Sequels and film franchises can internalize ownership structures into storyworld form.

Evidence

The first two case studies analyze derivative texts at the level of the lyric and the scene, respectively, but here, the level of analysis is the storyworld. In franchise films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, The Matrix, Ready Player One, The Lego Movie, and Wreck-It Ralph, narrative and character are largely set aside. Instead, worldbuilding is privileged, and franchise aspirations, licensing contracts, and IP management are given precedence. The storyworlds of these “brandscape blockbusters” are assembled out of dozens, even hundreds, of licensing agreements that patch together pop culture references and paid promotions into a quilt of references, brands, and nostalgia. — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media, 54

Categorization

• XREF: Directly addresses the reader’s core question of causation from financial/ownership structure to aesthetic form — here at storyworld scale rather than lyric or scene.
• SEED: Angle: tracing one licensing deal structure into a specific storyworld feature of a single film (e.g., how the Matrix-connected spinoffs share a universe because of shared IP owners).