10 Movie Franchises That Take Place Over The Shortest Span Of Time

John Wick: Chapter 4 is one of the most anticipated movies of 2023, and now fans are overjoyed by the newly released trailer, which is full of headshots, axe throwing, and globe-trotting. What’s more interesting is that it continues directly after John Wick: Chapter 3, which picked just seconds after John Wick: Chapter 2, and that picked up right where John Wick left off. In total, the entire John Wick series takes place over just a couple of weeks, but it isn’t over yet.

However, the John Wick series isn’t the first series to have so many movies focus on such a short span of time. Where most time in movie universes accurately reflects how much time has passed between releases, some franchises have had several franchises span just a few short months or even days.

Harry Potter

Seven years might not exactly be a short span of time, especially not when compared to trilogies that take place over just a few days. However, it is extremely short considering how many movies are in the franchise. The Harry Potter series is made up of eight films, and those movies span Harry’s time in secondary school.

As the Wizarding World started the trend of splitting the final novels in Young Adult series into two films, the number of movies covering seven years was made even bigger with The Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2. However, there’s an argument to be made that The Deathly Hallows would have been better as one movie, even if the sheer number of releases relative to the short timespan is impressive.

Saw

Given that the Saw movies get increasingly convoluted with each consecutive release, it’s extremely difficult to untangle the franchise’s timeline. However, the complicated series takes place over such a short timeframe because most of the films happen at the same time.

As Jigsaw Killer John Kramer dies in Saw III, the following movies are mostly told in flashbacks, and it’s revealed that the different traps and games all happen at once. Outside of Spiral, the eight John Kramer-based movies have a time frame of around two years. The only exception is that half of Jigsaw takes place 10 years after the events of Saw, but even then, the other half takes place right before the first movie.

The Bourne Trilogy

Even though many would argue that the spy thriller trilogy was tarnished with 2016’s Jason Bourne, the original Bourne trilogy, which is made up of The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum, is a perfect trilogy. It also happens in a shockingly short timeframe.

There are just 18 months between Identity and Supremacy, and Ultimatum picks up right where Supermecy left off. And even though The Bourne Legacy tells a completely different story about a different agent, it still happens directly after Ultimatum. So, not including the legacy sequel Jason Bourne, the four Bourne movies happen all within a year and a half.

The Matrix Trilogy

The Matrix Trilogy is no longer, as last year’s The Matrix Resurrections continued the franchise and was met with a mixed reception. And while The Matrix Revolutions isn’t without its many flaws, the threequel has a definitive ending with Neo sacrificing himself for mankind. He came a long way since first being told that his whole life is a lie and that what he believes is reality is a simulation, but all that happened in a surprisingly short amount of time.

Though fans would be under the impression that it was over the course of four years, which was the gap between The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded, it was actually just six months. In Reloaded, Morpheus explains that more minds have been freed in six months than in the last six years.

The Friday Trilogy

The Friday trilogy was made over the course of seven years, as the original Friday was released in 1995, Next Friday was released in 2000, and Friday After Next was released in 2002. But the actual timeframe in the franchise is just a fraction of that. As the titles suggest, each film takes place over three consecutive Fridays, which is just two weeks.

The stoner comedy franchise has a plot that shouldn’t be taken seriously, but the short timeframe creates some hilarious plot holes. Within just a few days, Deebo has been tried, convicted, and escaped prison. A fourquel, Last Friday, has been stuck in development hell for years (via Comicbook.com), and fans are dying to find out what happens the Friday after Friday after next.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now so expansive, and there are 30 films in the franchise at this point, but though it isn’t a whole franchise, Phase 1 is notable for taking place over such a short period of time. The universe is full of time jumps, with Endgame even skipping five years into the future, but Phase One is a span of just one week.

While it isn’t revealed in the movies themselves, it’s explained in the official tie-in comic book, Fury’s Big Week, that Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and the last scene in Captain America: The First Avenger all take place within seven days of each other. That’s a surprising amount of destruction taking place across America without a single person noticing.

The Three Colors Trilogy

The Three Colors trilogy is a group of psychological dramas that are all intertwined, with main characters from each of the films having small appearances across all of them. The three films span a total of less than a week, and while each of them has a different narrative, they’re all closely connected thematically.

The movies even have scenes in the same location and the same date and time, only they follow different characters. Where trilogies like Indiana Jones and The Lord of the Rings are often cited as the greatest trilogies of all time, the Three Colors trilogy is inarguably the most consistent and by far three of the most inventive dramas ever.

The Jersey Trilogy

Most of writer/director Kevin Smith’s comedies are all set in the same world, which he calls the View Askewniverse, and the universe is comprised of nine films. However, the first three movies in the franchise, and the first three films Smith directed, Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy, are generally known as the Jersey trilogy.

And while time isn’t relatively important, as each release tells a story disconnected from the other, they take place within such a short time of one another. The three films are set just a few days apart from each other, and Mallrats is set just one day before Clerks. Though fans have the perception of Jay and Silent Bob being lazy stoners, they certainly had a somewhat eventful week. With Mallrats 2 in development, it’s a wonder if it’s set a day before the newly released Clerks III.

The Evil Dead Trilogy

The Evil Dead trilogy is just a span of four days from the beginning of The Evil Dead to the end of Army of Darkness, as each film takes place over the course of one day and night. The horror comedies expertly see Ash fighting with Deadites and getting increasingly skilled with his shotgun he calls his “boomstick” and his chainsaw hand.

Evil Dead 2 might see Ash fall through a portal and land in Medieval times, but it’s still just a day in Ash’s timeline. However, if viewers watch the alternate ending of Army of Darkness, the series actually spans an unknown amount of centuries, as Ash wakes up in a dystopian future.

Back To The Future

The timeframe of the Back to the Future trilogy could be looked at in a few of different ways. As the franchise is all about time travel, Doc and Marty travel as far back as 1885 in Back to the Future Part III and as far into the future as 2015 in Back to the Future Part II. Though that’s technically the past now, the film was released in 1990, and it’s set in 1985, making it 30 years in the future.

So the film essentially spans 130 years, but from the start of Part I to the end of Part III, it only takes place over around two weeks from Marty’s perspective. However, the whole trilogy technically spans just two days, as the first scene in Part I is at 8:18 am on October 25, 1985, and the final scene in Part III is on October 27. But it would have been much shorter if the characters were smarter.

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