Transmedia storytelling
How has trans-media storytelling effected the audiences perception of the stories?
In the case of Star Wars, being created by George Lucas in 1977. LucasFilm is responsible for the likes of Stars Wars, and Indiana Jones. George Lucas never imagined that his passion project would turn into one of the biggest IP addresses on the planet.George Lucas created a massive universe through six live action films, and two different iterations of an animated Clone Wars TV show. Lucas also created smaller projects, one being Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure in 1985. The first dive into trans-media for Lucas.
George Lucas sold LucasFilm to Disney in 2012 for $4.05 billion dollars. Starting a new era for LucasFilm, releasing an animated series; Rebels, Episode VII, VIII, and IX, and Rogue One. Rebels is fairly beloved, Rogue One is universally respected as an all time great addition to the Star Wars story. But the three sequel films were not meant with the response that Disney was hoping for. This caused a shift in the writers room as they started to focus on expanding the universe through TV shows.
The rollout of TV shows at LucasFilm includes; The Mandalorian, Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, The Bad Batch, The Acolyte and many more. These shows have been met with mixed feelings, with the fandom liking a select few of these shows.
The Original Star Wars Trilogy
Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Star Wars Sequel trilogy
The new additions to the Skywalker saga
The new television rollout for LucasFilm started with The Mandalorian. The success of The Mandalorian lead to many more live action shows following characters we know and love. And some new ones as well.
Ben Kenobi, Boba Fett, Cassian Andor, and Ahsoka are fan favorite characters that received their adaptation in live action. While the Andor series is the only series of the bunch that fans were completely happy with.
The Mandalorian and Andor are two of the highest rated live action shows that they have released, Mandalorian is set to get a movie in 2026 and Andor season 2 soon. These are the only live action shows they have released that have been renewed for more than one season.
The originality and creativity are big parts of why these projects are so loved. The writers proved to be fans to their core when producing these shows. Showing the love that they have for the series through their art.
LucasFilms' latest project, The Acolyte. Is LucasFilms most expensive project ever, eclipsing over $180 million dollars in production. That would have been okay, but as of now it is one of the most controversial projects ever. With petitions made by fans to destroy it and to continue it. The loss of money on The Acolyte has put LucasFilm in a similar position as to when they released the sequel movies. Do they continue with this avenue?
Live action shows
Kenobi
A highly anticipated series that fell short to most peoples expectations. 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7/10 IMDb
Boba Fett
Another anticipated series that stepped in its own way. 66% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.2 IMDb
Ahsoka
Mixed reviews, Grand Admiral Thrawns portrayal is great. 86% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5/10 IMDb
Acolyte
Most expensive story yet. Trying something completely new, it is the worst rated SW project. 18% Popcorn meter, 4.2/10 IMDb
Transformers
Transformers is a really cool case of trans-media. Transformers were originally toys, most companies make toys of the production, but this company made a production out of their toys. Hasbro created these toys from inspiration of Takara's Diaclone toys.
These toys were followed by a comic line, and an animated Tv series. Then in 2007, the Transformers were brought to live action.
The Transformers series produced by Michael By was stopped after five films. The films were not connecting with the audience anymore, the truth is. Without Shia Labeouf as the lead, the audience didn't connect with Mark Wahlberg's character as much.
The original Transformers toys
The original Transformers toys
The Transformers series got a soft reboot with the movie; Bumblebee. This movie was very successful, the movies soft reboot features G1 inspired designs (The original designs) And gave fans a taste of them going in the right direction. Receiving a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. This movie was followed up by Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. The G1 designs, the inclusion of the Maximals, and great voice acting was reassurance that Hasbro had been listening to the fans. The next installment is said to be a collaboration between the Transformers and the G.I. Joes. A trans-media production teams dream.
Transformers One
Transformers One is a brand new addition to the Transformers series, a new standalone animated film. This animated story is an origin story of how the Autobots and Decepticons came to be. This story shows how Orion Pax and D-16 go from best friends to mortal enemies, and how they became Optimus Prime and Megatron. A story fully taking place on Cybertron before the war / fall of Cybertron. This movie gave fans exactly what they have been asking for, carrying on with the new iteration of the G1 designs, and new voices. Chris Hemsworth's younger Optimus Prime and David Tyree Henry's D-16 performances, along with Keegan Michael Key, Scarlett Johansen, and John Hamm bring these characters to life. This movie received an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 98% on the Popcorn meter after a slow start to the box-office due to poor marketing.
The official poster of Transformers One
The official poster of Transformers One
"Featuring winning voice work from Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Keegan-Michael Key, Transformers One brings welcome reserves of fun and character to otherwise over-familiar franchise material.."
-Kevin Hartley, Radiotimes.com
Lego
As an outlet for trans-media, Lego is one of the most successful brands doing so. Since toys are considered a part of trans-media. This specific toy company has done a great job partnering with brands like Disney to help bring their movies to life for children. They make Legos of characters in movies and of scenes in movies. They do this as an interactive element themselves because you build the Legos, and that is the enjoyment. Lego sells a product and a rewarding task.
Legos are in the same sense of Transformers where they are toys that received movies due to the popularity. The Lego Movie 1 and 2, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie, The Lego Pharrell Williams Biopic, and even a dimension of Spider-Man in Spider-man:Across the Spiderverse.
They also have had a very successful line of video games, doing many Star Wars and Marvel games.
Legoland helps with this avenue, as they build places and characters out of legos to bring them to life for your enjoyment. They work for the people and their children and give them what they want through extensions of feature films.
Lego scene depicting Mos Espa's Podrace from Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
Lego scene depicting Mos Espa's Podrace from Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
Official poster of The Lego Movie
Official poster of The Lego Movie
Transmedias Best Examples
Transformers
Originating in 1984, a toy series changed the landscape of toy, television, and comic books, starting from a smaller outlet such as toys and becoming a series with now eight movies since 2007. Hasbro has done a great job with trans-media.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is a video game series that originated in 2013, the Last of Us received two parts to the game and was adapted into a television show in 2023, and the television show was successful to the point of receiving a second season. HBO is another candidate for a company that does a good job with their trans-media.
Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings is a massively popular series. With the original series and the Hobbit series. LOTR was looking for another expansion. The Rings of Power is an example of taking trans-media storytelling seriously and it paying off.
The Batman/Penguin
The Batman. A new adaptation of Bruce Wayne that released in 2021, starring Robert Pattinson. The movies 85% on Rotten Tomatoes was deemed a big success. Being renewed for a second movie that is in production now. And the production of a series following the Penguin from the movie. HBO's The Penguin debuted in 2024 and is a candidate for series of the year, with a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Video games
Video games are an outlet that is rather new compared to most other ways of trans-media. But companies like Lego, Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Nintendo do a great job using other brands characters in playable content.
Toys
Toys have always been one of the most successful outlets of trans-media. Movie producers write movies with toys in mind. The toys for movies and entertainment is a big avenue to trans-media.
Theme Parks
Universal Studios, Disneyland and DisneyWorld, Legoland are examples of brands using trans-media for their characters. This outlet brings Disneyland alone $6 million dollars per day.
Disney
Disney is a brand that speaks for itself, with the animation, the parks, the toys, the apps, the games, Disney does everything under the sun with their IP. They are wildly successful.
Transmedias worst examples
Marvel
Marvel has done a good job with a few of their shows, but with their abundance of shows to release within the last three/four years, it has become difficult to keep up with the shows. The shows were forced out to a point where they lack quality. They released eight shows in the first two years alone.
Star Wars
Star Wars has many successful trans-media projects. They have done a great deal for trans-media. But like Marvel, they seemed to value quantity over quality for a while and this has continued to show, with their last project being the worst reviewed project they have ever had, while losing the most money they ever have on a production.
Lightyear
A more focused example. Lightyear serves as another addition to Buzz Lightyears' story. It dives into why they made him into an action figure. This is a case of touching a character that did not need to be touched, and the audience struggles with seeing a different version of the Buzz they know and love. This trans-media example is that of, they had no real reason to make it, and it hurt them.
What writers can learn from trans-media at this moment
New additions to stories will not always make everybody happy. It is impossible to please everyone in this line of work. But when producing a new piece of content for characters that already exist should, you should never stray away from the source material. The source material is why you can make new stories in the first place, do not forget about that. The audience matters, their opinions are valuable, and in a lot of instances, good movies only come from people who genuinely love what they are putting on a screen.
Trans-media should not be about making a profit nor should it be about meeting a quota. It should be made out of passion for the art at hand. If you can successfully do that, the profit will come. But as all good things come, they come patiently and after a large amount of time, thought, and effort.
In most of these cases, it seems as if people had really good ideas for a spinoff series, and when it became popular they dove in with both feet and started making project after project. And those companies and projects suffered greatly. People are not sick of trans-media stories, they are sick of trans-media stories being pushed out because of the lack of quality and thought behind them. Sometimes companies are in over their head and dig themselves into a hole because of trying to release too many shows.
Trans-media is a beyond successful way to expand a brand. But just make sure it is done properly. Audiences see when writers are in a project for the wrong reasons.
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