Why Familiar Characters are the Most (Re-)Inventive Tools for Creators and Brands

Great storytelling thrives on the ‘record scratch’ moment

The entertainment industry is facing a paradox where studios fear risk, yet audiences are exhausted by a sea of sameness. Original films like The Smashing Machine or One Battle After Another may receive critical acclaim but underperform. Remakes and sequels dominate, despite widespread criticism of their paint-by-numbers formulas.

The creative market has shrunk, buyers are more cautious than ever and the packaging around an idea now matters more than the idea itself.

In an industry where fewer buyers face exponentially more pitches, recognizable IP has become a safety net.

But the most exciting work happening right now suggests something bigger. That the future lies not in recycling the familiar, but in reinventing it.

The record scratch

Reinvention—taking something audiences believe they know and flipping it in marvelous ways—is one of the strongest narrative tools creators have. Great storytelling has always thrived on “record scratch” moments where the anticipated trajectory suddenly veers somewhere unexpected. That principle applies not just to plot but to the characters themselves. Wicked is a perfect example. It’s a story that audiences already understand, expanded and reframed to feel new.

Horror, the most commercially nimble of genres, has mastered this. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey took a century-old childhood icon and twisted it into a low-budget slasher hit, raking in returns wildly disproportionate to its production spend. The film itself may not be the most creatively satisfying, but its success proves a larger point—the public is fascinated by reinvention.

A public-domain playground

In 2026, the opportunity grows. On Jan. 1, the public domain welcomed an array of iconic characters ranging from Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple to the comic strip Blondie. Could Blondie become a glamorous serial killer? A relatable anti-hero? A digital avatar leading a global brand campaign? Maybe. And that “maybe” is precisely where creativity lives. In a landscape defined by cautious buyers and shrinking budgets, playful risk is often the only real risk worth taking.

Brands are sitting on a goldmine. For decades, they’ve been overly protective of their characters—Tony the Tiger, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Keebler Elves, Peeps—treating them as assets to be preserved rather than worlds to be expanded. Meanwhile, the entertainment industry has squeezed comic books, toys and video games into blockbuster franchises.

So where does the next great wave of IP come from? It may well be from brand mascots and personas. These characters already have multi-generational recognition; they’re pre-packaged story universes waiting for imaginative reinterpretation. Barbie and Super Mario Bros. proved how powerful that leap can be. But more adventurous examples, like Jack in the Box’s Jack Box appearing in Fortnite, show how far a character can stretch when brands allow it.

Navigating the inner workings of a brand, or the complexity of its IP, is rarely straightforward. Marketers are being asked to do more with less, while consumer spending gets tighter. But at times like this, holding back can cost more than leaning in. Those willing to experiment, even in small doses, often pull ahead.

Audiences want familiarity, with a twist

With folks overwhelmed by news cycles, politics and instability, escapism is in high demand. Recognizable characters provide comfort, while reinvention offers surprise. That combination cuts through fatigue far more effectively than either nostalgia or novelty alone. At a time when networks prioritize subscriber growth and creators who don’t have 20 million subscribers must over-package every idea to get in the room, characters with built-in love and a willingness to evolve provide something rare: permission to be bold.

The debate isn’t whether to use recognizable IP. That ship has sailed. The real question is whether creators and brands are willing to reinvent it in ways people haven’t experienced before.

Familiarity gets audiences in the door, but reinvention keeps them watching, talking and sharing. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we want?