What do you think this fandom will be like after the show ends?

[Whirlwind 1,048]

It's a question commonly asked. But how do you think the fandom will be like after G4 ends?

I think the fandom will still hold up together but might shrink a little bit. (This is also a thing all fandoms have in common) but will the fandom last forever?

[GeekySonic 1,150]

It will certainly shrink. But as I've said before, I believe what we have here isn't something that just disappears. The fandom is gonna be around for a long time.

[leonbrony17 1,216]

There will always be fans who stand together and keep the fandome alive even after the end of g4.

[Luminance 2,181]

Waiting for G5 probably.

[Varrack 1,080]

Assuming G4 ends and the MLP franchise is never touched again (unlikely)...I think the fandom will still exist for years to come, but will slowly fade away.

 

Assuming G4 ends and G5 happens in, say, a year or two after the show is canceled....I think there will be some knee-jerk reactions that will cause some fans to stop watching, but ultimately many old fans will still watch it.

[Blackshirt Brony 415]

I think it will pretty much go away, unfortunately. Not immediately though.

[Chuckles4lyfe 441]

The fandom will most definitely shrink in numbers, but I don't think we'll disappear from the face of the Earth. All forms of media will have their fans who will support them whether they are relevant or not. 

[Whirlwind 1,048]

There will always be fans who stand together and keep the fandome alive even after the end of g4.

Exactly. And I will stay in this fandom till the very last bit of artwork, music or animation comes up

[Ganondorf8 11,123]

I'm sure it will remain as there are those dedicated fans who will stick around no matter what happens, but it will definitely shrink down in size.

[cmarston1 5,952]

The fandom will stay around for a little while.

Hopefully after shrinking a little, it could become more humble.

[LeafFerret 3,382]

I think it will stick around for a while, there are some users who post videos of their OCs doing stuff and that will only end if they run out of material to do.

[GrimGrimoire 4,970]

It will be around for a long time to come. All of the people who are just along for the ride because they like to hang out on popular fandoms or just find the show a fun pastime will move on to something else... but most of those who got into it due to a real connection with the show and its characters will be around no matter what.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

It will fluctuate, just like all the other fandoms for media franchises. And like those other fandoms, there will be a resurgence when the franchise picks up again because Hasbro would have to go out of business to *not* do another MLP generation. It's the cornerstone of their Girls Toys department (and yes, they're still divided internally into a Girls department and a Boys department. Corporate structures at that level take *forever* to shift.)

 

There is an advantage and a disadvange to MLP being based on popular toy line. Like Transformers and Mattel's Barbie, they're never going to go away completely. The company producing the toy will constantly search for a new way to revive a once-popular toy line because they can't afford not to. Their business depends on it. The fandoms for those will renew with each generation of toy. 

 

On the other hand Star Trek, Doctor Who and other similar franchises; when those got cancelled the first time there was *no* indication that they were going to come back. Decades passed before the IP owners decided to try to tap nostalgia with revivals. The fandoms for those franchises had shrunk after the initial cancellation, but grew back on their own due to the strength of the remaining fans' belief in the value of the franchises. They became very solid over that gap of time, making the shift from depending on the IP owner to being self-sufficient and producing their own content. Not just fan-episodes, but entire magazines filled with analysis, speculation, fiction, art, etc.. Completely decentralized and spread all over the world. Moving away from any one individual or set of individuals being the sole creative drive. That's why nobody's worried about those fandoms when the IP owners' productions are lackluster. You don't hear about Trekkies or Whoovians talking about their fandoms dying. They talk about the newest movie/show, and how it does/doesn't measure up to the older productions, but they're not afraid of the fandoms going away. That's simply not possible at this point. 

 

So will 'Bronies' survive as a fandom? Going by G1-3, Hasbro won't wait very long after G4 ends before G5 spins up, and it will go in yet another different direction. There was G3.5 stuff coming out (Newborn Cuties) when Hasbro was negotiating with Lauren Faust about G4. FiM came out only a year after the last G3.5 thing was broadcast. And each half-generation is at least a partial reboot with a new setting and concepts backing it up. Bronies are going to have a tough time with that kind of fast transition. The fandom will shrink, naturally, and a lot will transition to being general MLP fans; joining the pre-existing MLP fandom that is still there for G1-3, and will be there for G5+.

 

There will always be a core Brony fandom for FiM, but whether they grow to being a large fandom of their own independent of Hasbro's IP in the same way as Star Trek and Doctor Who... that's hard to tell. They have the potential, but at the moment it's far too dependent on 'Horse-famous' creators. When a single website, video, art, or music producer is capable of doing serious damage to the fandom through drama, it simply shows that the fandom isn't mature enough yet to stand on it's own. Trekkies and Whoovians went through that stage too way back when, but they got past it. If the Brony fandom is to thrive, they have to move past that too.

[EmeraldStar04 250]

Sad, old, and dying, just like the Star Trek fandom.

 

...Lol, jk. True bronies will be here forever.

[Steve Piranha 28,926]

I dunno if there'll be a few dedicated fans like the Earthbound series still making content, or moving on and eventually the fandom fades from existence

[Whirlwind 1,048]

I may have said this before, but in case nobody heard. The My Little Pony fandom is certainly the best fandom

I've participated in

[BastementSparkle 20,312]

The fandom will more than likely shrink after the end of G4, if there is an end that is. However I doubt it will die, there will likely be some very dedicated and loyal fans sticking around despite everything, and there will also probably still be a few new fans joining in even after the end, though probably at a much smaller rate than ever.

 

 So, basically, we'd probably end up with a way smaller, but more devoted than ever fanbase.

[KiraTakahashi 748]

Just like any other Fandom people will leave, but the true fans will stay.

[Cheval 61]

I saw a Star Trek Convention a year ago. This one ain't going anywhere.

[Megas 27,116]

It'll probably shrink but won't die off entirely. 

[Scootaloo Is Best Filly 576]

It will shrink most likely. But, there will still be conventions and meet ups where Bronies play and reminisce on what the show was. And then 4.5 or generation five will come out and perhaps make the group/ fandom bigger.i don't think the fandom will ever truly "die"

[Lucky Bolt 34,957]

It may shrink a little, yes, but I'm sure there will be lots of people who will continue to be G4 fans. I know I will always be a G4 fan, even if G5 arrives. I just wonder... what will G5 be like, if it does come.... it's just one of those pony mysteries.

[Feather Data 131]

As long as Hasbro keeps making money off of FiM it is not going to stop

It may shrink a little, yes, but I'm sure there will be lots of people who will continue to be G4 fans. I know I will always be a G4 fan, even if G5 arrives. I just wonder... what will G5 be like, if it does come.... it's just one of those pony mysteries.

was split into Generations due to lack of success. g4 is the one that brought it success

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

I definitely think the fandom is gonna stay alive after the show ends. As long as art, music and games are being pushed out, we'll keep the fire burning!

[Le Trotteur Sauvage 13,049]

I'm enjoying the show and what we have here, this fandom really matters to me, in fact, I don't even want to think that one day, all this will end !