Origins of the Franchise: From Page to Console

C. S. Lewis introduced Narnia in his 1950 novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first of seven books that later grew into film, radio and stage adaptations.

Ian Fleming created James Bond in his 1953 novel Casino Royale, nine years before Eon Productions began the long running film series with Dr. No in 1962.

Toho's 1954 film Godzilla introduced the monster as a response to Japan's experience of nuclear testing, founding the kaiju genre that Toho has carried across more than thirty films since.

The BBC's Doctor Who began as a television series in 1963, built around a time traveling Time Lord whose regeneration device has let more than a dozen actors take the lead role since.

Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek began as a television series in 1966 and, despite cancellation after three seasons, grew through syndicated reruns into further television series and thirteen films.

George Lucas released the film Star Wars in 1977, the start of a space opera franchise whose films alone have since grossed more than 10 billion dollars worldwide.

Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien introduced Ellen Ripley and H. R. Giger's parasitic creature, launching a series James Cameron reframed as action horror with 1986's Aliens.

Akira Toriyama began serializing the manga Dragon Ball in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1984, and its anime adaptations later introduced many Western viewers to anime during 1990s and 2000s syndication.

Mario first appeared as the player character of the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong before Shigeru Miyamoto gave him his own platform game series with Super Mario Bros. in 1985.

Nintendo released the original The Legend of Zelda in 1986, an early and influential example of action adventure game design from Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.

Naoko Takeuchi began serializing the manga Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon in 1991, and its 1992 anime adaptation is widely credited with popularizing the modern magical girl genre worldwide.

Satoshi Tajiri's Game Freak launched Pokemon Red and Green for the Game Boy in 1996, and a 1997 anime series followed, building a franchise now generally regarded as the highest grossing in the world.

Masashi Kishimoto serialized the manga Naruto in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2014, and its two anime adaptations together ran to more than 700 episodes.

Marvel Studios began the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the film Iron Man in 2008, building a shared universe on characters that had already appeared for decades in Marvel Comics.