The Backstory Isn’t a Story

Hollywood’s entertainment ecosystem is largely based on the intellectual property that’s owned and operated by the studios, streamers, and production houses. A studio like Universal doesn’t simply view the characters from Despicable Me or The Fast and the Furious as their most valuable assets, but as brand ambassadors that represent their corporate goals. The emphasis on retaining the appeal of these existing franchises has ensured that any property that’s successful in one medium is bound to be expanded into another; if a film’s a hit at the box office, it’s more than likely it’ll also receive a tie-in streaming show of some sort.

These streaming shows exist to fill the void in the calendar and remind viewers about the larger sandboxes they exist in. Given that time and resources generally don’t allow them to be direct continuations of the stories told on the big screen, many are prequels that explain a core piece of the backstory. 2024 saw the return of The Lord of the Rings prequel show The Rings of Power and the Game of Thrones origin series House of the Dragon, as well as the Star Wars spinoff The Acolyte and HBO’s Dune: Prophecy. Each of these shows are working towards a fixed, immovable point in the established timeline.

The origin stories that’ve worked succeed because they reveal new insights about established characters that inspire viewers to reflect upon the original property in a different way; AMC’s Better Call Saul was able to explore the various schemes, crimes, and mistakes made by Bob Odenkirk’s Jimmy McGill before he became “Saul Goodman” in Breaking Bad. However, The Rings of Power, House of the Dragon, The Acolyte, and Dune: Prophecy all exist centuries (and in some cases, millenniums) before the birth of any characters that the viewers would be remotely familiar with.

The issue of telling a story long before the events of the core saga is the lack of imagination involved. Middle-earth isn’t that much different in The Rings of Power than in The Lord of the Rings, and the Jedi don’t appear to have changed their policies (or wardrobe) in the century between The Acolyte and The Phantom Menace. Dune: Prophecy had the potential to show the origin of the enigmatic group of religious extremists known as the “Bene Gesserit,” who operated in the shadows amidst both of Denis Villeneuve’s films. Unfortunately, Dune: Prophecy depicted this mysterious order as being similarly opaque and all-knowing.

Due to a strange discrepancy regarding the legal rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate, The Rings of Power is allowed to depict certain segments of the Middle-earth universe without being a direct adaptation of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. The Rings of Power is set in the “Second Age” of Middle-earth, in which the Dark Lord Sauron first rose to power, and eventually disappeared until the adventures of Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s acclaimed trilogy. The series is based on extensive appendices written by Tolkien, which were never intended to be a narrative that justified its own novel. As a result, The Rings of Power is an extended history lesson for anyone interested in learning where Mount Doom came from.

The Acolyte promised to explore the nature of the Jedi Order in more explicit detail than any of the previous Star Wars films, as the council of space-faring warriors are already facing decline by the point that George Lucas’ prequels films picked up. The hurdle that The Acolyte faced is the same reason why The Phantom Menace was criticized so sharply in 1999; the Jedi aren’t very interesting on their own, as a group of celibate space monks don’t have lively conversations. The brilliance of Lucas’ original trilogy is that Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker was pining to be part of an “ancient religion” that he never got to see at the height of its power. In that sense, the implication is far more profound than the depiction.

Dune: Prophecy’s mistakes are similar to the issues that have plagued multiple interpretations of Frank Herbert’s dense source material, including the notoriously derided 1984 film directed by David Lynch. Villeneuve’s films were able to connect with a broader audience because of the exciting movie stars at the center, as well as the award-winning visuals. Despite the presumably high budget for an HBO streaming show, Dune: Prophecy lacks the pristine sets, jaw-dropping camerawork, and charismatic performers that turned Dune: Part Two into one of 2024’s highest grossers and a leading Oscar contender.

House of the Dragon is by far the biggest hit of these prequel shows, as it earned record-breaking ratings for HBO and earned several Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Best Drama Series. The show has succeeded in establishing new characters that’ve amassed legions of fans, including Matt Smith as the shady King Consort Daemon Targaryen, and Tom Glynn-Carney as the unpredictable King Aegon II Targaryen. While those familiar with the novels by George R.R. Martin may know how the story ends, there’s the sense that House of the Dragon benefitted from the generally lackluster response to the final season of Game of Thrones. Had the original series not ended with such a thud, the “back to basics” approach of House of the Dragon may not have felt so fresh.

Given the constraints the industry faces right now, conglomerates fall back on the programs that have already proven to be successful; don’t be surprised if Netflix announces a Stranger Things spinoff as soon as the final season airs next year. However, the writers set to take a new spin on “the Upside Down” should look to the future, and not live in the past.