Film franchises in a media library
A film franchise relates distinct works through a shared series or setting while retaining each film’s identity and possible viewing orders.
A franchise connects distinct films. Each film still has its own release history, credits and playable editions. Calling three films a trilogy describes a relationship among works; it does not turn them into three parts of one continuous movie resource.
The relationship can be a direct sequel, a prequel, a spin-off or a shared setting. A remake may reuse a title while starting another continuity. Describing the connection is more useful than merging the titles under one movie identity.
Which order does the collection express?
Consider this entirely fictional series:
| Film | Release year | Position in its story chronology |
|---|---|---|
| Harbour: The Last Voyage | 2004 | 3 |
| Harbour: First Tide | 2007 | 1 |
| Harbour: The Crossing | 2012 | 2 |
Release order is Last Voyage → First Tide → The Crossing. Story chronology is First Tide → The Crossing → Last Voyage. Alphabetical title order produces yet another arrangement.
Neither release nor story order is inherently the best introduction. A prequel can assume knowledge supplied by an earlier release, while a returning viewer may want the events in chronological order. The title First Tide does not carry a machine-readable promise about that choice.
A collection can gather the works. A playlist can record an intended viewing sequence. Keeping the two purposes distinct lets the library offer a franchise page without implying a universal viewing order.
Catalogue boundaries and fictional boundaries
A metadata provider's collection is a specific catalogue entity. TMDB, for example, has collection identifiers separate from movie identifiers. A broader franchise can encompass more than one such group, television spin-offs or works in different continuities.
An imported group therefore describes that provider's association. It does not automatically enumerate every licensed work sharing the setting, nor does it establish that the library has every member available.
In Emby, automatic movie collections can use imported collection information, while manual collections can represent a broader or personal selection. The Collections documentation explains the product behavior. Choosing a shared collection name does not replace the individual films' provider identities.
Preserve the kind of connection
A library description benefits from saying sequel to, prequel to or remake of rather than only related to. These relationships answer different questions and can coexist. A prequel can belong to the same series and precede another work's events while having been released years later.
Each Harbour film can then have its own editions, ratings and viewing history, while the collection or playlist supplies the chosen relationship among them.