Cascade Comics Cinematic Universe

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The **Cascade Comics Cinematic Universe** (**CCCU**) is an American multimedia franchise and shared universe that is centered on a series of superhero films, independently produced by Raydon Studios and based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Cascade Comics. The franchise also includes comic books, short films, television series, and digital series and was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. While the overall universe has been heavily influenced by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it actually predates the MCU by 14 months. It was originally known as *The Justice Fighters Series* and *The Justice Fighters Franchise* before adopting its current name with the release of *The Justice Fighters Unite*.

The first CCCU film is *The Rain Maker* (2007), which began the films of Phase One culminating in the crossover film *The Justice Fighters Unite* (2013). Phase Two began with *Storm Gale* (2013) and concluded with *Justice Fighters: Internal Affairs* (2018). At one point, Raydon Studios had planned five phases of films equaling nearly 40 stories but scaled back plans when box office returns on later films shrunk drastically.

The universe was considered complete with the initial release of *Internal Affairs*, but a new film entitled *Storm Gale: The California Guardian* has been in development since 2017 and is scheduled to be released on March 18, 2022. Multiple television spin-offs have also been proposed in order to give certain characters richer storylines.

The films take place in an alternate reality in the Republic of Cascadia on the west coast of the former United States and concern a society of vigilantes fighting crime and injustice. The films largely follow the storylines published by Cascade Comics but also deviate in order to tell more cinematic stories.

## Development

By 1998, Raydon Entertainment had begun exploring the possibility of a film adaptation of their popular *The Justice Fighters of Cascadia* comic book series and had prepared pitches for a film based on The Justice Fighters and one based on Eagle Claw and her anti-hero husband Rain Man, who at that time was not yet a member of the Justice Fighters. With the success of *Blade*, released in August 1998, New Line Cinema agreed in early 1999 to distribute a Rain Man film if Raydon Entertainment put up the production costs. Without a dedicated film production unit, Raydon began shopping the project to potential producers who could finance the film and eventually attracted the attention of Threshold Entertainment in early 2000. A script entitled *Rain Man/Eagle Claw: A Stormy Night* was turned in later that year but was passed over in favor of a script entitled *Cascade Comics' Rain Man* in 2001 and was slated to begin production in 2002 before getting stuck in development hell. New Line eventually passed on the project and allowed Raydon to shop it to other studios.

After failing to find a new home for their film, Raydon Entertainment decided to found an in-house film production studio and distribution company to handle the production entirely. Raydon Studios Motion Pictures opened its doors in 2005 and quickly began development on a film entitled *Rain Maker & Eagle Claw*, referencing the rebranding the character underwent that year in the comic books. However, it was quickly decided that it should be split into two films, the first one focusing on Rain Maker and Eagle Claw and the second on Eagle Claw and Storm Gale. *The Rain Maker* was set for a 2007 release while *Eagle Claw* would release the following year. During development on *The Rain Maker*, writers hired to work on the film pitched films based on new characters the Blue Dragon and Deathbringer, both of which were then rushed into development alongside *The Rain Maker*.

*The Rain Maker* was released on March 23, 2007 to mixed reviews which saw development on subsequent films halted to allow the studio the time to develop stronger films. *Eagle Claw* and the untitled Deathbringer film were both postponed indefinitely while it was decided that *The Blue Dragon* would be the studio's next film, set to be released in 2009. Films based on Purple Thunder, Captain Evergreen and Jackal were also put into development without concrete release dates. Despite the mixed reception, a sequel entitled *Rain Maker 2* was slated to release before the *Justice Fighters.*

*The Blue Dragon* was released on May 15, 2009 to mixed-to-positive reviews but grossed $267M at the box office against a production budget of only $2M, encouraging Raydon Studios to greenlight a sequel just two months later that would introduce the Red Dragon. Production began on *Purple Thunder* while *Eagle Claw* was given a spring 2011 release date. *Captain Evergreen* was announced as the final film before the release of the long awaited *Justice Fighters* film, with *Rain Maker 2* expected to release between *Eagle Claw* and *Justice Fighters*. *The Blue Dragon 2* was then pushed to "Phase Two," and set to release after *The Justice Fighters.*

*Purple Thunder* was released on August 6, 2010 to positive reviews and grossed $204M at the box office. *Eagle Claw: Storm* was then released after multiple delays on April 15, 2011 to positive reviews, with fans and critics praising the performances of Eagle Claw and Storm Gale. A sequel as well as a spin-off film were both greenlit, with both set to be released after the *Justice Fighters* film.

*The Jackal* and *Captain Evergreen* were then released in 2012 with *Justice Fighters* scheduled for March 22, 2013.

## Story

### *Rain Maker*

In 2007, Seattle-area weatherman Anthony Grimes is caught outside in an electric storm when he is struck by lightning and granted new weather-conjuring powers. He adopts the name of Rain Maker and attempts to hide his new crimefighting side-gig from his family and boss. When Col. Joshua Reeds exposes Rain Maker, Cassandra Grimes finds herself drawn into the battle, stealing a military grade flight suit from Reeds and becoming Eagle Claw. The two manage to defeat Col. Reeds but inadvertently neglect their daughter in the process.