Worldbuilding Vs Plot Construction—Which Comes First?

Watching the film Stardust (2007) got me thinking.

Attending a session with one of my writer’s groups this past weekend also got me thinking.

Which comes first: worldbuilding or plot elements?

In Stardust, there is a magical item called the Babylon Candle. Essentially, this can bring the holders wherever they want to go if they light it and imagine/think of their destinations. Did Neil Gaiman think of this item when he was pre-writing/building the world of this tale? Or did he create it on the spot because it connected/resolved/moved along plot points?

Before I discuss this any further, I must first introduce the two types of writers: a planner and a pantser, and something in between (plantser). A writer who is a planner plans everything. A pantser writes by inspiration alone, or by the seat of their pants; hence, pantser. A plotser or pantser is somewhere in between, where the writer plans some of what they’re writing and let inspiration allow them to finish it. Or something along those lines. Neil Gaiman is/was a plantser, which makes perfect sense here.

As a writer, I am a pantser, but the direction my stories take are organic. Being a pantser means not being constrained by The Outline. You have the freedom to go where your characters, intuition and imagination leads you. Your characters become very real and have very real voices that will argue with you if you don't go where they think you should. This often makes for surprising stories/plot points/narratives. Case in point, during the writers’ group meeting last Saturday, I did not as of yet know how one particular plot strand would work out (how the villain learned their skills which were particular to the plot). After discussing other plot strands with my fellow writers, the resolution to this appeared. I took copious notes and retyped them in a Google document (as part of my process).

Unfortunately, I will never know this answer, because our world is no Ectoverse, and I cannot commune with Gaiman’s ghost. My guess is that, since he was a plantser, he thought of it when he was in the writing zone, organically, as he wrote the scenes and events of Stardust.

But the question still stands. Not unlike the age-old controversy involving eggs and chickens, do writers worldbuild before writing, or add to it/develop it as they go?

(Image found at: https://thejohnfox.com/2021/03/how-to-master-worldbuilding-a-guide-to-science-fiction-and-fantasy/)