Jan Lucanus wants you to be a superhero. Inspired by his Justice For Hire comic series from 2007, Lucanus has created a shared, crowdsourced multiverse where fans become the characters in a grand story.
Lucanus and his company ReelwUrld are headed to the land of the heroes (otherwise known as San Diego Comic Con) this week to award three lucky content creators $10,000 developmental production deals to further bring attention to and expand on their growing multiverse.
Hear more from Lucanus himself about his unique venture in this exclusive interview.
What are the origins of ReelwUrld and your new Justice For Hire series?
Jan Lucanus: I wanted to create a community that shared one story and combined that with a social network with guidance. The platform allows people to create and produce film and television remotely and create a shared multiverse. Through Justice For Hire, we have been able to integrate productions, technology, and real estate in one place. We have designed the software, rule sets, for you to become the hero or to hire the hero in this world.
You have had tremendous success on TikTok right out of the gate with 7.5 million views on your first episode.
Lucanus: Yes, and I intentionally avoided TikTok at first, against the advice of fellow team members. We started testing the waters with a few videos and we had nine followers. When we posted the first episode of Justice For Hire, we immediately had one million views and we currently have 7.5 million as you said.
The problem was the our system wasn’t finished yet, so we had to fast track the release. We went from nine to 13,000 followers overnight and it kept going. Once we finished the app, we continued our work on the strategic platform, which was validating for everyone involved.
So, in a way, it is like people get to bring their fan fiction to life through Justice For Hire?
Lucanus: Right, and many times, fan fiction is as good as, or even better than the fiction that it is based on. I consider most sequels to movies fan fiction, like everything after Terminator 2: Judgment Day. So fans get to tell their stories in this world and bring them to life.
How do people get involved in the story?
Lucanus: They can get involved by downloading the app, choosing a role (Hero, Client, or Villain), shooting a profile video, and submitting it. We are also offering three $10,000 production deals this year at SDCC. Fans can also invest in ReelwUrld through WeFunder.
What will go into your selection process at SDCC?
Lucanus: We first want to see how invested you are in the community and we will be paying attention to folks who get the concept and want to grow with us. We have cosplayers and influencers who want to build the Justice For Hire universe. We even have people who are creating their own action figures.
What do you foresee as the the future of ReelwUrld and Justice For Hire?
Lucanus: There are going to be a ton of social film studios in the future, and as the first, we are connecting the dots, but we aren’t going to be unique. We need to break the old patterns and intentionally use our stories for good.
Check out the first Justice For Hire episode below and visit the website if you want to find out more about Justice For Hire.