Is Vijay’s Leo a part of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Cinematic Universe with Kamal Haasan, Suriya and Karthi? Here’s everything you need to know

For uninitiated audiences, LCU is a term coined by the fans of Lokesh for the fictional universe that includes his films Kaithi, Vikram, and Leo. The director has brought together major movie stars of Tamil cinema for an overarching story that will connect all the individual storylines. To put it in context, it is like the Tamil version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The excitement for LCU is huge, since collaborations between big stars in the Tamil industry have been rare.

Timeline of LCU:

Kaithi (2019):

Kaithi, starring Karthi, Narain, and Arjun Das, is the first instalment of LCU. A 2019 drug bust in Tiruchirappalli shakes the foundation of a cartel. Dilli (Karthi), who is released from jail, is forced to help Inspector Bejoy (Narain) save the lives of the whole police department and prevent the escape of the drug kingpin Adaikalam Das (Harish Uttaman), who is a small cog in the big drug cartel. While Dilli comes across as an outsider to the whole plot, towards the end of the film, Adaikalam reveals that there is a connection between him and the story. Lokesh also referred to a character named Ghost in the film, which didn’t mean much to the fans when it was released.

Vikram (2022): 

And that Ghost returned in Vikram. It was the code name for the titular character, the former commander of Black Ops, a secret special task force of the Indian government. Vikram is a spiritual sequel to Kamal Haasan’s 1986 film of the same name. In Lokesh Kanagaraj’s film, Vikram, who is perceived to be dead, is living under a cover identity as an old alcoholic named Karnan. Karnan’s foster son Prabhanjan gets killed by Sandhanam (Vijay Sethupathi), who is part of the drug cartel that also has Adaikalam (from Kaithi). Now, to avenge the death of his son, Vikram joins forces with Bejoy (from Kaithi) to take down the whole cartel. They manage to bring down the entire business of Sandhanam and the gang, which forces their drug lord Rolex (Suriya) to return to India for crisis management. Vikram ended with Rolex placing a bounty on the heads of Dilli, Vikram, and Amar (Fahadh Faasil).

Leo (2023):

While Leo is essentially about the titular character, a former drug lord who is leading a life as a family man named Parthiban, Lokesh established that the film is happening after the events of Kaithi and Vikram. In Leo, when Parthi asks for police protection for his family and demands that the guard should be a Tamilian, Napoleon (George Mariam from Kaithi) enters the scene. In Kaithi, when Dilli and Bejoy wage a war against the cartel men to save the dying police officers, Napoleon, an ageing constable, prevents Adaikalam from escaping the prison. The character became a fan-favourite thanks to George’s performance and the writing. Another connection could be the family name Das that’s shared by Adaikalam (from Kaithi), Antony, Harold and Leo. On top of it all, Vikram calls Leo towards the end of the film and tells him that they have to join forces to destroy more such drug cartels.

The overarching storyline:

Rolex, who has sworn to rebuild his lost empire, is the common antagonist to both Dilli and Vikram. It has to be seen how Leo is brought into the fold. Before the showdown, Lokesh has plans to do more universe-building. He will next direct Rajinikanth in Thalaivar 171. It is not confirmed whether the film belongs to the LCU. The director will then move on to direct Karthi in Kaithi 2. He also revealed that he has plans to make a standalone film with Suriya’s Rolex character. Perhaps, Vikram 2 might bring everything to a close.

Other spin-offs:

Lokesh Kanagaraj also revealed he has plans for two spin-off web series with George Mariam’s Napoleon character and Agent Tina from Vikram. However, the director revealed he would let his assistants or other directors do them.