10 Simple Ways To Build A Cinematic Universe
3. Don't Do Too Much Too Soon
In spending four years and five movies leading up to The Avengers, huge amounts of audience goodwill had built up towards Marvel Studios and anticipation was at fever pitch when the epic team-up finally hit the big screen, which was a key factor in the success of Phase One and beyond.
Their rivals have been so eager to establish a shared universe in the shortest time possible that such accelerated development has often resulted in bogged-down narratives that are often more concerned with what is happening two movies down the line instead of the story unfolding onscreen.
Bar a few Easter Eggs hidden in Man of Steel there was no indication that a wider DC universe even existed then all of a sudden there's Batman, Wonder Woman, Parademons, Doomsday, JPEGs of the Justice League and much more, which is a lot of world-building to cram into a movie that was already bursting at the seams.
In the same vein, it seemed that The Mummy was too preoccupied with foreshadowing what's to come in the Dark Universe that it forgets to be entertaining. Russell Crowe may as well be walking around wearing a sandwich board that says 'more movies coming soon!'
It should always be the priority to deliver a movie good enough that the next installment of the franchise becomes a must-see, and by looking too far ahead the creatives can seemingly lose interest in the task at hand after becoming preoccupied with hinting towards something than can often be several years away.