When it comes to intellectual property (IP), it’s tough to beat The Walt Disney Company. Not only does Disney have over a century of its own, homemade IPs and definitive fairytale adaptations to tout (everything from Mickey Mouse to Maleficent; The Little Mermaid to Mirabel) but decades of high profile, high-cost acquisitions have armed Disney with priceless character portfolios from ABC, The Muppets, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and 20th Century. It all adds up to a roster of stories, characters, and brands that make Disney the one to beat in the “IP Wars” that power merchandising, streaming, and the box office.
But in the last few decades, Disney’s meteoric acquisitions have been seen and felt in their theme parks, too. Don’t misunderstand. We’re not huge fans of how Disney Parks have gone decades without original rides, or how the Parks seem to be “buckets” meant to collect from Disney + Pixar + Marvel + Star Wars instead of creating new stories all their own… but there’s no question that as a battlefront in the IP Wars, theme parks have become the newest places to see beloved, blockbuster stories come to life…
Importantly, though, Disney isn’t the only international media giant that’s spent billions acquiring almighty content to power the IP Wars… nor the only company eager to leverage their characters, franchises, and stories in the unique medium of the theme park…
Take a look at the recently-opened Universal Studios Beijing, which borrows the “Islands of Adventure” layout, but stocks those “islands” with hot-off-the-presses, big-budget, high-earning franchises – lands themed to Transformers, Despicable Me, Jurassic World, Harry Potter, and Kung Fu Panda. You’ll also see it in studios eager to license their properties to newly-arisen parks across Asia and the Middle East, like Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi.
And now, as the IP War’s battle of the theme park “Living Lands” rages on, it got us thinking… What other Studios could conceivably jump into the theme park game…? And what might we find there if they did? Today, we’ll review a brief history of each major streamer, then imagine five or so properties plucked from each that could be perfect material to build Wizarding World-style “Living Lands”…
NOTE: It’s also worth saying out loud that the rights and licenses to these properties aren’t always as clear-cut as you think (hence why Universal’s Jurassic World can sometimes be found on Disney+), and sometimes the theme park licenses to properties are licensed separately from the studios that produce or distribute films (see, Warner Bros. Harry Potter being found in Universal Parks, or Paramount’s Indiana Jones in Disney’s). So of course, take this for the just-for-fun exercise it is, not a legal primer on which intellectual properties
1. Netflixland
The Streaming Story
The OG of streaming giants has had its ups and ups and ups… and maybe now, some serious downs. From a DVD-by-mail service to its current place as the progenitor streaming service, Netflix is a behemoth. The service launched its first Original Series a decade ago. Even as shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black became serious hits (and even award-winners), Netflix Originals were still a rarity on the site… Today? Not so much. In 2021, the company reportedly spent over $5 billion on the creation of original content… which is expected to become more and more important to the service as Disney, Universal, Paramount, and Warner Discovery let licensing deals expire to return shows and films to their own streaming services.
As of 2022, Netflix has 221 million subscribers – the equivalent of the entire country of Brazil, and then some. For a time during the pandemic, Netflix’s market cap was higher than Disney’s, theoretically making this single streaming service “worth” more than the entire Walt Disney Company and its characters, stories, theme parks, services, and subsidiaries.
Not everything’s peachy, though. Once earning a reputation for “saving” shows that networks had given up on, the tables have turned and Netflix is now known for its brutal, ruthless cancellations of fan-favorite shows the second the algorithm turns on them… Countless beloved, award-winning Netflix Originals – Orange in the New Black, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Sense8, Locke & Key, 1899, Grace & Frankie, and plenty more – have been ended without warning, proper send-offs, or finales. To make matters worse, Netflix generates limitless amounts of unwatchable junk; “content for content’s sake,” born of the Streaming Wars’ need for #content, continuously shoveled into the furnace.
Netflix took a huge hit in 2022 when the service reported its first ever subscriber loss (down 1.2 million subscribers between Q1 and 2), responding by instantly raising prices, cutting jobs, and canceling projects as it grappled with the first financial market indication that it wasn’t the only kid in town anymore. As the graphic of app downloads (above) reveals, Netflix faces mounting competition and growing interest in competitors.
What Would Be In Netflixland?
Frankly, determining what would be in a “Netflixland” isn’t easy. Netflix’s release strategy – dumping an entire season at once – means shows burn bright, but fast. Viewers can binge a 10-episode season in a day or two, leaving a multi-year drought before another season arrives… if it ever does.
That means that even very popular Netflix shows don’t generate the ongoing, week-at-a-time, season-long water cooler talk that traditional release schedules permit, and even shows that are loved in their time are short-lived, flash-in-the-pan projects without the dedicated, hard-earned cult classic status that deep, long-term fan-show relationships develop. So if our Netflixland were to try its best to find timeless, memorable, and theme-park-able shows from the streamer’s hits, here’s what we’d imagine as its lands:
BRIDGERTON may seem an odd choice for a theme park given that the scandalous novels-turned-series (from ABC primetime favorite Shonda Rimes – creator of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder) is… well… best watched with headphones once the kids are asleep…
But aside from its steamy love scenes, Bridgerton actually brings to life a world that would be gorgeous to visit; a sort of super-saturated English countryside of cobblestone towns awash in ivy and lavender; great estates bathed in pastels; living walls, floral arrangements, tea gardens, and greenhouses. The whole thing reeks of fantasy and yet feels habitable – horse-drawn carriages, carousels, pastry shops, grand balls, croquet… somehow, the ton may be a perfect place for a theme park to bring to life.
Like the Archie comic book series it’s named for, THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA was a dark and moody reinvention of the Sabrina the Teenage Witch character otherwise known for the ABC T.G.I.F. sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart. Imbued with all the angst and drama you’d expect of a CW-style show, Sabrina spent just two seasons exploring the intersection of high school life, witchcraft, demons, and death.
Though the show itself ran for only 36 episodes (two 18-episodes seasons is a lot for Netflix), its comic book origins and its clever reinvention of a pop culture character allow Netflix’s show to somehow transcend that runtime. It also introduced the delightfully spooky town of Greendale, a perpetually-autumnal paradise of witches, diners, creepy old houses, metaphysical shops, dark carnivals, Satanic churches in the woods, and portals to Hell. In a weird way, Greendale: The Chilling World of Sabrina might be a really compelling theme park land, and a much-needed year-round haunt.
Somehow, it was Netflix that funded THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTENCE – a prequel series to Jim Henson’s absolutely fascinating 1982 dark fantasy film The Dark Crystal.
Set in the high fantasy world of Thra, the series follows Gelflings who must unite their elemental clans to overthrow the evil Skeksis – reptilian overlords formed when the life-giving Crystal shattered a millennium ago. The settings, characters, and creatures of The Dark Crystal are as captivating as Lord of the Rings, Wizard of Oz, or The Chronicles of Narnia… to see this world – envisioned by Jim Henson and Frank Oz – come to life would be breathtaking.
Through a long-running partnership, Netflix was the streaming home for shows produced by DreamWorks Animation Television beginning in 2013. But in 2018, Netflix announced that they would begin producing their own animated features and shows via an in-house studio called Netflix Animation. The first film produced by the studio was KLAUS – an origin story of Santa Claus set in a 19th century Norway.
Nominated for an Academy Award and sweeping the Annies, the film has earned universal critical acclaim for its gorgeous hand-drawn animation. It even beat the same year’s Toy Story 4 to be named Animation Magazine’s film of the year! Put another way, while many of Netflix’s animated efforts haven’t landed, Klaus is a genuine triumph, and is elevated into timelessness by being a Christmas offering that can be watched year after year.
If a Sabrina land gave Netflixland a year-round celebration of Halloween, then this gorgeous, snow-covered village dedicated to Klaus feels like a perfect counterbalance, and a stylistic homerun for a theme park.
Every streamer would like its own Game of Thrones or Star Wars – a sort of epic, artistic, sci-fi fantasy series that yields countless merchandise deals, licensing contracts, and insatiable fan devotion. Netflix’s big budget attempt is Rebel Moon – a would-be blockbuster franchise invented by director Zack Snyder (best known for the historical war action film 300 and DC’s would-be Avengers equivalent, the infamous Justice League).
Rebel Moon was announced as a two-movie “duology” before (in the footsteps of the great James Cameron) Snyder announced intentions to expand it to no less than six feature films. Never mind that the first two entries (“A Child of Fire” and “The Scargiver”) received downright depressing critical response, largely centered on the films’ clear carbon copying of Star Wars. (That’s no coincidence… The films began as pitches to Lucasfilm. When Disney declined to move forward, Snyder apparently pulled an “Edit, Replace” to swap the Empire for the fascist Imperium, and Netflix signed on.)
Also criticized? That both of the entries were released in “PG-13” form, but with pre-stated anticipation of releasing their own #SnyderCuts – following in the footsteps of Snyder’s fan-demanded cut of Justice League. The jury’s out on whether or not Netflix is going to keep trying to make Rebel Moon “happen,” but surely, if they were building a theme park and looking for a Galaxy’s Edge equivalent, they could find it in Snyder’s movie universe.
There’s no way to discuss Netflix without touching on the stratospheric hit that is Squid Game, a Korean-language production that captured the fascination of the globe. Despite the colorful wrap and the iconic sights and sounds, the series is a brutal one physically and emotionally. It envisions a world in which 455 people at a time are invited to join a sort of perverse social experiment: participants are spirited away to a prison-like compound where they live together in a barracks, playing grown-up versions of simple Korean schoolyard games. The winner leaves with $40 million – enough to pay off their debts and start a new life. The catch? The winner is also the only survivor.
Exploring the horrific realities of capitalism and debt, the show is a captivating and painful drama punctuated by edge-of-your-seat “games” in gigantic, colorful sets. Squid Game was highly controversial for the way it attracted kids with the kind of fervor normally reserved for hyper-saturated, violent video games. But there’s no denying that it offers incredibly compelling environments and – in a gross way – the kind of interactivity theme parks thrive on. That’s also evidenced by Squid Game: The Challenge, a true “reality game show” adaptation Netflix followed up the series with, recruiting 455 actual participants to recreate the show’s challenges (just with elimination instead of actual death). For better or worse, Netflix would probably find a willing audience in a Squid Game land.
Finally, there’s zero doubt what the anchor land of Netflixland would be based on: STRANGER THINGS is the runaway hit of Netflix’s straight-to-streaming lineup.
Stranger Things has got everything the Netflix algorithm tells it to have: plucky pre-teen nerds, an ’80s setting and soundtrack, monsters, powerful female heroes, sci-fi, and Winona Ryder. Set in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, the series traces the results of a local lab’s experiment that accidentally opens a portal into “The Upside Down,” a dark, decomposing alternate Earth populated by dark interdimensional creatures.
Season after season, a group of local kids (lead by Millie Bobby Brown’s telekinetic “Eleven”) have to set down their Dungeons & Dragons and Kate Bush cassettes and face off against the increasingly-sentient creatures of the Upside Down, tackling new mysteries at every turn.
With iconic locales throughout Hawkins (including the Starcourt Mall that serves as an ’80s fever dream setting for all of season 3), memorable creatures (like the Demogorgon, Mind-Flayer, and Vecna), the highly-terrifying Upside Down that could serve as a great dark ride setting, and even in-universe food (hello, Scoops Ahoy and Eggo Waffles) it’s practically tailor-made to be the centerpiece of Netflixland.
OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: Attractions based on Arrested Development? The Haunting of Hill House? The Witcher? Locke & Key? The Sea Beast? Over the Moon?