Marvel has used transmedia storytelling in order to build their cinematic universe. It began with the movie of the series, 'Iron Man' (2008). Since then they have released eighteen feature films, some would say they have oversaturated the market but they must be doing something right as they still manage to bring the audience back to the cinema to see their next big film. Marvels first big use of transmedia storytelling was 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D' (2013). This series followed a small team led by Agent Coulson who was a fan favourite. This gave the audience a new narrative to follow that's still linked to the main narrative of the MCU. Marvel also released several other series through Netflix and traditional television networks around the world. As well as this, they have also used their longstanding history as a comic book publisher to add to the overall narrative.
The most important information I got from the journal article was the way that Marvel used transmedia storytelling to tell the story of the MCU. Instead of creating movies, comics, and series separate from one another, Marvel created one big story that could be told through these various platforms. This allows the audience to be able to invest their time and money into the franchise as a whole, even if they aren't fans of comic books or tv series.
Marvel spreading their narrative across different platforms gives different audiences a rabbit hole into the franchise through each platform. This opened Marvels audience more and allowed them to target more than just comic book fans, but instead fans of cinema and tv.
Instead of creating a series of films that are fundamentally just adaptions, using transmedia storytelling Marvel has been able to create a story world that exists independently and was built on Marvel's use of characters and events that tied so many of their comic book series together before the release of 'Iron Man' (2008). Marvel created movies, comics, and series that are all tied together seamlessly, but also work on their own as individual stories. This means that no one needs to be a fan of the MCU to enjoy the stories being told. This essentially opened Marvel to a wider audience.
Although I'm not delusional to think that I can create an adaption of Animal Farm that can rival what Marvel has created through their - some would say overextended - cinematic universe. But, I do think that I can learn from the producers at Marvel when it comes to producing my own narrative over multiple platforms.
Original article (http://americanaejournal.hu/vol12no1/richter)
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