The Lokesh Cinematic Universe aka LCU aka “Loki-verse” is the brainchild of Tamil director and writer Lokesh Kanagaraj. The highest-grossing Tamil franchise (surpassing even the mammoth success of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selavan), the LCU includes crime thrillers that often pit common men as vigilantes that challenge law-enforcement and drug cartels.
Here’s a glimpse at how to watch the LCU movies and in what order.
How to watch the Lokesh Cinematic Universe movies?
You can watch all LCU movies in the same order as their release date, considering that the franchise hasn’t delved into prequels yet. As of now, the LCU consists of standalone adventures that are remotely connected to each other through common characters.
It all starts with the Karthi-led thriller Kaithi which revolves around the exploits of a recently-released prisoner as he races against time to save his daughter. Kaithi was followed by the Kamal Haasan-led blockbuster Vikram. While Karthi could only be heard in a brief voice-over in the 2022 action drama, Kaithi’s Inspector Bejoy (Narain) returned in Vikram indicating that both movies are set in a shared world.
Vikram amped up the action stakes of the franchise with Haasan playing a special-ops investigator investigating a series of serial killings and discovering a larger criminal conspiracy. The star power of LCU also increased with Vikram’s ensemble also including Tamil character actor Vijay Sethupathi as drug lord Sandhanam and Malayalam heavyweight Fahadh Faasil as black-ops operative Amar.
Kanagaraj’s next film after Vikram wasn’t confirmed to be a part of his shared universe until Kaithi’s Constable Napoleon making an appearance this time. Ranking among one of Thalapathy Vijay’s best movies, Leo introduced a new protagonist in the form of Parthi, a peaceful cafe owner and animal rescuer who is mistaken for a gangster’s estranged son. If Vikram focused on armed combat, Leo highlighted hand-to-hand fights with more brutal gore as Parthi goes down a dark and violent past.
Has any Lokesh Cinematic Universe movie ever been remade?
Kaithi was remade in Hindi as Bholaa, a 2022 action thriller written, directed, produced by, and starring Ajay Devgn. You can watch the movie on Prime Video.
Is the Lokesh Cinematic Universe inspired by Hollywood?
While Kaithi and Vikram draw upon original concepts, Leo is loosely adapted from David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence (available to rent on Amazon) which in itself was based on the graphic novel of the same name.
What is the future of the Lokesh Cinematic Universe?
Currently, Kaithi 2 is in the works although given the massive commercial success of Vikram and Leo, it’s clear that Kanagaraj will also be eyeing sequels for the other two movies. Even before Kaithi 2, the director plans to release a 10 minute short film in 2024 to elaborate more on the origins of the LCU. With Vikram also featuring Tamil superstar Suriya in a special appearance, it’s possible that the filmmaker might later direct a solo outing for his character too.
Where can you watch the Lokesh Cinematic Universe movies?
Kaithi can be streamed on Sony LIV, Aha and Hotstar while you can watch Vikram on Hotstar and ZEE5. Leo is available to stream on Netflix. All three movies can be viewed in the original Tamil version as well as dubs in other languages like Hindi and Telugu.
