As streaming becomes an increasingly important part of the entertainment industry, the old business models will continue to shift, evolve, and perhaps even fade away entirely. One of the most unique aspects of original content never seeing the inside of a theater or a timeslot on the network schedule is that you can witness it completely reinventing the way franchises are built and expanded in front of your eyes.
It used to be sequels, possibly a spinoff or two, and then a reboot when the box office takings dropped. However, as we’ve seen from Netflix with Army of the Dead and The Witcher in particular, the game has changed. The live-action originals are being followed by direct continuations, multiple feature length and episodic efforts set in the same universe, as well as animated companions that act as official canon.
It’s the way forward for crafting a shared universe, and we’re now hearing from our sources – the same ones who told us Riri Williams would make her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever long before it was confirmed – that Amazon reportedly view The Tomorrow War as having the potential to be one of the company’s biggest in-house properties.
A second installment is already in early development, with director Chris McKay teasing that spinoffs are definitely a possibility, and a high concept premise based around time traveling sci-fi means that the narrative opportunities could literally take The Tomorrow War to any place at any time.
Further details remain thin on the ground for now, but having shelled out close to $200 million to secure the rights in the first place, Amazon will surely be keen to build out the mythology as much as possible to justify the initial investment.
