ABSTRACT
By adding storyworld upon storyworld, franchises create fictional universes. These are contested territory in terms of their constitution and the meaningfulness and ascendancy of their various elements. The very fact that fictional universes can be contested points to their defining characteristics: they are open, dynamic, flexible, and heterogeneous. This begs the question of semantic and pragmatic control over such universes in terms of production, access, permanence, and reception. Considering that franchises usually span a host of different media, they deserve a closer look in relation to adaptation, remaking, intermediality, and transmediality. This essay uses the fictional universe of the Alien franchise as an example to make a fundamental argument about the dynamics of fictional universes and their storyworlds.
