HBO's New Superhero Franchise Comedy Show Calls Out A 16-Year Harsh Reality About The MCU

The following contains spoilers for The Franchise season 1 episode 1, "Scene 31A: Tecto Meets Eye," now streaming on MaxThe Franchise's first episode has already highlighted the harsh reality of blockbuster filmmaking. The series is focused on the cast and crew of a fictional superhero film trying to balance their own egos, ambitions, and anxieties with their work. Making things significantly more difficult is the presence of studio interference in the form of Pat, a rep who casually upends a major aspect of the production. Despite the hopes of people like AD Daniel, this quickly spirals into more and more chaos as the filmmakers try to adjust.

The Franchise's cast of characters responds to the change with comedic chaos, leaning into the farcical tone of the show. However, the episode also slyly refers to the real-world consequences of those kinds of changes. That is the most hard-hitting aspect of The Franchise's satire. While The Franchise has fun mocking elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, the most cutting parts of the comedy stem from the understated consequences of blockbuster film-making.

The Franchise Highlights A Risk With Shared Movie Universes

The Franchise Showcases How Blockbusters Can Impact One Another

One of the big twists of The Franchise' series premiere underscores a major thematic element of the show by highlighting the very real cost of blockbuster filmmaking. In-universe, Tecto: Eye of the Storm is part of the shared universe bolstering up the Centurios series. Production on the film is thrown into unexpected disarray when changes are implemented by the studio rep Pat. This includes cutting all the "fish people" from the film, as a shift in another film has killed the species off. This is a clear parody of how franchises will shift story with little warning.

A major risk of relying heavily on the concept of "everything is connected" is that the impact of one film can have a massive domino effect on others. Creative decisions on Tecto: Eye of the Storm are rendered moot by the needs of the franchise. As Pat notes to the director Eric during their conversation, all their work is just to build up the A-list films and prop up their success. Any artistic merit or intention to be found in Tecto is an afterthought, something Eric realizes when his arguments in defense of the fish people are brushed aside.

The MCU & DCU Have Had To Adjust Multiple Times

The Franchise Is Already Poking Fun At Superhero Blockbuster Seires

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This reflects the way the MCU and DCEU have repeatedly changed trajectories to reflect the success and failure of other films. This has happened to both series, highlighting how it's a universal risk of the medium. The box office victory of Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool, coupled with the disappointing returns on Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, led Warner Bros. to alter the gritty Suicide Squad into a more humorous film. The poor response to Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania coupled with Jonathan Majors' legal troubles radically changed the shape of the MCU's future.

Director David Ayer has been vocal about his frustrations with this Hollywood trend, with Screen Rant reporting on how those kinds of changes to Suicide Squad "broke his heart."

The DCU has been through several minor reboots over the last decade of films, with James Gunn's upcoming DCU-shared universe intending to connect further the films, shows, and games that fall under their superhero banner. Other franchises have similarly been impacted and adjusted to accommodate public response, such as Star Wars or Universal's "Dark Universe" extended universe of horror films. While The Franchise keeps the focus on superhero movies, this is a very real trend in franchise filmmaking, and one with many unexpected costs.

The Franchise Highlights The Human Cost Of Blockbuster Filmmaking

People Lose Their Jobs & Fortunes Are Wasted In Hollywood Franchise Production

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While audiences largely focus on the changes in-universe and how they impact their favorite characters, The Franchise focuses on the human cost of these changes. A producer fighting Pat's intervention on Tecto is unceremoniously fired, leaving the production with no backup in management. The extras who had been in hair and make-up all day to play the fish people are left dismayed by their sudden wrap, with one chasing after Daniel asking if they'll still be paid for the day. A cut scene featuring trees flown from Japan cost enough to build a hospital, something Daniel openly laments.

However, [The Franchise] doesn't shy away from the lives that are impacted by the fickle whims of the entertainment industry.

Filmmaking is incredibly hard and occasionally rewarding, something The Franchise leans into. However, the show doesn't shy away from the lives that are impacted by the fickle whims of the entertainment industry. Because of another film in the shared universe, many extended members of the cast and crew of Tecto have lost their jobs while burning through enough money to save countless lives. It's quietly The Franchise's most biting piece of satire, drawing attention to the way the sheer scope and ambition of the film industry can turn people's careers and lives into collateral damage.

Source: Screen Rant