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Cinematic universes are a great way to pull fans of different intellectual properties (IP) into one combined world that features all their favourite characters.
The best examples are superhero franchises under Marvel and DC Comics that place all their characters in a series of movies which not only expands the universes even further, but also acts as fan service.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has IPs such as Spider-Man, Thor, The Hulk, Iron Man all working together to fight a common enemy, while the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU) has the Justice League where Batman, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman also team up to defeat some world-ending evil.
This formula has been a cinematic success for the superhero action genre.
Astro Shaw has been working on a cinematic universe too, and it looks good
Malaysia is not short of an incredible talent pool when it comes to visual production, and local film studio Astro Shaw has scooped up a very skilled visual effects (VFX) talent: Muhammad Sofian Abdullah, better known as Sofyank.
The film studio and VFX prodigy have been working together on a cinematic universe titled “Astro Shaw Cinematic Universe: The Beginning”, and it looks nothing short of amazing.
A collaborative post on Instagram presented the homegrown cinematic universe through a teaser trailer.
It featured familiar local movie characters such as Kahar (portrayed by Amir Ahnaf) from the 2024 Kahar: Kapla High Council film directed by Razaisyam Rashid, as well as Inspektor Khai (portrayed by Shaheizy Sam) and Inspektor Sani (portrayed by Zizan Razak) from the Polis Evo series of movies.
The end of the trailer hints one more Malaysian movie character that will be a part of the cinematic universe. Although he doesn’t appear on screen, an iconic tool suggests that it will be none other than local superhero Keluang Man.
Watch the trailer below, or click HERE.
This is the official beginning of Astro Shaw’s cinematic universe. An early vision where iconic characters from film and television unite in a shared world.
Astro Shaw
VFX producer and talent Sofyank and Muhammad Shaffuan of 2117 Productions sit in the director’s chair for the project, while camera work is done by Directors of Photography Jeff Teong and Nicholas Chin.
The Astro Shaw cinematic universe is Sofyank’s first large-scale project
Commenting on the post, Sofyank noted that the project is his first undertaking of a large-scale film production with Shaffuan and Nicholas.
“This is where we can experience and learn in a film environment that is more professional and serious. Thank you Astro Shaw for the opportunity and trusting us with this large responsibility,” he said.
Malaysians dropped their jaws on the floor from watching the trailer
The trailer carried exceptional production quality, and many Malaysians were impressed not to mention excited to see where the local cinematic universe will go.
Some expressed high hopes for it, and said that it’s high time Malaysia starts producing movies of this quality.
“I was too stunned. Watched it all the way to the end with wide open eyes. When I saw the credits, directed by @sofyank96 and @mshaffuan, no wonder!” one user commented.
“Now that’s what you call a teaser!” another individual commented.
READ MORE: “Why Not Promote Malaysia?” Local Content Creator Gets Slammed For Making Singapore Tourism Video
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