Confirmed: Aditya Chopra and Yash Raj Films are not merging Pathaan’s YRF Spy Universe with Dhoom Universe

Contrary to the reports floating around, Yash Raj Films’ two biggest franchises – the Spy Universe and the Dhoom Universe – will not be merging, sources have confirmed. Reports had claimed that Asditya Chopra, the head of YRF, was planning to bring these two universes together in a future film. The Dhoom series consists of three films while the Spy Universe is four films old with a fifth in the pipeline.

A very senior trade source tells us, “Dhoom franchise and YRF Spy Universe are now two of the biggest IP’s in the history of Indian cinema and Aditya Chopra, who owns both these IP’s, will never merge the two because he would want to grow them separately.”

The source addd that while both the franchises consist of action films, they are tonally very different, which means chances of a merger are impossible. “YRF Spy Universe is a world of super spies and Dhoom is the world of anti-establishment anti-heroes. They can’t come together. He (Aditya Chopra) will protect the sanctity of these two universes and grow them separately to make them even bigger IP’s in the years to come,” says the source.

A report in Pinkvilla had claimed that characters from the Dhoom universe – such as ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) – could cross over into the Spy Universe. The source insists that there are no plans of that. “So, no you won’t see any characters from these Universes to overlap in either franchises. Story wise also it doesn’t make sense at all. So, all this talk is completely baseless that Jai Dixit will be seen in the YRF Spy Universe. No one from Dhoom will be seen in the YRF Spy Universe and vice versa,” the source adds.

Dhoom franchise began with the 2004 action hit that starred Abhishek, John Abraham, and Uday Chopra. It was followed by two even more successful sequels. Together, the three Dhoom films have made Rs 823 crore worldwide. The YRF Spy Universe began with Ek Tha Tiger in 2011. Other films in the series include its sequel and the 2019 blockbuster War. However, it was the 2023 Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan that tied all the films together. With a global gross of Rs 2373 crore, it is the highest-grossing franchise in Bollywood history.