Pathaan 2 gets green light: Here is a look at where we are in the YRF Spyverse

Pathaan - starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham - collected over Rs 1,000 crore at the global box office. Pathaan 2 is expected to build on its success. (Image via X @yrf)

The YRF Spyverse is expanding, but some of its bigger hitters seem to be more in demand compared to the others. Here is a look at how the universe started, has since expanded, sets itself up in the future.

The Aditya Chopra-backed spy universe began with the wildly entertaining Ek tha Tiger (2012) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), back-to-back franchise productions that may have upended expectations because of Salman Khan’s fandom. When it comes to big-budget spectacles, propelled by giant stars, it can be tricky to tell if it’s the format that works or the star’s recurring event-like presence. The fact that Salman Khan’s other films haven’t exactly set the box-office afire in comparison in the same timeline, was maybe the studio’s the first clue towards building a model of sorts.

Director Siddharth Anand's War (2019) was slick, its hyper-sensual grammar was maybe the first breakthrough point of the expanding universe. Not only did it recast Hrithik Roshan as this beguiling heartthrob but also offered this metrosexual language for heroism.

War is unlike any other thing because it feels elite, continental and maybe a tad sophisticated. It’s possibly the most stylish film to ever be made and the upcoming sequel which will feature Jr NTR and Kiara Advani will be expected to carry that oomph and style if not substance. Here style is the substance.

Yrf’s biggest success to date, Pathaan quite simply merged superstardom, style and some terrific writing. More than the technicality, it was the story’s depth, the antagonist’s layers (John Abraham) and the ability of the creators to also be meta and self-referential that touched a chord.

Written by Shridhar Raghavan, it was also the Shah Rukh Khan comeback that everyone was waiting for. But for all its technical and narrative brilliance, it was that breakaway cameo, that unhanded conversation between Shah Rukh and Salman that brought the house down. On some level, it was better than anything a Marvel post-credit scene has pulled off. Generational, epic stuff.

Though the most hyped project Tiger vs Pathaan is still in the distance, there is now this confirmation of Pathaan 2, the extension of the standalone franchise after we get another glimpse of Hrithik Roshan and Co in War 2. That mammoth cinematic duel will have to wait for now.