The Best Cinematic Universe Isn't Marvel or DC
Bradley is an experienced and award winning journalist and all around entertainment fanatic. He is a passionate film and TV fan and long time attendee of San Diego Comic Con.
In 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe began with Iron Man, which kicked off multiple interconnected film franchises, crossover event films, and even Disney+ streaming series that introduced new characters and gave depth to returning ones. Since then, many franchises have attempted to recreate Marvel's success. Some have shown promise, like James Gunn's recent reboot of the DC Universe, but others, namely Universal's short lived Dark Universe, fell short.
But the first major film franchise to pioneer the idea of an interconnected web of stories wasn't the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but rather Lana and Lilly Wachowski's The Matrix Trilogy. When the first film was released in 1999 to a surprise smash success, many were blown away by the film's originality and grand scale. But what few could foresee was how the franchise would expand in ways nobody was expecting.
The Matrix loaded up with content in 2003.
The Wachowskis always planned on a trilogy based on their cyberpunk odyssey and starting in 2003, that's exactly what they did. But they did it a little differently than most film franchises at that time. They filmed The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions back-to-back over the course of a year and released both films six months apart- Reloaded in May 2003 and Revolutions in November that same year. At the time of the film's release, this was unheard of, as Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was still being filmed, and the thought of releasing two films in one year was overwhelming to some.
But the Wachowskis didn't stop there- They also released an animated anthology of short films created by some of the world's leading anime filmmakers called The Animatrix and even wrote four entries in the anthology themselves. Two of those four were not only direct prequels to Reloaded, but were explicitly referenced in the film itself, making them required viewing. To add to the experience, they also wrote a video game called Enter the Matrix, which ran perpendicular to the action of the film and featured live action cut scenes directed by the Wachowskis and starring the main cast.
The Wachowskis pioneered the idea of interconnected stories.
While linking numerous stories told in other mediums is now commonplace thanks to Marvel's global dominance and other studios attempting to cash in on their success, Lana and Lilly were breaking boundaries doing this in the early 2000s. The massive success and sheer creativity on display with The Matrix meant that the Wachowskis were basically given a blank check by Warner Bros to do whatever they wanted with their big idea. They had the foresight to tell their story using multiple mediums and expand the world well beyond the confines of the big screen, something that Marvel caught up to them in that regard.
They also used the concept of a connected universe smartly, since it was such a new idea at the time. While The Animatrix isn't exactly one-hundred percent necessary to view, those that have seen it get a better understanding of the world of The Matrix beyond what is shown onscreen. And for those that have viewed it, moments in Reloaded, such as the mentioning of the Osiris and a character simply referred to as Kid, will ring as fun connections to another piece of media, reminiscent of Marvel's countless Easter Eggs and name drops.
What's more, the Wachowskis encouraged fans to get the full experience of their vision when the phenomenon was at its peak, going so far as to hide cheat codes for Enter the Matrix in Reloaded's iconic freeway chase scene. There are even subtle callbacks to events in both the game and the anthology in the sequels, which, again, function as clever tie ins for fans, but can stand on their own for those that haven't seen either.
Lana and Lilly Wachowski have been known for pushing the creative envelope and creating new ideas that set the standard for decades to come. But arguably their greatest contribution to cinema was the idea of creating an interconnected web of adventures that all collide into one cohesive vision. While Marvel has clearly dominated the big screen universe market, one should not forget where the idea originated.
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