Cinematic universes continue to be all the rage in Hollywood – intricate, multi-layered juggernauts that weave together numerous story strands and characters under the one narrative umbrella. It’s a strategy that has been adopted by everyone from Marvel to 20th Century Fox, but soon, Square Enix will be offering its own spin on the shared universe formula with Final Fantasy XV.
A JRPG ten years in the making, the Japanese publisher is set to go all-in on FFXV, pumping out a CG movie and four-part Brotherhood animated series to ramp up excitement for the game’s launch in September. “The main reason for creating this universe is to provide many avenues of enjoyment before FFXV is released so you have the richest possible experience when you play FFXV,” reads the video description.
Speaking of which, the third episode of Brotherhood is available from today, July 7 on Square Enix’s dedicated YouTube channel. As for the CG feature film, it’s titled Kingsglaive, and stars Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and fan-favorite actor Sean Bean. Takeshi Nozue, co-director of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, is behind the lens.
Final Fantasy XV has been penciled in for a release across PS4 and Xbox One on September 30. That lends fans plenty of time to catch up on the game’s lore, with Kingsglaive poised to debut first in Japanese theaters on July 9, before making its way west in August.