Some movies end when the credits roll. Others seem to be just getting started. A movie arrives in theaters, audiences fall in love with the characters, and suddenly one story turns into two. Then three. Before long, there are television shows, collectibles, Halloween costumes, video games, conventions, fan theories, memes, and people debating incredibly specific details about the fictional universe online. At that point, it is no longer just a movie. It has become part of pop culture. Hollywood is filled with franchises that have grown far beyond their original films. Some have lasted for decades, introducing familiar characters and fictional worlds to entirely new generations. Others have expanded into different formats, allowing audiences to experience the same universe through television, books, games, merchandise, and fan events.
Alexander Kurtzman has spent plenty of his career around exactly these kinds of recognizable properties and large fictional worlds, including projects connected to Transformers and other major entertainment franchises. Looking at the popularity of franchises like these raises an interesting question: Why do some movies become cultural phenomena while others remain simply movies? There probably is not one answer. But there are a few ingredients that show up again and again.
It Usually Starts With Characters People Want to See Again
A fictional world can be enormous, but audiences still need someone to care about. That is where memorable characters come in. When viewers leave a movie wanting to spend more time with its heroes, villains, sidekicks, or entire ensemble, there is already a reason to come back for another story. The most successful franchise characters often have instantly recognizable personalities. Fans know how they speak, what they believe, what they fear, and how they are likely to react when trouble appears.
Eventually, those characters can become recognizable even to people who have never watched the movies. Someone may recognize a costume, symbol, vehicle, catchphrase, or silhouette without knowing much about the story behind it. That is when a character starts escaping the boundaries of the movie itself.
The World Has to Feel Bigger Than One Story
Another major ingredient is possibility. Some fictional worlds immediately make audiences wonder what else is out there. What is happening in another city? What happened 100 years earlier? Where did that mysterious character come from? What other villains exist? What happens after the heroes go home? Questions like those are incredibly valuable because they mean audiences are imagining stories beyond the one they just watched. That is fertile ground for a franchise.
A fictional universe with history, locations, organizations, technology, cultures, conflicts, and supporting characters can potentially produce stories in many different directions.
One movie follows the main hero. A television series could follow someone else. A prequel might explore an earlier period. Another story could take place somewhere completely different. The world becomes a playground for storytelling rather than simply a backdrop for one plot.
Sequels Give Audiences the Fun of Coming Back
There is something comforting about returning to a fictional world you already understand. The audience does not need to meet everyone again. They already know the rules. They recognize the locations. They understand the relationships. A sequel can simply open the door and invite everyone back inside. Of course, familiarity alone is not enough.
The challenge is giving audiences something recognizable while still introducing enough new material to make another movie worthwhile. New characters help. New locations help. Bigger challenges, unexpected relationships, and changes to the status quo can keep things interesting. The best sequels often create a strange combination of two feelings: “It’s great to be back.” And: “I didn’t expect that.” Finding that balance can help a franchise continue for years.
Television Can Make a Big World Feel Even Bigger
Movies have limited time. Television has room to wander. That makes television particularly useful for fictional worlds with lots of characters, history, and unexplored corners. A movie might spend two hours dealing with a huge central conflict. A television series can spend an entire episode following a supporting character or exploring a location that barely appeared in the films. Fans get more time with the world.
They can see what ordinary life looks like. Relationships can develop gradually. Minor mysteries can become major storylines. Characters who once existed in the background can suddenly take center stage. The fictional universe begins feeling larger because audiences are seeing more of it.
Merchandise Makes Fictional Worlds Physical
There is another sign that a franchise has entered pop culture: people want to take a piece of it home. Sometimes literally. Toys, clothing, posters, collectibles, replica props, action figures, games, and other merchandise give fans a physical connection to fictional stories. For younger fans especially, toys can extend the story far beyond the screen. The movie might last two hours.
The adventure involving those characters on the living room floor might last the next five years. That kind of connection can be surprisingly powerful. A character is no longer something someone watched once. It becomes part of birthdays, holidays, childhood memories, collections, and everyday life. Years later, seeing that same character again can instantly bring those memories back.
Fan Communities Keep Stories Alive
Movies are meant to be watched. Franchises are often meant to be discussed.
Fans debate favorite characters. They rank movies. They create theories about what will happen next. They analyze trailers frame by frame. They make artwork, costumes, videos, podcasts, and online communities devoted to incredibly specific parts of the fictional universe. That activity can continue long after a movie leaves theaters.
In some cases, the time between releases becomes part of the experience. What does that teaser mean? Is that character really gone? Was that object in the background a clue? Who should appear next? Fans keep the fictional world moving even when there is nothing new on screen.
Conventions Turn Fandom Into an Experience
Then there are conventions. A character who once existed only on a movie screen can suddenly be represented by thousands of fans walking around in costume. Actors meet viewers. Panels bring cast members and creators together. Collectors hunt for merchandise. Fans take photographs with people dressed as their favorite characters.
The fictional world becomes a social experience. This is an important part of understanding why some franchises last so long. People are not necessarily attached only to the movies. They may also be attached to the friendships, traditions, and memories surrounding those movies. Watching the latest installment becomes something people do together. Fandom becomes a community.
Memes Give Old Movies Completely New Lives
Then the internet gets involved. A facial expression from a movie can become a reaction image. A dramatic line can turn into a joke. A scene from 20 years ago can suddenly become popular again because someone turned it into the perfect meme. This creates a strange new form of cultural longevity. People who have never watched the original movie might still recognize the joke.
Memes can pull old characters and scenes into completely unrelated conversations, keeping them visible years after their original release. Sometimes they even introduce younger audiences to movies released before they were born. Someone sees the meme. They discover where it came from. Then they watch the movie. Suddenly, an old franchise has a new fan.
Each Generation Can Discover the World Differently
Long-running franchises have another unusual advantage: different generations can have completely different entry points. One person might discover a fictional universe through the original movie. Someone else starts with a sequel. A younger viewer might encounter the characters through a television series, video game, toy, streaming recommendation, or meme.
Eventually, parents can introduce their children to characters they loved when they were younger. That is when franchises can become something bigger than whatever movie happens to be newest. They become shared cultural reference points. People of very different ages may know the same characters even though they discovered them decades apart.
Nostalgia Becomes Part of the Experience
Once a franchise has existed long enough, nostalgia becomes incredibly powerful.
A familiar piece of music can instantly bring someone back to the first time they saw a movie. The return of an old character can create excitement before that character even says a word. Even familiar sounds, costumes, vehicles, logos, or locations can trigger memories.
That creates an interesting challenge for filmmakers.
Fans want something new, but they also enjoy being reminded of what they already love.
Too much nostalgia can make a story feel like it is simply replaying old favorites.
Too little can make the new version feel disconnected.
Once again, franchises live in that tricky space between familiar and fresh.
Fans Start Feeling Like the World Belongs to Them, Too
Perhaps the biggest transformation happens when audiences begin developing their own relationship with a fictional universe. People choose favorite characters. They argue about the best installments. They quote lines with friends. They collect memorabilia. They dress as characters for Halloween. They introduce the movies to other people.
At that point, the franchise is no longer something audiences simply consume. It becomes something they participate in. That does not mean fans literally own the story. It means the fictional world has become connected to their own experiences. That emotional connection can be difficult to manufacture. It develops over time.
The Biggest Franchises Become More Than Movies
Those projects are reminders that franchises are rarely built around a single ingredient. Memorable characters matter. World-building matters. Sequels matter. But so do the experiences audiences create around them.
A movie becomes a television show. A character becomes an action figure. A scene becomes a meme. A fan watches something they loved as a kid with their own children. Thousands of people gather at a convention dressed as characters who technically do not exist. Somewhere along the way, entertainment turns into culture. And perhaps that is the biggest difference between a successful movie and a lasting franchise. People watch a movie. They live with a franchise.