Following the thread.
Franchises, series and shared worlds — 150 on file.
The space opera that launched a thousand references — and gets nodded at constantly.
Established: 1961. Creator: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby. Primary Medium of Origin: Comic. Notable Works: Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men, Avengers
Established: 1997. Creator: J.K. Rowling. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Harry Potter series, Fantastic Beasts, Cursed Child
Established: 1937. Creator: J.R.R. Tolkien. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: The Hobbit, LOTR trilogy, The Silmarillion, Rings of Power
Established: 1938. Creator: DC Comics. Primary Medium of Origin: Comic. Notable Works: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Justice League
Established: 1996. Creator: George R.R. Martin. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: A Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones (HBO), House of the Dragon
Five decades of Federation storytelling, endlessly echoed elsewhere.
Hyrule's endless cycle of heroes, swords and recurring names.
Established: 1997. Creator: DMA Design / Rockstar. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas, IV, V
Established: 1985. Creator: Shigeru Miyamoto. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Super Mario Bros., 64, Odyssey, Mario Kart, Mario Party
Established: 1987. Creator: Hironobu Sakaguchi / Square. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Final Fantasy I–XVI, VII Remake, spin-offs, films
Established: 1998. Creator: Valve. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Half-Life 1–2, Alyx, Portal 1–2
Established: 2001. Creator: Bungie. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Halo: CE, 2, 3, Reach, Infinite, novels, TV series
Established: 1997. Creator: Interplay / Bethesda. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Fallout 1–4, New Vegas, 76, Amazon TV show
Established: 1953. Creator: Ian Fleming. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Casino Royale novels, 25+ Eon films, Goldfinger, Skyfall
Established: 1996. Creator: Shinji Mikami / Capcom. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Games 1–8, films, Netflix series
Established: 1991. Creator: Sega / Sonic Team. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Sega games, comics, TV shows, films
Established: 1979. Creator: Dan O'Bannon / Ronald Shusett. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Alien, Aliens, Prometheus, Predator, AVP crossovers
Established: 1985. Creator: Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: BTTF trilogy, animated series, ride
Established: 1981. Creator: George Lucas / Steven Spielberg. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, Dial of Destiny
Established: 1987. Creator: Hideo Kojima. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Metal Gear Solid 1–5, Peace Walker, Rising
Established: 1999. Creator: Konami. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Silent Hill 1–4, Homecoming, films
Hawkins, the Upside Down, and a long love letter to the 1980s.
Established: 1987. Creator: Capcom. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Street Fighter II, III, IV, V, VI, films
Established: 1994. Creator: Bethesda. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Online
Established: 2008. Creator: Suzanne Collins. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Trilogy plus prequel novels/films
Established: 1999. Creator: The Wachowskis. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: The Matrix, Reloaded, Revolutions, Resurrections, Animatrix
Established: 1989. Creator: Matt Groening. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: The Simpsons, Simpsons Movie, comics
Established: 1986. Creator: Andrzej Sapkowski. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Novels, CD Projekt Red games, Netflix series
Established: 2007. Creator: 2K / Irrational. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: BioShock, BioShock 2, Infinite — Rapture and Columbia
Established: 1963. Creator: Sydney Newman. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: Doctor Who, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, Class
Established: 1993. Creator: id Software. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Doom, Doom II, Doom 3, 2016 reboot, Eternal
Established: 2007. Creator: BioWare. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Mass Effect 1–3, Andromeda, novels/comics
Established: 2011. Creator: Mojang. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Minecraft, Dungeons, Legends, film adaptations
Established: 1992. Creator: Midway / NetherRealm. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: MK 1–11, films, animated series
Established: 2005. Creator: Rick Riordan. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles
Established: 1996. Creator: Satoshi Tajiri. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Games, anime, TCG, films — largest media franchise by revenue
Established: 2004. Creator: Rockstar Games. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Red Dead Revolver, Redemption, Redemption 2
Established: 1887. Creator: Arthur Conan Doyle. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Original stories, Sherlock (BBC), Elementary, Enola Holmes
Established: 1997. Creator: Trey Parker & Matt Stone. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: South Park series, films, specials
Established: 2005. Creator: Brandon Sanderson. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, Elantris, Warbreaker
Established: 1900. Creator: L. Frank Baum. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, MGM film, Wicked
Established: 2007. Creator: Ubisoft Montreal. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Assassin's Creed, II, Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla
Established: 1997. Creator: Joss Whedon. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, comics continuation
Established: 1928. Creator: H.P. Lovecraft. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, expanded by many authors
Terry Pratchett's flat world on the back of a turtle, thick with parody.
Established: 1965. Creator: Frank Herbert. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Dune novels, Lynch 1984 film, Villeneuve films, Dune: Prophecy
Established: 1999. Creator: Seth MacFarlane. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: Family Guy, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show
Established: 1984. Creator: Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, Afterlife, Frozen Empire
Established: 2002. Creator: Tetsuya Nomura. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Kingdom Hearts I–III, Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, a machine built on callbacks.
Established: 2013. Creator: Dan Harmon & Justin Roiland. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: Rick and Morty, comics, anime spin-offs
Established: 1976. Creator: Sylvester Stallone. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Rocky I–VI, Creed trilogy
Established: 1999. Creator: Stephen Hillenburg. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: SpongeBob series, films, spin-offs
Established: 1984. Creator: James Cameron. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: The Terminator, T2: Judgment Day, Dark Fate
Established: 1950. Creator: C.S. Lewis. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and 6 sequels
Established: 2011. Creator: James S.A. Corey. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Leviathan Wakes, 9-book series, Syfy/Amazon TV show
Established: 2005. Creator: Stephenie Meyer. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn
David Lynch's dream town — a reference point for anything uncanny.
Established: 1999. Creator: Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler). Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: 13-book series, film, Netflix show
Established: 2010. Creator: Pendleton Ward. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: Adventure Time, Distant Lands, Fionna and Cake
Established: 2012. Creator: Greg Berlanti. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow
Established: 2005. Creator: Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: ATLA, The Legend of Korra, comics, live-action film
Established: 1932. Creator: Robert E. Howard. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Conan short stories, comics, films, games
Established: 1987. Creator: Iain M. Banks. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, Use of Weapons
Established: 2013. Creator: DC Studios (Warner Bros.). Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Man of Steel, The Dark Knight trilogy, The Batman
Established: 1996. Creator: Blizzard North. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Diablo I–IV, Immortal
Established: 2007. Creator: Jeff Kinney. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Novel series and film adaptations
Established: 1937. Creator: Walt Disney Animation Studios. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Snow White through Frozen, Encanto, Wish
Established: 1974. Creator: Ed Greenwood / Wizards of the Coast. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: D&D 5e, Baldur's Gate, Drizzt novels
Established: 1985. Creator: Orson Scott Card. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Ender's Shadow saga
Established: 2001. Creator: Gary Scott Thompson. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: The Fast and the Furious and 10+ sequels/spinoffs
Established: 2017. Creator: Epic Games. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Battle Royale, live events, crossovers with everything
Established: 1942. Creator: Isaac Asimov. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Foundation series, Robot series, Empire series, Apple TV+ show
Established: 1992. Creator: R.L. Stine. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Goosebumps series, TV shows, films
Established: 1927. Creator: Edward Stratemeyer syndicate. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Hardy Boys mysteries, TV shows
Established: 1995. Creator: Philip Pullman. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Northern Lights/The Golden Compass trilogy, The Book of Dust
Established: 1989. Creator: Dan Simmons. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion
Established: 2014. Creator: Derek Kolstad. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: John Wick 1–4, The Continental, Ballerina
Established: 1990. Creator: Michael Crichton. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Novels, Jurassic Park trilogy, Jurassic World trilogy
Established: 1979. Creator: George Miller. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road, Furiosa
Established: 1990. Creator: Lowell Cunningham. Primary Medium of Origin: Comic. Notable Works: Original comic, MIB film trilogy, International
Established: 1966. Creator: Bruce Geller. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: 1960s series, Tom Cruise film series
Established: 1930. Creator: Edward Stratemeyer syndicate. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Classic mystery series, TV adaptations
Established: 1963. Creator: Pierre Boulle. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Novel, 1968 film, 1970s sequels, 2011+ reboot trilogy
Established: 1972. Creator: David Morrell. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: First Blood, Rambo film series
Established: 1986. Creator: Brian Jacques. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Redwall and 21-novel series
Established: 2001. Creator: William Steig / DreamWorks. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Shrek 1–4, Puss in Boots, spin-offs
Established: 1998. Creator: Blizzard Entertainment. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: StarCraft, Brood War, StarCraft II
Established: 1974. Creator: Stephen King. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: Derry, Castle Rock, The Overlook — IT, The Shining, 11/22/63
Established: 1999. Creator: Masahiro Sakurai. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: SSB, Melee, Brawl, Ultimate
Established: 1994. Creator: Bandai Namco. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Tekken 1–8, films
Established: 1980. Creator: Robert Ludlum. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: The Bourne Identity novels/films, Bourne Supremacy, Ultimatum
Established: 1982. Creator: Stephen King. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: The Gunslinger and 7 sequels; also connects most King novels
Established: 2003. Creator: Robert Kirkman. Primary Medium of Origin: Comic. Notable Works: Comic, TWD TV, Fear the Walking Dead, spin-offs
Established: 1990. Creator: Robert Jordan. Primary Medium of Origin: Book. Notable Works: The Eye of the World, Amazon TV adaptation
Established: 1993. Creator: Chris Carter. Primary Medium of Origin: TV. Notable Works: The X-Files, Millennium, The Lone Gunmen
Established: 1995. Creator: John Lasseter / Pixar. Primary Medium of Origin: Film. Notable Works: Toy Story 1–4, shorts, Lightyear
Established: 1994. Creator: Blizzard Entertainment. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Warcraft RTS trilogy, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone
Established: 1987. Creator: Games Workshop. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Tabletop game, Space Marine, Horus Heresy novels, Dawn of War
Established: 1983. Creator: Games Workshop. Primary Medium of Origin: Game. Notable Works: Tabletop wargame, Total War: Warhammer, Age of Sigmar