The People Have Spoken….
In unsurprising news to basically all of you, I wanted to write an article researching what the player base wanted to see added to Fandom. In fact, I asked 46 of you, which is a pretty large amount of this community, and many of you got back to me with really interesting ideas. What this article is gonna serve as is a way to compile everything you all want and find what is the most popular and maybe it can come to fruition. Let’s see what y’all are passionate about.
This is gonna be formatted first with the reoccurring ideas, what many of you collectively want; that will then be divided into expanding or revamping existing categories, and then brand new categories you’d like to see added. After that, the really interesting one off ideas that I personally really loved or think are interesting, also divided by expansion and new additions.
POPULAR PITCHES
Expansions
HORROR ICONS: Perhaps unsurprisingly, many players want to see a category that has been around for coming up on 5 seasons shaken up a bit. It’s also the inception of the idea of “Icons” categories, that has led to many of us wondering what else is possible. Of the 16 people who asked for existing categories to be changed, a whopping 13 focused on Horror Icons, so I think there’s some excitement for new fears to come to Fandom. Of those 13, 11 people asked for Scream and 9 for Child’s Play to be added. One of those is not very shocking. Since the category’s inception, Scream has been relentlessly brought up as a top tier horror franchise that people want to study, so much that even some current players think it’s already included. Child’s Play is… interesting. Its inclusion, like many other horror franchises, opens up the conversation of what are we gonna allow to be eligible? This isn’t just a Make Mine Music situation where it can’t really be watched legally, some of the movies in the category weren’t theatrically released. So, if this much requested addition were to come, do we go by the way of Prey and just not include it; or like with Pixar’s COVID releases, accept that the sacrifice must be made and allow Curse and Cult of Chucky to be studied?
A less popular request was Texas Chainsaw Massacre, receiving 4 suggestions. This also has some dubious inclusions, such as the 2022 Netflix release, and would be a writing nightmare with 2 films called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1 just called Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and Leatherface. Horror producers, kindly, stop. Get help. Quit your jobs.
SCI-FI ICONS: Y’all love some desert power. Dune is a highly requested addition to this category and it’s hard to argue against it. The 84 film isn’t a total retread of Denis Villeneuve’s 2 films which I think helps a lot in removing the redundancy but also, they’re all such dense and rich films with so much specifics to dive into that I think adding it to such a large category only helps it.
Another popular request was Mad Max. I think this absolutely deserves a place in Fandom, but Sci-Ficons feels like a strange place to put it. It does live in a rich world with a lot of potential questions, not to mention it’s just adding more good movies which are always desperately needed, but I don’t know if a current category exists that it fits in perfectly for.
On a short note, many people have asked for Avatar. This is almost certainly happening eventually, but with only 2 films we’ll most likely have to wait another season before a decision is made there.
EPIC ADVENTURES: Looks to me like I got all the horses! Looks to me like you’re on the wrong side of the river! The Mummy franchise, with its 2 sequels and the Scorpion King spin-off, feels like a very natural inclusion here. Not only does it make one of our former champion teams actually referencing a Fandom film, the original is a much beloved film that is so popular it got a rerelease in theaters this year that actually made a good amount of money. I think those 2 facts together are sorta the perfect example of why it fits so well into Fandom next season.
New Categories
VIDEO GAME MOVIES: While this isn’t a category filled with many long running beloved franchises besides Resident Evil, it is still one of the best ways we can show love to one of the other main forms of media many of us consume. Whether it’s Generation X’s obsession with Mortal Kombat, or the Gen Z and Alpha crowds growing up with Angry Birds, there are many potential entry points to what could be a large category that in some way, adheres to many of us all at once. 6 players requested this one of the 28 pitches, which, while lower than the rates seen in the expansion categories, is still a good number considering the limitless ideas available here.
STUDIO GHIBLI: The other non-shocker of the data for me, this season 1 cut has been much requested for a return since almost immediately after we lost it. With almost the whole category’s addition to HBO Max a couple years ago and the recent success of Boy and the Heron, the love for this studio is strong. Personally, my only minor issue that could come up is the removal of a main animation studio that could end up restricting Melee writing. With Illumination being the only real major studio left otherwise, it could make the animation category a tightrope: where either you have a largely Fandom category; or, in the avoidance of writing Fandom question, making for tougher or deeper questions.
THE COMIC SHOP: Shout-out to Jeremy Potters for this name. Something requested almost since the division’s inception, this would be your Mixed Bag of other “Geek” leagues, providing a compendium of all the other comic book movies that don’t already have a presence in categories like Marvel and DC. Personally, I hate this. Yes there are many beloved films here like Dick Tracy and The Rocketeer, but without some very serious cherry picking, this becomes a massive headache. Comic book adaptations have been happening since 1931 with Skippy, and you have some truly odd inclusions like the Woody Harrelson vehicle Wilson, Annie, and Blue is the Warmest Color. And that’s just during the glut of adaptations we got in the 2010’s. It’s just a category with so many caveats that its inclusion without give and take would concern me.
VIEW ASKEW: Hey Nazario. Kevin Smith’s brainchild, this comedy universe is one of the most beloved strengths in Melee so it only makes sense for it to come to Fandom right? As much as I’d hate it, I think this is kind of the perfect fit for what can come for the future of the division. Like the very next category pitched to me, I feel like straight up comedy is not something super common seen in categories short of like Rush Hour or Toy Story, so having something like that as an option seems pretty solid. You know what could be more interesting though?
POLICE COMEDY: Name pending, but this brain child of John Maher and Joe Farrelly actually intrigues me a good bit. Police Academy, Naked Gun, and Austin Powers is a very solid set of films that feel so filled with jokes that plenty could be asked about, and with potential sequels or reboots in all of them coming, they have potential for growth. Jump Street could also come about if that third film ever happens. If not for the existence of Law & Order as a category, I’d say this is a perfect idea for a new category.
CLASSIC UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: Another horror category may scare off a few players, but these are a much different style than Horror Icons and, with some tinkering, could allow for some expansion and growth over the seasons. With around 30 movies, with the opportunity to include modern remakes and adaptations, allow for a lot of fun and unique additions with kinds of films we don’t really get during studying.
SPACE EPICS: Another “Icons” category that serves to group together large franchises, Cameron Lastname and Jack both want to see the death of another core geek category. Lump together Star Wars, Star Trek, Dune, and Avatar. Massive universes, deep lore, weird ass names. It makes sense. With Avatar 3 on the horizon and Dune an inevitable inclusion to the division, it seems that if Sci-Fi Icons wants to stay stagnant for 1 season, this would be a great way to grow the division without adding too many new films.
UNIQUE PITCHES
Expansions
HORROR ICONS: There are a lot of horror franchises full of impossible movies that rabid fans just love. Saw, Hellraiser, Phantasm, Puppet Master, all beloved among the coolest freaks you know with movies that just can’t be asked about. That being said, there are some franchises that could be fun. Dylan pitching Evil Dead and Jacoby pitching Exorcist seem like really fun additions that keep quality relatively high and density fairly low.
SCI-FI ICONS: Give us Prey. Please. The Canadians agree with me. We need good movies. Mike Hanley also pitched adding Bill and Ted which just seems excellent.
CREATURE FEATURES: Cameron H. pitched adding A Quiet Place and that does seem super fun. I don’t think there’s any one character iconic enough to squeeze it into Horror Icons, and only 3 movies is tough to really pitch in, but it’d be nice to have a really great trilogy to look forward to studying.
New Categories
Before we get to the brand new stuff, I do wanna highlight some ideas people had that utilize current franchises in new ways. If we can move Robocop, let’s see what crazy ideas people can make.
Multiple players wanted to pitch new non-Horror Icons horror categories. Shoutout to Igor for phrasing it the way I personally would want to go about it: keep Horror Icons for traditional slashers and have a separate category for other horror franchises. This fits perfectly for a pitch from Dean of Paranormal Investigators: Ghostbusters, Conjuring (very popular for adding to HI as well), Insidious, and Poltergeist. Javi also pitched the Hasbro-Verse. With the end teaser for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, make this by combining Transformers and GI Joe, then add Dungeons & Dragons for good measure.
NICHOLAS SPARKS: Amarú made a great point: there aren’t a lot of female centric categories. Making a category celebrating a beloved author that sells very well to women I think fulfills that niche, as well as having a strictly romance centered category, which we don’t really have other than like YA which only kinda fits. Speaking of authors…
FANDOM FICTION: Mike motherfucking Hanley made a super fun pitch in celebrating much beloved authors and the fandoms they create that show up in droves for their film adaptations. Stephen King, Clive Barker, and John Grisham are best sellers for a reason, and their films are quite popular. The first 2 writers have actually been used as Melee strengths, which only shows that other players would probably be excited to study this.
DETECTIVE ICONS: Now this… this is beautiful. This is one of 2 categories I absolutely wholeheartedly believe in, so thank you Barr for saying this formally. The Thin Man, Pink Panther, Hercule Poirot, John Shaft, Knives Out, and Sherlock Holmes. A series of mostly good movies that I think balances a lot of dynamic tones and audiences that allows for multiple entry points and a good amount of depth that it can provide questions for many seasons. Plus, with Knives Out having no end in sight and Guy RItchie’s third Sherlock movie on the way, this can only grow. Nick and Tim, please add this. Also, if you read this, you’re gorgeous and thank you.