Scaling Back the Spectacle: YRF, Maddock and Others Rethink Universe-Building Strategies

Following the blockbuster success of “Pathaan” in 2023, Yash Raj Films' CEO, Akshaye Widhani, revealed plans for a massive expansion of the Spy Universe, a series of YRF's interconnected spy action movies centered on various fictional R&AW agents. The Siddharth Anand film officially kicked off the “YRF Spy Universe,” bringing films like “Ek Tha Tiger,” “Tiger Zinda Hai” and “War” under one narrative umbrella.

“The spy universe is going to play a big role in our future theatrical slate. And this ties into what ‘Pathaan’ taught us, where experiences need to be larger than life. So, we want to definitely build on that momentum. And hopefully, we'll take this franchise and this IP to higher scales,” Widhani told Variety in March 2023, suggesting that “50% of our theatrical slate” would be the spy universe, big-screen spectacles, and 50% of it would be “high concept, high on content films.”

Come 2026, the YRF Spy Universe doesn't seem to be a priority at Yash Raj Films any longer. Following the underperformance of “Tiger 3” and the misfire of “War 2” at the box office, the Aditya Chopra-led banner hasn't announced any new spy film with proposed projects like “Pathaan 2” and “Tiger Vs Pathaan” also no longer in active development. The only film within the universe is Alia Bhatt and Sharvari-starrer “Alpha,” which is scheduled to release in cinemas on July 10, after months-long rumors of it releasing directly on OTT.

Old Is No Longer Gold

The recent spy films of Yash Raj Films have been heavily criticized for repeating the same old, commercial formula of storytelling in every film, prompting the producers to reevaluate their approach. “Audiences are smarter now and look out for stories that offer fresh and engaging narratives. YRF has lately failed to meet those audience expectations with its espionage thrillers and is now reassessing the whole universe before taking on new projects. Aditya is smart and knows where to stop when things go wrong,” an industry source says.

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Playing Catch-Up

The historical box-office success of Aditya Dhar's “Dhurandhar” franchise is believed to have added more pressure to YRF to up the ante in spy movie storytelling. The Ranveer Singh starrer action spectacle has changed the grammar of making commercial spy movies. “Dhurandhar” has set such a high standard for audiences that any spy that releases now had to up the ante, or crash land. “YRF and other studios making spy films will have to innovate the stories and the style. They can’t rely on established formulas, because now every spy film will  be compared to ‘Dhurandhar’ in terms of storytelling, action and realism,” the source adds.

Yash Raj Films is not alone in facing challenges with its cinematic universe strategy. Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films is also undergoing a period of recalibration.  In January 2025, the banner announced an ambitious eight-film slate for its “Horror Comedy Universe,” with plans to release two movies every year till 2028. However, just over a year later, the entire calendar of the universe has gone berserk. At present, they have only one film in production — “Shakti Shalini” headlined by “Saiyaara” actress Aneet Padda — and even that has been delayed by at least a year. “Shakti Shalini” was initially supposed to release in December 2025 but now doesn't seem to be coming before 2027, while there's no clarity on “Bhediya 2” and “Chamunda,” which were scheduled for release this year.

Everything was going well for Maddock Films. They were on high after the unprecedented box office success of “Stree 2” (2024), which collected over 850 crore gross worldwide against the budget of 80 crore. This prompted Dinesh Vijan to go all out with the horror-comedy universe, announcing eight interconnected films set to release over the next four years. However, Maddock Films has gone silent after burning their hands with last year's “Thamma”. The Ayushmann Khurrana, and Rashmika Mandanna  starrer was heavily criticized for its weak writing and inconsistent world-building.

“Thamma” struggled under the weight of its own ambition, trying too hard to interconnect with the larger universe. The negative response prompted the makers to slow down and reassess their long-term strategy. “Maddock Films hasn't given up on the horror comedy universe, but they have surely started rethinking the way forward. ‘Thamma's’ underperformance proved that they were not ready for such a massive plan just yet. They're not chasing the timeline anymore and are refining their storytelling, changing lots of things for the upcoming movies,” says another industry source aware of the development.

The challenge for the upcoming Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (MHCU) would be to match or at least approach the phenomenon that “Stree 2” became. Obviously, that kind of commercial achievement might not be possible with every project, but the company has to deliver compelling, well-crafted films to sustain audience interest. The banner is currently betting on “Shakti Shalini” and hasn't yet decided on the production timelines of any other projects. “Bhediya 2” is not happening this year, with the original's director Amar Kaushik busy with Vicky Kaushal's “Mahavatar” till next year. “Chamunda”, “Stree 3”, “Mahamunjya” and others are still in the scripting stage, with no clarity on when they'll even go into production.

Others in the Fray

Hrithik Roshan's “Krrish” and Ranbir Kapoor-Amitabh Bachchan-Alia Bhatt's “Brahmastra” are also battling uncertainty for their next chapters. When Hrithik formally announced “Krrish 4” in association with YRF last year, fans were finally excited for the comeback of their favorite Indian superhero after over 13 years. However, the film is yet to get off the ground. Although the film hasn't been shelved yet and the pre-production continues, sources say Hrithik and YRF are yet to take a call on the film's VFX part. Apparently, YRF wants its in-house VFX division, while Hrithik is stressing on getting a Hollywood VFX company on board for the job. “They're still working things out and will hopefully be locked in the coming months. Hrithik is prioritizing ‘Krrish 4,’ but if things don't happen as planned, he might opt for the Hombale movie that he has already signed on for,” a source in the know told us.

As for “Brahmastra 2”, the fantasy action adventure remains in limbo. Despite periodic updates from its director Ayan Mukerji, the “Brahmastra” sequel is nowhere near production. Although Ranbir and Ayan remain committed, the project doesn't have a financier on board, casting doubt on its future. “ ‘Brahmastra 2’ is so expensive that it can bankrupt a studio if it flops at the box office. No studio is willing to take that risk, especially when the first part itself underperformed,” sources say. Ayan also seems to have moved on and is now working on a romantic drama.

Keeping audiences engaged and surpassing expectations with each film of the universe is an inherently complex task. It's okay to reassess and plan the next chapters carefully. We're just hoping these cinematic universes continue churning out good movies and entertaining audiences.