Lokesh Cinematic Universe

The Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU), also known as the Lokiverse, is an Indian media franchise and shared universe of Tamil-language action thriller films created by Lokesh Kanagaraj.^[a] It is currently the highest grossing Tamil film franchise.^[6]

The first feature of the universe Kaithi was released in 2019, while the second installment Vikram was released in 2022 and third installment Leo was released in 2023^[b] with Leo being the highest grosser of all LCU films. The universe follows an elaborate conflict between law enforcement officers and vigilantes in South India who are at war against dangerous drug cartels led by powerful crime lords. A 10-minute short film, named Pillaiyar Suzhi Chapter Zero - 1Shot, 2 Stories, 24 Hours, detailing the origins of the LCU will be released in late 2024 before the commencement of Kaithi 2.

Lokesh Kanagaraj expressed his desire to create a shared universe of films after completing his debut feature, Maanagaram. He emphasized that such films have enduring appeal. During the production of Kaithi, he conceptualized and experimented with this idea, incorporating multiple open-ended plotlines in Kaithi. He further developed this concept in collaboration with Dream Warrior Pictures and Raaj Kamal Films International for his film Vikram, utilising properties owned by these production companies. As a result, he successfully established a shared universe and announced plans for additional projects set within this interconnected cinematic world.^[10][3]

Though the name "Lokesh Cinematic Universe" was coined by fans, post the release of Vikram, he accepted it as the official name of the universe.^[11][12] Other names for the franchise include the Loki Cinematic Universe and Lokiverse, as Loki is his nickname.^[13][14]

Narain, George Maryan and Maya S. Krishnan are the only actors who have reprised their roles in significant capacities across multiple films within the universe.^[15][16] Karthi and Kamal Haasan have made voice-only cameo appearances, reprising their roles as Dilli in Vikram and Vikram in Leo, respectively.^[17][16]

After a drug bust of 900 kgs of cocaine belonging to drug peddlers Adaikalam and Anbu in Trichy, Inspector Bejoy faces a dire situation when several cops are poisoned at a party by a corrupt cop in an attempt to recover the loot and kill the officers involved in the bust. To thwart the gang, Bejoy blackmails ex-convict Dilli into assisting him by threatening to prevent him from meeting his 10-year-old daughter for the first time. Together, they embark on a mission to transport the poisoned cops to the hospital and prevent Anbu's gang from getting their hands on the busted drugs. Their journey is fraught with danger as they continuously evade pursuing gang members, who receive support from a corrupt narcotics official, Stephen Raj.

The first installment of the LCU, it stars Karthi in the lead role, along with Narain, Arjun Das, Harish Uthaman, George Maryan and Dheena in pivotal roles.

Amar, a black ops agent, is assigned to investigate a series of murders committed by a masked group of vigilantes. Their victims include high-ranking officials from the narcotics department like Stephen Raj and ACP Prabhanjan^[c], and Prabhanjan's seemingly harmless foster father, Karnan. As Amar delves deeper into the case, a tangled web of clues leads him to the mastermind behind the murders, a drug kingpin named Sandhanam, who controls the largest drug syndicate in Chennai. However, a surprising twist reveals that Karnan is, in fact, alive and is former Black Ops Commander Vikram, who leads the group of vigilantes, that now includes Bejoy. In the face of this revelation, Vikram, Amar, and Bejoy unite their efforts to take down Sandhanam's powerful drug syndicate.

The second installment in the LCU stars Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil with Kalidas Jayaram, Narain and Chemban Vinod Jose in supporting roles. Suriya made his first appearance in the LCU in a cameo role as Rolex. The film is a spiritual successor of Vikram (1986).^{[18][1][4][19]}

Parthiban, a café owner and animal rescuer in Theog, becomes a local hero after thwarting a group of robbers in his café. This draws the attention of gangsters Antony and Harold Das, who suspect him to be Antony's estranged son, Leo Das. Parthiban denies having any connection to them but they continue to hound him, and he takes matters into his own hands by eliminating both Antony and Harold and destroying their datura factory after confessing that he is Leo having left his past life behind. Following this, Vikram, knowing Parthi's identity as Leo, invites him to join forces in creating a drug-free society in India, while suggesting a mysterious connection between them from their past.^[d]

The third installment in LCU stars Vijay in the title role, alongside Trisha, Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Sarja, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Priya Anand and Madonna Sebastian with George Maryan as Napoleon and a voice-over cameo by Kamal Haasan as Agent Vikram. It is based on 2005 film A History of Violence, which itself was an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name.

Leo emerged as the highest grossing LCU film, the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023, the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023, the highest-grossing Tamil film overseas and the highest-grossing film in Tamil Nadu.

As implied at the end of Kaithi, Lokesh had planned for a sequel, which he confirmed after its release.^[20] In an interview with Subha J Rao to Firstpost, Lokesh conveyed his interest in developing the film into a franchise, stating that he had an idea for both the prequel and the sequel, which depends on the recurring schedules of the cast members. In May 2021, the film's producer, S. R. Prabhu, confirmed that the sequel was in the works.^[21]

Kaithi 2 is intended to be a prequel for Dilli, focusing on his character. Later, in an interaction with fans through Twitter, Lokesh explained about Anbu's return in Vikram as he was knocked out and not dead, although he had stitch marks in his jaw due to his injuries.^[22]

Following the success of Vikram, Lokesh planned to expand the scale of the sequel,^[4] with S. R. Prabhu admitting that it would be bigger than the first film.^[23] Production of the film was expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022 but was delayed as Lokesh intended to resume the project after completing Leo and a film with Rajinikanth, titled Coolie (2025), which would not be a part of the LCU.^[24]

In early August 2023, reports surfaced indicating that Leo would have a sequel, marking Vijay's first venture into a sequel film.^[25][26] In December 2023, Lokesh confirmed the project would be tentatively be titled as Parthiban. However, the project is doubtful because of Vijay's entry into politics.^[27]

Owing to the film's remarkable success, Kamal Haasan, in an interview with Pinkvilla, expressed the potential for a sequel to Vikram. Additionally, there were reports indicating the development of a third installment in the Vikram series. There have been many who said it would be named as Vikram 2 or Vikram 3, but the makers had decided that it would be titled Vikram Returns. In many interviews later on, Lokesh confirmed that the sequel to Vikram will be the official endgame for his universe and has always maintained that there needs to be a proper closure to it. ^[28][29][30]

In August 2023, Suriya revealed that a spin-off centered around his character, Rolex from Vikram, was being planned.^[31] Lokesh pitched Suriya an idea for a standalone film of the Rolex character, and the actor too agreed to the idea, which Lokesh later confirmed in October 2024.^[32]

Lokesh announced a new action thriller film titled Benz, starring Raghava Lawrence and directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan. The announcement was made on 14 April 2024. Lokesh announced that Benz will join the LCU with the caption, "a warrior with a cause is the most dangerous soldier". A teaser was unveiled on Raghava Lawrence's 48th birthday, welcoming him into the universe on 29 October 2024.^[33][34]

Lokesh announced a short film on 29 October 2024 titled Pillaiyar Suzhi, which would describe the inception of the universe before Kaithi. Arjun Das, Narain, Kalidas Jayaram, and a few other actors from the universe will be a part of the short film. Lokesh released a first look of LCU Chapter Zero and titled it - 1 Shot 2 Stories 24 Hours, referring to the short film shot in 24 hours consisting of 2 stories and executed in a single shot. ^[35][36][37]

Lokesh revealed his plans for two spin-off series with George Mariam’s character Napoleon from Kaithi and Agent Tina from Vikram. However, he revealed he would let his assistants or other directors complete the same. Details of these are yet to be unveiled.^[16]

Anirudh has composed the soundtracks and film scores of the LCU films under the label of Sony Music, except for Kaithi which was composed by Sam CS and Benz which was composed by Sai Abhyankkar under the label of Think Music.^[38][39]

Lokiverse serves as the theme music for the franchise. It has two versions. The original version was featured in Vikram (2022),^[40][41] while the second version was featured in Leo (2023).^[42] The second version titled "Lokiverse 2.0" connected the elements of the franchise between the first three installments: Kaithi (2019), Vikram (2022) and Leo (2023).^[43]

An official timeline has not been released by the makers, but the films give an indication of this.

In the cinematic universe, the events in Kaithi unfold in the year 2019, followed by the events in Vikram, which transpire three months after the events in Kaithi. Subsequently, the events in Leo occur two years later in 2021. The flashback storylines in Vikram and Leo depict events from 1991 and 1999 respectively. ^[49] In Vikram, Rolex, the overarching villain of the universe arriving at the end of the film, stated that it took 27 years to create his own 'drugs' empire, meaning that the possible Rolex standalone film ^[31][32] would be set in 1992.

The Lokesh Cinematic Universe is currently the highest grossing Tamil film franchise.