 2, 2019. https://deadline.com/2019/04/avengers-endgame-

presales-record-atom-fandango-amc-website-crash-1202586799/.

Daley, Katerina. “10 Crazy Fan Theories About Star Wars Episode IX's Title: The

Rise Of Skywalker.” ScreenRant. Screen Rant, April 14, 2019.

https://screenrant.com/star-wars-episode-9-fan-theories-title/.

“Database Content.” Star Trek. Accessed April 27, 2020.

https://www.startrek.com/database.

Davis, Blair. Comic Book Movies. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2018.

Dexerto. “Emperor's Fortnite Message Meaning Possibly Revealed by Star Wars

Leaker.” Dexerto.com. Dexerto.com, December 17, 2019.

https://www.dexerto.com/fortnite/emperor-fortnite-message-meaning-

possibly-revealed-star-wars-leaker-1301661.

Dockterman, Eliana. “All the Marvel Shows Coming to the Disney+ Streaming

Service.” Time. Time, January 2, 2020. https://time.com/5646870/disney-

plus-marvel-tv-shows/.

Donnelly, Matt. “Marvel Surprise: 'Avengers: Infinity War' Won't Be Split Into 2

Movies.” TheWrap, July 29, 2016. https://www.thewrap.com/marvel-surprise-

avengers-infinity-war-wont-be-split-into-2-movies/.

Ellithorpe, M. E., & Brookes, S. E. (2018). I didn’t see that coming: Spoilers, fan

theories, and their influence on enjoyment and parasocial breakup distress

during a series finale. Psychology of Popular Media Culture., 7(3), 250-263.

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000134

128

Emmanuele, Julia. “Emperor Palpatine's 'Star Wars: Episode 9' Trailer Cameo Teases

His Return From The Dead.” Bustle. Bustle, April 12, 2019.

https://www.bustle.com/p/how-is-emperor-palpatine-alive-the-star-wars-

villains-return-is-teased-in-the-episode-9-trailer-17034491.

“Every Parallel Between the Original Star Wars Trilogy and Force Awakens.”

Vulture, December 21, 2015. https://www.vulture.com/2015/12/every-force-

awakens-similarity-original-star-wars-trilogy.html.

Gilyadov, Alex. “Dark Universe Announced as Universal Monsters Shared Universe:

Depp, Bardem, Condon and Elfman Confirmed.” IGN. IGN, May 23, 2017.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/05/22/dark-universe-announced-as-

universal-monsters-shared-universe-depp-bardem-condon-and-elfman-

confirmed.

Grant, Barry Keith, and Malisa Kurtz. Notions of Genre: Writings on Popular Film

before Genre Theory. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2016.

Graser, Marc. “Spider-Man: How Sony, Marvel Will Benefit from Unique Deal

(EXCLUSIVE).” Variety. Variety, February 10, 2015.

https://variety.com/2015/film/news/details-spider-man-appear-in-sony-and-

marvel-movies-1201429039/.

Gray, Jonathan. Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts.

New York, NY: New York University Press, 2010.

“A Guide to Every Theory About Rey's Parents in STAR WARS.” Nerdist. Accessed

April 27, 2020. https://nerdist.com/article/reys-parents-every-theory-star-

wars/.

129

Halliwell, Kate. “PSA: The Marvel Trailers Are Lying to You.” The Ringer. The

Ringer, April 30, 2018.

https://www.theringer.com/movies/2018/4/30/17303346/psa-the-marvel-

trailers-are-lying-to-you.

Harris, LaTesha. “'Rise of Skywalker' Has Second-Worst Rotten Tomatoes Score in

'Star Wars' Franchise.” Variety. Variety, December 20, 2019.

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/the-rise-of-skywalker-rotten-tomatoes-

reviews-star-wars-1203450010/.

Herbert, Daniel. Film Remakes and Franchises. New Brunswick: Rutgers University

Press, 2017.

Hiatt, Brian. “J.J. Abrams and the Secrets of 'Skywalker'.” Rolling Stone. Rolling

Stone, December 12, 2019. https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-

news/star-wars-jj-abrams-secrets-of-skywalker-912362/.

Hibberd, James. “'The Rise of Skywalker' Companion Book Adds Big Twist to

Lando's Final Scene.” EW.com. Accessed April 27, 2020.

https://ew.com/movies/2019/12/21/the-rise-of-skywalker-companion-book-

lando-final-scene-twist/.

Hidalgo, Pablo. Star Wars - the Rise of Skywalker: the Visual Dictionary: with

Exclusive Cross-Sections. London: DK Children, 2019.

Higgins, Scott. Matinee Melodrama. Rutgers University Press, 2016.

“A History Of Finn/Poe Shipping In The STAR WARS Sequels.” Nerdist. Accessed

April 27, 2020. https://nerdist.com/article/history-of-finn-poe-shipping-star-

wars/.

130

Hoover, Vince. “Kevin Feige Confirms That Marvel TV Was NOT Part Of MCU.”

ScreenGeek, December 11, 2019.

https://www.screengeek.net/2019/12/11/mcu-marvel-tv-kevin-feige/.

“Jedi Council - Interviews: Timothy Zahn.” TheForce.Net - Your Daily Dose of Star

Wars. Accessed April 27, 2020.

http://theforce.net/jedicouncil/interview/zahn.asp.

Jenkins, Henry. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New

York: New York University Press, 2006.

Kain, Erik. “Star Wars: Episode 9's Newly Revealed Title 'The Rise Of Skywalker'

Hints At Rey's True Parentage.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, April 12, 2019.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2019/04/12/star-wars-episode-9s-

newly-revealed-title-the-rise-of-skywalker-hints-at-reys-true-

parentage/#470bd0bc782a.

Karim, Anhar. “With Mahershala Ali As Blade, The Marvel Cinematic Universe Is

Called Into Question.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, August 1, 2019.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anharkarim/2019/07/31/with-mahershala-ali-as-

blade-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-is-called-into-question/#42fc292ba71d.

Kavanagh, Joanne. “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker - Which Characters Are

Killed off in New Film?” The Sun. The Sun, December 17, 2019.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/10571690/star-wars-the-rise-of-

skywalker-characters-killed-off/.

Kyriazis, Stefan. “Marvel MCU Official Timeline CONFIRMS That Spider-Man

Mistake but Still DOESN'T Make Sense.” Express.co.uk. Express.co.uk,

131

November 18, 2018.

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1047078/Marvel-MCU-

timeline-Spider-Man-Infinity-war-Avengers-chronology-mistake-release-date.

Lancaster, Kurt. Interacting with Babylon 5: Fan Performances in a Media Universe.

Austin: University of Texas Press, 2001.

“The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page.” StarWars.com.

Accessed April 27, 2020. https://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-

wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page.

Lindbergh, Ben. “But Seriously, How the Hell Is Emperor Palpatine Alive?” The

Ringer. The Ringer, December 23, 2019.

https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/12/23/21035070/emperor-palpatine-

return-rise-of-skywalker-explainer.

Loughrey Clarisse. “Universal Abandon Dark Universe Plans as Standalone Invisible

Man Movie Gets New Director.” The Independent. Independent Digital News

and Media, January 29, 2019. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-

entertainment/films/news/universal-dark-universe-invisible-man-blumhouse-

johnny-depp-movie-a8751881.html.

Lussier, Germain. “Tom Holland Confirms That Peter Parker Appeared in Iron Man 2

(UPDATED).” io9. io9, June 26, 2017. https://io9.gizmodo.com/tom-holland-

confirms-that-peter-parker-appeared-in-iron-1796423390.

“Marvel Cinematic Universe Franchise Box Office History.” The Numbers, n.d.

https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Marvel-Cinematic-

Universe#tab=summary&franchise_movies_overview=od5.

132

Mason, Charlie. “Marvel's Inhumans, Ten Days in the Valley Officially Cancelled at

ABC.” TVLine. TVLine, May 11, 2018.

https://tvline.com/2018/05/11/marvels-inhumans-cancelled-season-2-abc/.

Matadeen, Renaldo. “Captain Marvel Paves the Way For An Inhumans Reboot.”

CBR. CBR, March 13, 2019. https://www.cbr.com/captain-marvel-inhumans-

reboot/.

Mayer, Ruth. Serial Fu Manchu the Chinese Supervillain and the Spread of Yellow

Peril Ideology. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2014.

“Multiverse (Marvel Comics).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, April 18, 2020.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse_(Marvel_Comics).

Murphy, Charles. “SCOOP: Hawkeye To Take On A New Identity in 'Avengers 4'.”

MCUExchange, July 6, 2018. https://mcuexchange.com/hawkeye-ronin-

avengers-4/.

Nero, Dom. “This 'Star Wars' Fan Theory About Rey's Parents Suggests She's

Trapped in a Time Loop.” Esquire. Esquire, November 5, 2019.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a29697239/star-wars-the-rise-

of-skywalker-rey-parents-theory-shmi-time-travel-loop/.

O'Keefe, Matt. “Making Comics: The Ever-Evolving Marvel Style of Storytelling.”

The Beat, December 28, 2019. https://www.comicsbeat.com/marvel-style-

marvel-method-comics/.

Orange, B. Alan. “'Avengers 4' Art Shows New Quantum Realm Suits, Is It Real or

Fake?” Movieweb. Movieweb, November 11, 2018.

https://movieweb.com/avengers-4-leaked-art-quantum-realm-costumes-fake/.

133

Orr, Christopher. “'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Is One of the Best Superhero Movies

in Years.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, July 6, 2017.

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/07/spider-man-

homecoming-review/532737/.

Owen, Phil, and Ross A. Lincoln. “6 Big Questions We Have After That Intense New

'Captain Marvel' Trailer.” TheWrap, December 5, 2018.

https://www.thewrap.com/biggest-questions-captain-marvel-second-trailer-

brie-larson-jude-law-annette-bening-avengers/.

Owen, Phil. “'Solo' Is Failing Because Disney Has No Vision for the 'Star Wars'

Franchise (Commentary).” TheWrap, June 1, 2018.

https://www.thewrap.com/solo-is-failing-because-disney-had-no-vision-for-

the-star-wars-franchise-commentary/.

Patches, Matt. “One Possible Meaning behind Star Wars Episode IX's The Rise of

Skywalker Title.” Polygon. Polygon, April 12, 2019.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/12/18308173/star-wars-episode-9-title-

theory-rise-of-skywalker-meaning.

Paur, Joey. “Someone Other Than Thor May Lift Mjolnir in CAPTAIN AMERICA:

CIVIL WAR.” GeekTyrant. GeekTyrant, June 22, 2015.

https://geektyrant.com/news/someone-other-than-thor-may-lift-mjolnir-in-

captain-america-civil-war.

Pierce-Bohen, Kayleena. “10 Fan Theories About The Black Widow Solo Movie.”

ScreenRant. Screen Rant, May 12, 2019. https://screenrant.com/black-widow-

solo-movie-fan-theories/.

134

Polo, Susana. “Did Marvel Edit a Character out of Its Avengers: Endgame Trailer?”

Polygon. Polygon, February 4, 2019.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/2/3/18209890/avengers-endgame-super-bowl-

trailer-missing-character.

Pooley, Jack. “10 Movies That Unbelievably Cut What We Wanted To See.”

WhatCulture.com. WhatCulture.com, September 13, 2019.

https://whatculture.com/film/10-movies-that-unbelievably-cut-what-we-

wanted-to-see?page=2.

Quinn, Maureen. The Adaptation of a Literary Text to Film: Problems and Cases in

"Adaptation Criticism". Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2007.

Robinson, Joanna. “Star Wars: How ‘Princess Leia Lives’ in Episode IX: The Rise of

Skywalker.” Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair, April 12, 2019.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/04/star-wars-episode-ix-rise-of-

skywalker-princess-leia-carrie-fisher.

Rotten Tomatoes. rottentomatoes.com

Sandwell, Ian. “What's the Deal with Guardians of the Galaxy's Mystery Easter

Egg?” Digital Spy. Digital Spy, August 6, 2019.

https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a28604627/guardians-of-the-galaxy-

easter-egg-mystery-explained-no-one-has-found/.

Scorsese, Martin. “Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren't Cinema. Let Me

Explain.” The New York Times. The New York Times, November 5, 2019.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/opinion/martin-scorsese-marvel.html.

135

Scott, A. O. “'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Review: Revolution No. 9.” The

New York Times. The New York Times, December 18, 2019.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/movies/star-wars-the-rise-of-

skywalker-review.html.

Sharf, Zack. “J.J. Abrams Weighs In on Divisive New 'Star Wars' Title: 'I Know It's

Provocative'.” IndieWire. IndieWire, April 15, 2019.

https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/jj-abrams-defends-star-wars-episode-ix-

title-rise-of-skywalker-provocative-1202058859/.

Sharf, Zack. “Martin Scorsese Compares Marvel Movies to Theme Parks: 'That's Not

Cinema'.” IndieWire. IndieWire, October 4, 2019.

https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/martin-scorsese-marvel-movies-not-

cinema-theme-parks-1202178747/.

Sharf, Zack. “Warner Bros. Pulls Back on DCEU: Shared Universe No Longer Top

Priority.” IndieWire. IndieWire, February 28, 2019.

https://www.indiewire.com/2019/02/warner-bros-pulls-back-dceu-no-shared-

universe-1202047994/.

Shepherd, Jack. “Avengers: Endgame: Time-Travel, the Quantum Realm and How

Ant Man Could Save the Day.” The Independent. Independent Digital News

and Media, March 11, 2019. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-

entertainment/films/features/avengers-endgame-theory-time-travel-quantum-

realm-ant-man-captain-marvel-mcu-a8784716.html.

136

Singer, Matt. “'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' Review: The Saga Ends.”

ScreenCrush, December 18, 2019. https://screencrush.com/star-wars-the-rise-

of-skywalker-review/.

Smith, Chris. “'Captain Marvel' Answers Tons of 'Avengers: Endgame' Questions –

Here Are All the Mysteries It Solved.” BGR. BGR, March 11, 2019.

https://bgr.com/2019/03/10/avengers-endgame-spoilers-captain-marvel-

credits-scenes-and-secrets/.

Smithers, Dominic. “Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man Contract Finishes After

'Avengers: Endgame'.” LADbible. LADbible, January 2, 2019.

https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/film-and-tv-robert-downy-jrs-

contract-finishes-after-avengers-endgame-20190102.

Staiger, Janet. Media Reception Studies. New York, NY: New York University Press,

2005.

Stefansky, Emma. “Rey's Lineage Reveal Is the Most Disappointing 'Star Wars'

Twist.” Thrillist. Thrillist, December 20, 2019.

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/star-wars-the-rise-of-

skywalker-who-is-rey-palpatine-twist.

Stone, Sam. “Avengers: Endgame Directors Explain 'Professor Hulk'.” CBR. CBR,

May 2, 2019. https://www.cbr.com/russo-brothers-avengers-endgame-

professor-hulk/.

“Top Lifetime Grosses.” Box Office Mojo. Accessed April 27, 2020.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/chart/top_lifetime_gross/?area=XWW.

137

Truffaut-Wong, Olivia. “All The Ways 'The Last Jedi' Is Just Like 'The Empire

Strikes Back'.” Bustle. Bustle, December 18, 2017.

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-last-jedi-vs-the-empire-strikes-back-show-just-

how-much-these-movies-really-are-alike-7613938.

Twitter. twitter.com

VanDerWerff, Emily. “The ‘Backlash’ against Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Explained.”

Vox. Vox, December 19, 2017.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/18/16791844/star-wars-last-jedi-

backlash-controversy.

Vejvoda, Jim. “Thor: Ragnarok Begins a Three-Movie Arc for Hulk.” IGN. IGN,

October 12, 2017. https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/10/11/thor-ragnarok-

begins-a-three-movie-arc-for-hulk.

Wegotthiscovered. “Marvel Planning To Reboot The Inhumans In The MCU.” We

Got This Covered, June 11, 2019.

https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/marvel-planning-to-reboot-the-

inhumans-in-the-mcu/.

Wigler, Josh. “'Avengers: Endgame' Final Path - The Journey of Iron Man.” The

Hollywood Reporter, April 26, 2020.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/avengers-endgame-iron-man-

predictions-1194114.

Wigler, Josh. “Here's How Paul Walker Will Appear In 'Fast And Furious 7'.” MTV

News, March 24, 2014. http://www.mtv.com/news/1724645/paul-walker-fast-

furious-7-plan/.

138

Wizarding World. Accessed April 27, 2020.

https://www.wizardingworld.com/discover/films.

Yee, Alaina. “How to Avoid Spoilers without Leaving Facebook or Twitter.”

PCWorld. PCWorld, April 29, 2019.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3391408/how-to-avoid-spoilers-on-

facebook-and-twitter.html.

YouTube. youtube.com

“'The Rise of Skywalker' Mystery Planet Is a Major Location We've Been to

Before.” EW.com. Accessed April 27, 2020.

https://ew.com/movies/2019/12/21/the-rise-of-skywalker-mustafar/.