The Art Of The Perfect Crossover Movie

Whether on the big screen, the small screen, in comic book form, or any other form of medium, putting together the perfect crossover is often a majorly problematic proposition.

Of course, when done right, there isn't anything better than seeing two established characters or two established franchises crossing over to come together for a joint adventure or a big ol' battle. When looking specifically at the big screen, one recent example of a jaw-dropping, flawless crossover is clearly the stunning, emotional, gut-punching, fist-pumping beauty that is Avengers: Endgame.

But while Endgame ticked so many of the right boxes of how to construct a cinematic crossover in exemplary fashion, not every movie can be Avengers: Endgame. In fact, most crossovers wish they were Avengers: Endgame.

Fear not, this isn't going to be a full-on Marvel love-in. Given how we're going to explore how to put together a crossover movie that hits home in all of the right ways, though, there will be at least a fleeting mention of Earth's Mightiest heroes.

So then, for those looking to avoid the many pitfalls that can befall a well-intended crossover picture, here are some ways to achieve something remarkable from bringing already established franchises together on the silver screen.

For any crossover to be truly successful, there has to be certain fundamentals attained and certain foundations laid for anyone to even care about the crossover in the first place.

To achieve this, that's where it's key to start on the right foot with your two (or more) initial properties. Jumping ahead and doing a crossover after each respective franchise has served up only one or two movies apiece? That's risky ground.

Instead, it's vital that any parties due to crossover have their own stories, canon, and world established in a significant way, so that audiences know that these parties are about and what these characters are all about.

In fact, in most situations you shouldn't even have given the slightest smidgen of thought to any sort of crossover until at least a couple of movies dedicated to fully establishing your core story, your core characters, and the world in which they exist - to the point where when you think you've done enough establishing of a property, serious consideration needs to be given to doing an additional movie to further cement an individual IP.