ABSTRACT
Stories in popular culture such as Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, or superhero sagas in the Marvel universe, are examples of stories which are increasingly told across a wide range of media, from novels and books to (animated) television series and feature films, jigsaw puzzles and computer games, online blogs, vlogs, webisodes, social media, and so-called mobisodes (short episodes made specifically for viewing on mobile phones). Another famous example is the Wachowskis’ The Matrix (1999-2005), where key pieces of information are conveyed across three action films, a series of animated shorts, two collections of comic book stories, and several video games. In the case of The Matrix, there is no single urtext from which one can gain all the information needed to comprehend the story’s universe (Jenkins 2007). For such new forms of storytelling associated with media convergence and expanding across multiple media platforms, Jenkins (2006) coined the (umbrella) term transmedia storytelling. The term refers to:
a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story. (Jenkins 2007, n.p.)
