"Cut! That's a wrap on Season Two!" the director yelled, his voice echoing across the massive soundstage.
The entire crew erupted into loud applause and cheers. Confetti popped in the air.
Donovan smiled, wiping a drop of fake sweat from his forehead. Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Evans immediately ran over and tackled him into a massive, laughing hug. The summer of the year 2000 had passed by in a complete blur. They had spent the last few months working fourteen-hour days, filming the second season of Teen Wolf.
There had been no drama. There had been no corporate sabotage from Leo Vance. It was just hard work, good friends, and lots of pizza.
Scarlett Johansson walked over to the boys, clapping her hands with a bright smile. She and Donovan weren't as close as they used to be, but she had kept her promise. She had been incredibly professional, worked hard on her acting, and was slowly starting to earn Donovan's trust back. They shared a friendly, respectful hug.
"Great job this season, New York," Donovan told her honestly.
"Thanks, Donovan. You too," she smiled back.
Donovan looked around the cheering set. Teen Wolf was the biggest show on television. He loved the cast, and he was incredibly proud of what they had built. But as he looked at the cameras and the lights, a quiet thought entered his mind.
He had conquered teenage television. Now, it was time to conquer the rest of the world.
A few hours later, Donovan arrived back at the Blackwood family mansion in Beverly Hills.
He walked through the front doors, instantly hit by the comforting smell of home-cooked food. The living room was a scene of organized chaos. His younger siblings were running around the coffee table, chasing each other with plastic toy wands and laughing at the top of their lungs.
Sitting on the large living room floor, surrounded by hundreds of sketches, blueprints, and casting tapes, was his mother.
She looked up as Donovan walked in, pushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. She gave him a warm, exhausted smile.
"Hey, honey. How was the last day on set?" she asked, setting down a beautiful concept art drawing of a magical castle.
"It was great, Mom. We finally wrapped," Donovan smiled, dropping his bag and sitting on the floor next to her. He picked up the drawing of the castle. "Hogwarts is looking pretty amazing. How are things going in the wizarding world?"
His mother sighed, rubbing her temples, but her eyes sparkled with pure excitement.
"It is an absolute beautiful nightmare," she laughed. "Being the lead producer and the main director for Harry Potter at the same time is the hardest thing I've ever done. Warner Bros is giving me everything I need, but managing a cast full of eleven-year-old kids, dealing with special effects, and trying to honor J.K. Rowling's vision... it's a lot of pressure."
"You're doing amazing, Mom," Donovan encouraged her, bumping his shoulder against hers. "I saw the test footage for the Great Hall. It looks exactly like the books. The kids are going to love it."
His younger brother ran past, waving a toy wand at Donovan. "Expelliarmus!" the kid shouted before giggling and running away.
"See? They already love it," Donovan laughed.
"Well, I just hope the rest of the world agrees when the movie comes out next year," his mother smiled, looking at the drawings with pride. Suddenly, she remembered something and pointed toward the hallway. "By the way, your father and your grandfather are waiting for you in the study. Arthur flew in from New York this morning just for this meeting."
Donovan nodded, his expression shifting from a relaxed teenager to a serious businessman. "Thanks, Mom. Good luck with the wands."
He stood up, walked down the long, carpeted hallway, and opened the heavy oak doors to the family's private home office.
The room smelled of expensive leather and old books. His father, Richard Blackwood, was sitting on a sofa, looking through a stack of financial documents. Sitting behind the massive mahogany desk was his grandfather, Arthur Blackwood.
Arthur was the patriarch of the family. He was an intimidating, brilliant man with silver hair and sharp eyes that missed absolutely nothing. He had built the Blackwood fortune into a global empire, and he rarely traveled all the way to Los Angeles unless it was for something massive.
"So," Grandfather Arthur began, his deep voice filling the quiet room as Donovan closed the door. "Your father tells me you want to spend a massive amount of the family's money today."
Donovan walked over and sat down in the leather chair across from his grandfather. "Yes, sir. I do."
Richard put his documents down on the coffee table. "Dad, we talked about this. Through our ownership of Warner Bros, we already own DC Comics. We have Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Furthermore, back in the nineties, I bought the exclusive movie rights to almost every major character from Marvel Comics—Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man. We already control the superhero film market."
"I know," Arthur nodded slowly, leaning forward. "Which brings me to my question. Marvel Comics as a publishing company is bleeding money. The comic book industry is dying, and they are practically begging for a buyout before they go completely bankrupt. If we already own DC Comics, and we already own Marvel's movie rights... why would we buy a sinking publishing company?"
"Because it's the final piece for an absolute, unbreakable global monopoly," Donovan explained smoothly, his eyes shining with absolute confidence.
Donovan stood up and walked over to the whiteboard on the wall.
"DC Comics has modern gods. Superman and Batman are myths. We make epic, standalone movies for them," Donovan explained. "But Marvel is different. Marvel characters are flawed, grounded humans who all live in the exact same city. They are designed to interact."
Richard leaned forward, deeply interested. "Keep going."
"If we just use the movie rights we already own, we make a few good movies," Donovan pointed out. "But if we buy the entire company, we own the toys. The merchandising. The theme park rights. We take Marvel and we merge its publishing division with my manga empire, Rogue Entertainment. We bridge the gap between American comics and Japanese manga. We dominate the print market on both sides of the planet."
Arthur stared at his grandson, his sharp mind processing the sheer scale of the idea.
"And for the movies," Donovan smiled, drawing several circles on the board. "We do something we haven't done with Warner Bros. We don't just make a solo Iron Man movie or a solo Captain America movie. We connect them. We build a shared cinematic universe, and we bring them all together in a massive crossover event called The Avengers."
Both Richard and Arthur were completely silent.
They weren't just looking at a teenager anymore; they were looking at a visionary. The merchandising alone from a connected cinematic universe would generate billions. It would be an infinite money-making machine.
"It's a brilliant concept, Donovan," Arthur finally said, a rare smile appearing on his weathered face. "A total monopoly. But buying the rest of Marvel Comics and funding a massive, multi-film universe will cost billions in liquid capital upfront. It is a heavy risk for the Blackwood accounts."
"You don't have to take all the risk, Grandpa," Donovan replied, sitting back down. "I am not asking the family to pay for everything."
Richard looked at his son with a knowing smile. "You are going to use the Rogue Entertainment funds."
"Exactly," Donovan nodded. "My Japanese division is printing money. The global sales for One Piece and the Pokémon video games have given my private offshore accounts more than enough liquid cash. I will split the purchase of Marvel Comics fifty-fifty with the Blackwood family."
Arthur Blackwood let out a loud, proud laugh that echoed through the home office. He looked at Donovan with absolute, profound respect.
"You built an international war chest with your manga, Donovan, and now you are using it to buy American icons," Arthur smiled, shaking his head. "You are truly a Blackwood. You play the game better than anyone."
Arthur looked at his son, Richard.
"Call the lawyers, Richard," Arthur ordered, his voice full of excitement. "Tell the executives at Marvel Comics that we accept their offer. We are buying the entire company."
Richard nodded, his smile mirroring his father's. "I'll make the call right now."
Donovan looked out the window of the study. The Los Angeles sun was shining brightly over their estate. He had just officially left the world of teenage television behind.
He was about to build the biggest cinematic universe in history, creating an absolute monopoly over global pop culture. The King had his crown, and now, he had his superheroes.