18 Films That Are Essentially “IP Orgies”
In our opinion, in 2021, the original Space Jam was rather modest in its ambition: to reinvent the characters of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies , combining them with fictional versions of real NBA stars like Michael Jordan. This, of course, was before Warner Brothers owned roughly 33% of everything humans ever conceived. Now worlds that lawyers would never be allowed to encounter interact freely … or at least with minimal licensing fees. The new film adds references to Game of Thrones , The Lord of the Rings , Harry Potter, etc.
Perhaps this is one of the most spectacular multiverse mashups, but far from the first. Filmmakers have loved to piece scattered objects together from the start – although in the 1910 TV series the popular thief Maurice LeBlanc Lupine is pitted against Sherlock Holmes Doyle. And copyright hasn’t always been an obstacle: sometimes, like in Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu , when it comes to Dracula, you just change your name and hope no one sues (Bram Stoker’s estate is sued).
These are instances where separate universes come together – characters and concepts that shouldn’t have collided, merging into one world, at least throughout the film. Some are humble in their ambitions, others are absolute IP orgies.