6 Crazy 'Shared Universes' Hollywood's Actually Making

Spinning Bond off into a TV universe could allow producers to, say, give Bond's American pal Felix Leiter his own show. Or how about a sitcom about how teen Blofeld resents his adopted brother James? Universal ended up snagging the rights to Bond, and sure enough, they recently announced their own streaming service. So it's not inconceivable that a Bond-verse is still in play. The most prominent rumor seemed to suggest that a Bond spinoff wouldn't focus on Bond himself, but rather a young female agent, who could be set up in the next movie. And since a lot of people think Bond is going to kick the bucket in the upcoming film, this would allow the producers to take the franchise in a fresh direction without taking the bold step of gender-swapping Bond.

While nothing has been officially announced, it certainly seems like a possibility, especially with Bond rival Jason Bourne similarly spinning off into a TV series, Treadstone. And let us not forget that the Bond universe has previously expanded to tell the story of Bond's illegitimate, umm, nephew. Yeah, nephew ...

Related: 5 Annoying 'Shared Universe' Movie Tropes

Yup, General Mills is reportedly launching its own shared universe starring the monstrous mascots from its breakfast cereals -- Count Chocula, Boo Berry, and of course, Franken Berry. Bizarrely, the company made the announcement with a billboard of Franken Berry striking an uncomfortably seductive pose on a Sunset Blvd. billboard.

The website listed on the billboard features an invitation for pitches for "blockbuster" stories for General Mills' "legacy characters" -- which it seems is what they consider their cartoon knockoffs of famous literary characters. It may sound like a goofy PR stunt, but it appears as though the company genuinely wants to see these breakfast ghouls in multiple major motion pictures.

And hey, maybe there are stories to tell here. Is Count Chocula an actual vampire who digs chocolate, topping his cereal with the blood of the innocent instead of milk? Is Boo Berry the vengeful spirit of a berry farmer scouring the Earth for his murderers? Was Franken Berry created by an evil scientist with a diabolical plan to turn the world's feces pink? Hey, we could totally pitch these ideas, you guys.

Though in a world of billion-dollar superhero movies, it's possible that Matilda may not pack 'em in like she used to.

We don't have many details on the project yet, but Netflix has "hinted" that the Dahl stories will be part of "a shared universe." Which makes sense, because they spent nine-figures for the just rights to these characters. So if you ever wanted to see Willy Wonka battle the BFG, or Matilda and Charlie compare notes on the abject shittiness of life, you're in luck.

Some of the other books Netflix acquired include The Enormous Crocodile, The Twits, and George's Marvellous Medicine. Hell, for a billion dollars, if Roald Dahl scrawled an obscene doodle on a cocktail napkin, they should be allowed to adapt it into a show, right?

Bizarrely, you'll be able to watch the whole thing out of order. Hulu suggests viewers can watch the shows "vertically" or "horizontally." This suggests either that they'll explore bold new avenues of storytelling, or that these executives are high as shit.

Now keep in mind, so far these are the only two Grisham properties being incorporated into their own TV universe. More famous works -- like The Firm, The Pelican Brief, or god forbid, Christmas With The Kranks -- aren't on the table. But if you still feel like you have a Grisham-sized hole in your heart, Netflix recently produced an adaptation of The Innocent Man, Grisham's only nonfiction work. Yup, your TV is about to reach church rummage sale levels of Grisham content.

One of the stars of Re-Animator, Barbara Crampton, also appeared in two other notable Lovecraft riffs. And according to her, all those movies are going to be remade as part of an "expanded Lovecraft universe." First up is 1995's Castle Freak, about the horrors that come with inheriting your very own mysterious foreign castle. Update the castle into a sketchy Airbnb, and the thing writes itself.

Crampton also promised that the new movies would "bring the Lovecraft universe a little bit more to life and a little bit more in the forefront" -- which hopefully doesn't include racist musings about kitty cats.

Pictured: a superhero movie?

Other planned entries in Marvel Understudies Universe include movies centering on Black Cat and Silver Sable, as well as one about Kraven the Hunter. And even though the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man reboot was a dumpster fire that's been put out to pasture in the mixed metaphor that is a pasture full of flaming garbage receptacles, its villain-starring spinoff Sinister Six is reportedly still in development. So we may still get to see Paul Giamatti's Rhino drag the Green Goblin and friends on an awkward journey through wine country after all.

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