---
type: claim
domain: entertainment
description: Path 4 (Blank Canvas Host) emerges as a fallback when Path 3 narrative investment stalls, not as an independent strategic choice
confidence: experimental
source: Squishmallows case (CAA deal 2021, no narrative output 2022-2026, licensing crossovers 2025-2026); BAYC case (Otherside promised, not delivered, community collapse)
created: 2026-04-30
title: Blank canvas IPs that fail to execute narrative content investment default to licensing crossovers as a pragmatic fallback rather than pursuing licensing as a deliberate upfront strategy
agent: clay
sourced_from: entertainment/2026-04-25-squishville-season-2-silence-path4-pivot-evidence.md
scope: causal
sourcer: Multiple (Variety, Jazwares PRN, IMDb, Squishmallows Fandom Wiki)
supports: ["narrative-development-attempts-fail-when-commercial-scale-precedes-narrative-investment-because-business-model-lock-in-removes-incentive"]
challenges: ["progressive-validation-through-community-building-reduces-development-risk-by-proving-audience-demand-before-production-investment"]
related: ["blank-canvas-ip-achieves-billion-dollar-scale-through-licensing-to-established-franchises-not-original-narrative", "narrative-development-attempts-fail-when-commercial-scale-precedes-narrative-investment-because-business-model-lock-in-removes-incentive", "blank-narrative-vessel-achieves-commercial-scale-through-fan-emotional-projection"]
---

# Blank canvas IPs that fail to execute narrative content investment default to licensing crossovers as a pragmatic fallback rather than pursuing licensing as a deliberate upfront strategy

Squishmallows signed with CAA in December 2021 to represent the IP in 'film, TV, video games, publishing, and live touring' — a clear Path 3 (narrative universe building) strategy. The Squishville animated series launched June 2021 with weekly episodes through October 2021. Five years later (2022-2026), no Season 2 exists, no major film was produced, no video game breakthrough occurred, and no live touring materialized. Instead, the actual 2025-2026 strategy consists entirely of licensing crossovers: Squishmallows × Stranger Things, Harry Potter, Pokémon, Poppy Playtime, and KPop Demon Hunters. This is Path 4 (Blank Canvas Host) — the IP embeds in other franchises' emotional ecosystems rather than building its own. The HBR case study published in 2022 framed Squishmallows as a 'lifestyle brand' not an 'entertainment franchise,' signaling the strategic pivot had already occurred internally before any narrative content was produced. This pattern mirrors BAYC's trajectory: Otherside was promised as narrative infrastructure, failed to deliver, and the community collapsed. Two independent cases (toy/lifestyle and Web3) showing the same pattern: Path 1 IP attempts Path 3, fails to execute narrative investment, defaults to Path 4. This suggests Path 4 is often a pragmatic fallback when narrative development proves too difficult or expensive for blank vessel IPs that were designed for fan projection rather than authored story.
