The SCU: How have we lived without this?

Cinematic Universes are the new normal for movie franchises it seems, with the expansiveness of the stories and the connectivity that it brings to the characters and the elements of storytelling.

• We have Marvel with their expansive universe already that just keeps growing.
• We also have DC is in the midst of releasing the start of their shared universe.
• Then there is Star Wars in it's own galaxy far, far away growing into its universe quite beautifully it seems.
• And the new addition of Universal Monsters (Mummy, Van Helsing and others soon to be reboot as soon as 2016).

With all of these and many more likely to be hitting the market over the next who knows how many years, we are left wondering:

What's Next?

Where else could we be taken in a cinematic universe? There really are so many options, and one that came to me the other night is quickly becoming my favorite option, and I will start wishing upon every star until it happens. A universe based out of a 1967 Black Chevrolet Impala.

The Supernatural Cinematic Universe

Supernatural. If you don't watch it, shame on you. Just kidding! But seriously, from nearly day 1 back in 2005 I fell in love with the show. 10 years later, and I'm still as big a fan as I was on day 1. The original story of Supernatural follows the story of two brothers as they seek to save the world from Ghosts, Demons, Vampires, Angels, Archangels, Deities, The Four Horsemen and so much more. All the while they look for redemption and an end to all the fighting. As Dean Winchester, the eldest brother, puts it:

"We track evil and kill it, the family business, is that it? Look at the tape, Sam. Evil tracks us. It nukes everything in our vicinity, our family, our friends, it’s time we put a proper name to what we really are and we deal with it."

Dean and his younger brother Sam are hunters. Hunters traverse the world tracking down paranormal events and unexplainable occurrences. Many of these situations are based on folklore or urban legends, some even based upon the beliefs of other cultures bringing in various deities as villains and allies depending on the circumstances. Supernatural has a huge fan base and that is part of what has let them survive going into their 11th season. But an even larger part of the shows success are the two actors who portray the Winchester Brothers: Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles.

The two brothers are the heart and soul of the show. They fight with each other, on each others behalf and against each other at times. But ultimately, the brothers are what keeps the story going. Supernatural at it's heart is full of heart, it's the story of two brothers and how they grow into the destiny of their family.

So with 10 seasons under their belt, this gives the Winchesters a solid base to build out of: Now I see Supernatural functioning as a two-fold universe: a Television Universe and a Film Universe.

The first direction I would love to see Supernatural dig into is in the story of Samuel Colt.

Supernatural: Colt's Journal

Samuel Colt is a name that lived in an infamy of sorts within the leagues of modern hunters like the Winchesters. Samuel Colt was a hunter in the Old West, in the early 1800's. The legend goes like this:

Back in 1835, when Halley's Comet was overhead, same night those men died at the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun. He made it for a hunter. A man like us, only on horseback. Story goes, he made thirteen bullets. This hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him... they say this gun can kill anything. - John Winchester (Sam & Dean's father)

Samuel was a hunter himself before he resigned to retirement because of age and growing tired of the never-ending hunt. I would love to see the story of Samuel and this mysterious hunter, whom he crafted the gun for. A western style Supernatural set in a time when you only had legend and lore to go on. Word of mouth is how a Hunter learned to kill and how he learned the truth of the world that they were fighting for.

This entry into the Cinematic Universe would be the story of Colt himself, and all the entries he created in his journal. How he learned to kill all the things that go bump in the night. I see Colt's journey revolving around his actions and how his story plays into the lore that Sam & Dean are so accustomed to basing their hunting on.

Supernatural: Heaven's War

Castiel is one of my favorite additions to the Supernatural story once he joined in the 4th season and I loved the addition of Angels to the already heavily infused world of demons. I'm sure that this will be touched on during the upcoming 11th season, but I think a cinematic offshoot that focuses on the angelic wars that have occurred over time, especially what we're going to learn about The Darkness as it supposedly predates even God. The Archangels fought The Darkness before sealing it away. Seeing the story of younger versions of the 4 archangels Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer & Raphael could be a really unique storyline to follow. They were as close as brother as are Sam & Dean.

The angelic wars would be an interesting story arc to tackle, seeing as there is so much lore about them and they have become a heavily laced element in the Supernatural story overall. The 4 Archangels could face things like the rouge Angels, the fallen Angels, imprisoned Angels, Grigori, Seraphs, Reapers, etc.)

As through the series we've seen Gabriel cross between Heaven and Earth as he retreated there when Michael & Lucifer fought over their dominion and the rights to power.

Supernatural: Bloodlines

Okay, I know this was the titles of a potential spin-off series of the show based in Chicago, but I would take it a different direction. Instead of focusing on a probably forgotten character names Jesse Turner. Now for those who watched the show, the name may ring a bell from the 5th season. Jesse was the child of a demon possessed woman who was a virgin at the time. Jesse's back story is that he was conceived as an attempt to birth an Antichrist.

Jesse chose to live and focus on his human half, and push the demonic away.

I think it would be incredibly interesting to watch a character like Jesse grow up to become a Hunter. Even though most of his powers are diminished due to Lucifer being contained in the Cage of Hell. Jesse would still be a force to be reckoned with. It would be interesting to watch him become a new breed of Hunter, similar to the Winchesters but taking Hunting as a very different objective.