A 10/10 sci-fi show by Prime Video makes building a cinematic universe look easy. Cinematic universes have been commonplace since 2008 and the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s various movies and shows. Since then, other franchises have tried to replicate that success, with streaming services pumping out fantasy and sci-fi alike in their attempts.
Some of the best Prime Video shows, like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, are an example of this. The Rings of Power is the most expensive TV show ever made and features characters from the original trilogy, emulating the shared universe nature of its story. In many ways, Prime Video is a frontrunner for this.
Some of the best sci-fi shows on Prime Video are part of cinematic universes, with one proving how easy it can be. This show is well-loved for many reasons that come above its shared cinematic format. As such, Prime Video is proving how easy making the latter can be, if only streaming services made an excellent show first.
How The Boys Became A Franchise
The show in question is The Boys. The Boys season 5 is set to conclude the show in 2026, though that will not be the end of what has now become a franchise. In terms of how it achieved this, The Boys began by being a well-acted, well-written, self-contained story with compelling characters, morally-gray themes, and an expansive world rife with potential.
The first season of the show was beloved by fans and critics alike, with all of the above aspects being reasons as to why. Rather than rush into a shared universe and negatively impact the story at hand as a result, such as franchises like the DCEU, Prime Video did the opposite.
Instead, a strong story was made that did not need any others around it to succeed. This is evident with The Boys season 5. The show will conclude, wrapping up the story it began years ago. However, that will not end the franchise, as various spin-offs and prequels have been crafted after The Boys became successful, meaning one can exist without the others.
Gen V took the core themes and concepts of The Boys and applied them to a different age group, exploring collegiate superheroes. This was tied to The Boys, yes, but not intrinsically so. Vought Rising, another upcoming spin-off, is set to do exactly the same, only this time by exploring superheroes from the past who lived on into the time of The Boys.
While the main show provides context in many ways, it is not necessary to enjoy the story of either spin-off. Rather, the supplementary stories are set within the world of superheroes that was already established in The Boys, with some crossover but also compelling standalone stories.
This is without mentioning the anthology spin-off, The Boys: Diabolical, which provides bite-sized sci-fi storytelling with The Boys‘ signature style. Beyond that, the show has impacted online forums and even some of the biggest video game franchises, like Call of Duty and Mortal Kombat. By building from the ground up without a shared universe in mind, The Boys inadvertently showed how easy it is to build one.
Gen V Has Been As Good As The Parent Series
What makes Gen V a symptom of a good product in a cinematic universe is not only how it loosely ties to The Boys, but also how it follows the same mandate the latter did. Gen V was not made for the sake of it, simply to create a shared universe and capitalize on the popularity of similar franchises. Instead, the story of Gen V was born naturally.
The Boys became its own thing, and new storytellers thought of a way to expand the world using a new show and a new setting. It isn’t like Prime Video ordered three seasons of both The Boys and Gen V off the bat. Because of the natural way Gen V was born, its quality was on par with that of The Boys.
The highest-rated season of Gen V on Rotten Tomatoes is 97%, which matches the highest rating of The Boys, achieved by season 2 of the latter. For the most part, fans also place Gen V with The Boys in terms of quality. The characters, gore, world-building, comedy, and tension have all been praised.
If Vought Rising is the same, which history shows it may be, The Boys will have two spin-offs as good as the parent series itself. Thanks to the natural way in which this happened, Prime Video is showing streaming services how to create a cinematic universe.
Has The Boys Become The Thing It Was Making Fun Of?
All that said, while The Boys‘ franchise has succeeded in becoming a great example of a cinematic universe, there is the argument that it is becoming exactly what the main show makes fun of repeatedly. As The Boys franchise grows, this argument only matches it.
Throughout the show, the writers have poked fun at modern superhero franchises. From MCU references like Vought+ riffing on Disney+, to DCEU jabs like the mentions of Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon, and the infamous Justice League mess, The Boys has often included very meta commentary about the shortcomings of superhero franchises.
The reason for this is The Boys‘ focus on superheroes as a commercial asset, meaning all of these jabs make sense, both narratively and in-universe. Still, as more shows are announced in The Boys‘ universe, more ammunition is being provided to those who are starting to point out the irony between the show’s meta humor and the franchise being born from it.
The Boys: Every Marvel & DC Character Parodied In Amazon’s Series
Amazon’s The Boys is an often brutal parody of the superhero genre, and some of its main superheroes are inspired by DC and Marvel’s finest.
Shows like Diabolical, Gen V, Vought Rising, and the currently-stalled spin-off titled The Boys: Mexico are facing criticism for being weightless spin-offs, created only to capitalize on The Boys‘ success. As explored, Gen V and Vought Rising are showing positive signs of rendering that criticism null and void.
Regardless, there is some weight to the arguments, given the sheer amount of content being mined from The Boys. If more continue to be announced, the franchise could risk outstaying its welcome, resulting in dwindling excitement, positive reception, and relevance. For now, this isn’t happening, and The Boys‘ cinematic universe is set to have a bigger year than ever.
- Release Date
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2019 – 2026-00-00
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
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