Ever since the rise of social media, there has been a huge change in entertainment industry—particularly when it comes to the fandom landscape. Multiple franchises including Star Wars, Marvel, and Lord of the Rings have been plagued by so-called "anti-woke" fandoms, where a toxic attitude towards the original works reigns.
Now, film studios are scrambling to make amends.
While fan backlash can sometimes lead to great insight (for example, it forced Paramount to change the model for Sonic the Hedgehog), it has, more commonly, only led to actors being bombarded with bigotry and hate online.
Numerous fandoms are still trying to figure out this problem, but a recent revelation about how franchise studios are proceeding is upsetting some fans.
Big Studios and Superfan Focus Groups
Film studios are reportedly hard at work figuring out how to move forward with their most successful franchises now that every new entry seems to just be another lightning rod for online hate. And one of the solutions seems to be relying on "superfan focus groups" to help discern which potential projects are a flop before they even get greenlit.
A studio exec explained: “They’re very vocal,” referring to these superfan focus groups, “They will just tell us, ‘If you do that, fans are going to retaliate.’” The groups have even gone so far as to have a studio alter existing projects. “If it’s early enough and the movie isn’t finished yet, we can make those kinds of changes,” the exec added.
Other methods the studios may reportedly resort to as a safeguard against include having actors go through a "social media boot camp". In some cases, they may even ask to take over an actor’s social media entirely. In others, studio execs might decide to scrub out personal information in order to deter attempts at doxxing.
Is This the Death of Franchise Creativity?
It seems movie studios can't get on some fans' good side, no matter what they do. Already, a lot of fans are expressing anger online that "superfans" are getting priority over a studio-led artistic vision. Here’s what some people had to say about the revelation:
With some of the big franchise projects already being described as "made by committee", such as The Rise of Skywalker and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, some fans have understood that maybe the fandom isn't really who should decide on a franchise's trajectory. At some point, the term “hire fans” has become a line mocking anyone who thinks they know better than professional creatives.
Then there is the case of some toxic fan groups actually making money from the toxic discussions they incite—much to the dismay of some communities.
For now, it does seem that studios are still trying to figure out a workaround to the toxic fandom problem. The focus groups may not be the best solution, but at least it’s evidence that they’re looking for one.