Want to succeed as a creator? Build your own cinematic universe.

Something interesting is happening in Hollywood.

A few short years ago, a movie would be judged on individual merit alone.

It's good? A sequel comes out next holiday season. Lousy movie? Straight to the dustbin of cinematic history.

Today, the entertainment industry is transforming before our eyes. Home streaming and always-on content are rewriting the rules. The pandemic took these existing changes and blasted them into overdrive. Fans now expect more of everything — more stories, more interaction, more immersiveness.

Hollywood's answer? The cinematic universe.

While not new, cinematic universes are becoming a mainstream way to tell ongoing theatrical stories at scale. These days everyone's got one: Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Fast and the Furious, Harry Potter, Transformers, even LEGO.

As creators, what can we learn from this shift?

It's not just enough for you to create content on your own.

Readers and viewers want content that crosses bridges and spans universes of shared interest.

Collaborations will become more essential in the future. People will more fluidly share audiences and remix content. Already today, creators across Youtube and other platforms are finding creative ways to 'collab'.

David Perell and Tiago Forte are just one example of successful creator collaboration. Together, they are bringing together a wider 'universe' of content for a shared audience through sister courses "Building a Second Brain" and "Write of Passage". They are able to cross-promote courses and keep their audiences hooked towards future products.

As more creators collaborate, new tools will be needed to facilitate payments, share digital intellectual property rights, and match creators with each other.

The value is more and more in the collaboration. What cinematic universe are you constructing for your audience?