Whether or not you like them or vehemently despise them, cinematic franchises are a cornerstone of the fashionable movie business.
Virtually for the reason that invention of the digital camera, movie executives have lengthy expressed enthusiasm on the thought of manufacturing financially viable sequels to money in on the success of a profitable title. In some circumstances, this savvy enterprise apply has produced artistically and culturally related movie sequence which have captivated tens of millions of viewers throughout the globe, together with Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, and your complete Marvel Cinematic Universe. In different situations, nevertheless, this apply has ushered in more and more formulaic movie sequence which have earned widespread derision from followers, such because the latter Jaws movies, Resident Evil, Paranormal Exercise, and the endless Transformers sequels.
Whereas there’s no scarcity of outstanding, globally famend movie franchises on the planet, there additionally exist numerous failed makes an attempt to create large-scale cinematic sequence able to entrancing audiences the world over. From short-lived family-friendly fantasy movies to mainstream superhero epics, listed here are seven formidable film franchises that shortly collapsed earlier than a correct conclusion.
The Unique Narnia Sequence
For the previous seven a long time, C.S. Lewis’s Narnia sequence has remained the benchmark for younger grownup literature, influencing dozens of novels, films, comedian books, and video video games within the years since its launch. Given the Narnia sequence’ celebrated fame amongst modern readers, Disney shrewdly tried to adapt the books right into a full-fledged movie sequence with 2005’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. A fantasy epic in the identical mould as The Lord of the Rings, audiences’ constructive reception in direction of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ultimately ensured two sequels within the type of 2008’s Prince Caspian and 2010’s The Voyage of the Daybreak Treader. Sadly, progress on a fourth installment stalled after Daybreak Treader’s disappointing field workplace efficiency. Although producers initially deliberate to greenlight a fourth movie based mostly on Lewis’s The Silver Chair, the undertaking languished in growth hell till Netflix introduced their very own adaptation of Narnia within the early 2020s, slicing quick any risk of one other entry within the sequence.
The First Iteration of His Darkish Supplies
Twelve years earlier than HBO’s beautiful adaptation of His Darkish Supplies, New Line Cinema supplied their very own cinematic tackle Philip Pullman’s best-selling YA fantasy sequence with 2007’s The Golden Compass. A largely trustworthy recreation of the primary ebook in Pullman’s sequence, New Line initially meant The Golden Compass to be the primary in a three-part movie sequence, adopted by quick diversifications of The Refined Knife and The Amber Spyglass. After the movie’s less-than-remarkable vital response and poor monetary efficiency, nevertheless, New Line instantly halted the sequence, ixnaying any probability for a sequel to observe in The Golden Compass’s wake.
Disney’s John Carter Adaptation
Whereas most individuals readily credit score Star Wars because the definitive entry within the house opera subgenre, fashionable studios have regularly challenged themselves to supply a sci-fi journey movie as singularly nice as George Lucas’s blockbuster franchise. Working example with Disney’s 2012 movie, John Carter, a rip-roaring adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s widespread Barsoom sci-fi sequence from the primary half of the twentieth century. As probably the most costly movies ever made, Disney clearly had excessive hopes for John Carter’s potential as a viable journey sequence. Despite its formidable nature, immersive particular results, and hovering soundtrack, John Carter’s underwhelming worldwide gross pressured Disney to cancel deliberate diversifications of Burroughs’s Gods of Mars and Warlord of Mars, prematurely ending the Barsoom trilogy after a single mediocre movie.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
Watching Sony’s Spider-Man Universe unfold in real-time has been about as tragic as witnessing Kevin Malone spill his patented chili in The Workplace after which desperately making an attempt to scoop it again into the pot. With six movies beneath their belt thus far, none of Sony’s Spider-Man-related films have gained vital traction amongst audiences, leaving superhero followers and informal viewers alike disillusioned with the flicks’ lackluster high quality. Following the severely destructive response of 2024’s Madame Net, Venom: The Final Dance, and Kraven the Hunter, Sony has reportedly jettisoned their plans for future continuations within the SSU, though the studios’ Spider-Noir TV sequence is seemingly nonetheless shifting ahead at MGM+.
The Final Airbender Movie Sequence
Few administrators have skilled the identical variety of profession highs and lows as M. Night time Shyamalan. Usually hailed as probably the most widespread filmmakers of the twenty first century, Shyamalan has produced greater than his share of disastrously-received movies as effectively, together with Girl within the Water, The Occurring, After Earth, and 2010’s The Final Airbender. Concerning the latter, Paramount Footage meant The Final Airbender to be the primary of a number of films based mostly on Nickelodeon’s fan-favorite Avatar: The Final Airbender animated sequence. Following the unwaveringly hostile reception Shyamalan’s model of The Final Airbender confronted upon its launch, Paramount shortly rolled again their resolution to helm extra movies within the franchise. To this present day, many followers proceed to quote The Final Airbender as an uninspired, surprisingly problematic tackle the Avatar universe, with some even going as far as to explain it as one of many worst films ever made.
Common’s Darkish Universe
Virtually a century after Common’s traditional Thirties monster films, the studio tried a recent overhaul of their numerous horror properties beginning with 2017’s The Mummy remake (and retroactively 2014’s Dracula Untold). In keeping with Common’s preliminary plans, their Darkish Universe would act as an up to date tackle their most well-known characters – together with Russell Crowe’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Johnny Depp’s Invisible Man, and Javier Bardem’s Frankenstein’s Monster – related in scope and interconnectivity as Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Following The Mummy’s disastrous vital and monetary shortcomings, Common canceled any plans for any additional sequels or spinoffs, retooling The Invisible Man as a standalone horror movie and recycling the Darkish Universe title for a horror-themed land in Orlando’s Common Epic Universe amusement park.
The Whole DCEU
In its earliest levels, Zack Snyder hoped that DC’s Prolonged Universe may rival the vital attraction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by the mid 2010s. Reigniting the decades-long rivalry between the 2 comedian giants, Snyder promptly launched a number of main entries in his fledgling shared cinematic universe with Man of Metal, Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice, and 2017’s Justice League. In a sequence stuffed with false begins, crippling setbacks, and conflicting inventive visions, the DCEU tragically by no means measured as much as one of the best the MCU needed to supply. Relatively than overseeing movies that matched the widespread esteem of The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, or Marvel’s Spider-Man movies, the DCEU caved in on itself with wave after wave of painfully boring field workplace flops. Whereas DC’s new studio head James Gunn has since spelled out renewed hope for a cohesive DC universe, comedian ebook followers can solely marvel what may need been had the DCEU lived as much as Snyder’s larger-than-life expectations.