A Brief History of the Shared Universe in Popular Culture

This thesis examines the history and impact of the shared universe narrative story convention. It explores how media industries have utilized shared universes from the 1800s to contemporary media. This thesis delves into the questions of, why are shared universes created? Why have they become a staple story telling convention and why have media industries always relied upon them? From Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe, to the Power Rangers universe, to Batman in the DC Cinematic universe to the Star Wars universe, this thesis develops a methodology on how to examine shared universes from historical, industrial, technological and social lens.