20 movie franchises that never were
Failed film series include 'Speed Racer,' 'The Shadow,' 'Jonah Hex' and more
20 franchises that never were
Film franchises are a tricky thing. Hollywood loves to jump on bandwagons, and every time a book series is turned into a "Harry Potter"-sized juggernaut or an old TV show becomes the basis for a megahit like "Transformers," the studios begin scouring previously published material for potential franchises. However, for every "Batman" or "Twilight," there's a "Jonah Hex" or a "Sahara." Here, we take a look at 20 potential franchises that stalled after just one film.
Pictured: "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai," "The Spirit" and "Speed Racer."
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December 31, 2011 at 3:11AM EST Reply to CommentYou can count me among the staunch defenders of "Speed Racer." I think it's sort of amazing, and will be well-remembered.
That Werewolf Guy Same here. It is maybe 10-15 minutes too long, but it's one of the most innovative and most of all FUN movies of the last decade!
December 31, 2011 at 3:50AM ESTMonty Jack Speed Racer is an unendurable piece of candy-coated SHIT. How anyone involved thought it would make money (let alone launch a franchise) is beyond me, as even the hipster cult that briefly formed around the show in the early 90's was a good 15 years in the past by the time the movie was finally released. Maybe if I were ten, I might have gotten some enjoyment out of it (God knows I grew up on a lot of badly-dubbed anime crap back in the 80's), but as an adult viewer, it was PAINFUL to sit through. Michael Giacchino's score was the lone bright spot.
December 31, 2011 at 1:05PM ESTracer x Speed Racer was an exciting movie with great visuals, it is worth watching again so I purchased the DVD. Chim Chim and Sprittle were brilliant.
January 17, 2012 at 4:39PM ESTZacharyTF
December 31, 2011 at 3:34AM EST Reply to CommentOut of all of these, the only two I would like to see a sequel to is Master and Commander and Mystery Men.
That Werewolf Guy I agree about the MYSTERY MEN sequel. (Haven't seen MASTER & COMMANDER.)
December 31, 2011 at 3:53AM ESTElizabeth
December 31, 2011 at 3:43AM EST Reply to CommentEragon is a decent book series.. but the execution of the film was TERRIBLE. There were so many things wrong with the film.. from casting to non-pointed eared elves. They should just scratch this film all together and start over.
Michael Eragon was pretty terrible, but fun to watch just to see all the ways in which it ripped off Star Wars. I had no trouble believing that it was written by a 13-year-old boy.
December 31, 2011 at 9:12AM ESTbob I can't believe Lucas never went after the author of those books ... such a blatant rip-off!
January 11, 2012 at 4:52PM ESTJose Solis Well, BOB, considering how many myths and legends Lucas himself "ripped off", Lucas couldn't really say anything. Certain things are repeated over and over in epic tales. It's a totally different setting. Would you say that Tolkein was a rip off of The Ring of the Nibelung? Myths are myths: they will just be back, resistance is futile, so enjoy the ride, feel the force, call your espectro patronus, be afraid, very afraid, and hasta la vista, baby.
January 14, 2012 at 1:17PM ESTJason Patrick
December 31, 2011 at 4:08AM EST Reply to CommentOf course the creator of Lemony Snicket's was unhappy. The film adaptation was terrible. It turned me off of the books after I saw the film.
Rachael
December 31, 2011 at 5:02AM EST Reply to CommentIt's not on this list, but Inkheart is another fantasy novel turned movie that didn't go so well. Other old show adaptations that may or may not have originally been slated to have sequels, but never have made sequels are Bewitched, The Honeymooners, and Dukes of Hazzard.
Gerry Actually Dukes of Hazzard had a direct-to-video prequel so I guess it doesn't count as one movie...
December 31, 2011 at 8:39AM ESTIsabel I agree for inkheart...i went opening day with my friend cause we were really excited to see it...and when we walked out we were very dissapointed. They did horribly with the adaptation!!
December 31, 2011 at 11:07AM ESTtopaz I actually kind of liked inkheart... It was pretty good for such a low-budget movie. However, the ending was so lame, the movie lost most if its appeal. Maybe I liked the movie because I didn't like the books at all, though.
December 31, 2011 at 12:34PM ESTJose Solis Bewitched COULD have been a good movie. But it was one of the worst I've ever seen. The WORST part of it, was the selection of Samantha's husband, done by one of the worst comedians EVER (yes, I know white people from the US seem to love him, but the rest of the world is always wondering WHY?) I was SO upset by the portrayal of that character, and by so many changes they did to try to bring it up to date... It just didn't work. The fight of women lib was one of the main themes of the show and it was almost completely lost in the film.
January 14, 2012 at 1:24PM ESTLuke
December 31, 2011 at 5:07AM EST Reply to CommentWhat about "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman"? I remember there being big hype for it and I actually enjoyed it enough to see a sequel, of course I'll watch anything with Sean Connery... Besides "The Avengers" (See Above.)
Makenzie Oh I agree! I heard it did better overseas than it I'd in the us, but I target liked it, even though the majority of America didn't
December 31, 2011 at 12:29PM ESTElevation I think it's watchable on a weekend afternoon on FX but LOEG was such a disappointing way for Connery to wrap up the career. He was just trying to make up for gandalf error
January 1, 2012 at 12:39AM ESTDavid
December 31, 2011 at 5:15AM EST Reply to CommentThey forgot to include Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. 90 min of origin story, 10 min of fighting bad guys.
A Helpful Citizen It was 121 minutes long, so it's actually more lop-sided than you suggested: 111 minutes of origin story, 10 minutes of fighting bad guys (and really lame ones at that). That being said, I have a real soft spot for it. Fred Ward is a great Remo, Joel Grey was utterly hilarious as Chiun, and J.A. Preston and Wilford Brimley were simply perfect as his shadowy handlers. If it had wound up in more competent hands than Guy Hamilton and Christopher Wood, I think it would have had a real shot at becoming a viable franchise. Hell, there were roughly eleventy billion books in that series ("The Destroyer") to choose from, and quite why they went with such a damp squib of a premise for their maiden outing will forever mystify me.
December 31, 2011 at 8:06AM ESTI do hear that Shane Black is a big fan of the novels, however...
Fastbak I liked the theme music.
December 31, 2011 at 5:43PM ESTJames Elford
December 31, 2011 at 7:00AM EST Reply to CommentLost in Space, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Unbreakable
Peter
December 31, 2011 at 7:20AM EST Reply to CommentVan Helsing is another good one. I know Universal was counting on it being the revival of their monster movie series.
Slaggingham
December 31, 2011 at 7:43AM EST Reply to CommentNever forget "Serenity" a movie that deserved a sequel, that itself was a sequel to a TV show that should never have been cancelled.
Tess
December 31, 2011 at 8:43AM EST Reply to CommentPity about The Vampire Chronicles (which were supposed to stem from Interview With the Vampire). They should have just pretended 'Queen of the Damned' never happened and carried on. Neil Jordan was an excellent choice of director for this material.
LG Dacom
December 31, 2011 at 9:08AM EST Reply to CommentYou can add "Hunger Games" to the list. It's not going anywhere. DOA.
Dan Apparently, you know something the rest of the world doesn't. Are you a wizard?
December 31, 2011 at 9:17AM ESTIsabel It will definitely go somewhere...in a recent poll in entertainment weekly for most anticipated film of 2012, hunger games won...it beat *gasp* twilight! So it will definitely do good...not good, but great
December 31, 2011 at 11:04AM ESTJoe
December 31, 2011 at 10:30AM EST Reply to CommentThe Shadow was a fun little movie. Not as good as The Rocketeer, but similar in spirit. Definitely deserves a Blu-Ray release, as it has never even been on DVD in widescreen format. Come on Universal!
Isabel
December 31, 2011 at 11:01AM EST Reply to CommentWhat about alex rider: operation stormbreaker? Movie starred alex pettyfer. It could have become a series (the series is 7 or 8 books) but there was poor advertising for i never even knew it was in theaters. I only found out when it was on dvd. Also, although the casting was great, plotwise adaptation wise they couldve done a bit better. Now its too late cause alex p is too old for the part...yet ive heard he has a younger brother who looks like him :)
Shan The Alex Rider books were great when I read them five years ago. I recently watched the movie.... what a piece of shit. What an insult to the author
January 17, 2012 at 5:35PM ESTMike
December 31, 2011 at 11:25AM EST Reply to CommentYou forgot "Lost In Space" Had that been successfull, you would have seen plenty of sequels.
bob LOST IN SPACE has a great commentary on the DVD in which the producers don't even try to mask how much they hated the company they hired to the the creature FX which turned out to be truly awful. They all but blame this company for the movie's failure.
January 11, 2012 at 4:48PM ESTDrkhavok
December 31, 2011 at 11:45AM EST Reply to CommentPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time , I loved this one and wish they would try a part two . Cast was great and was one of the better films of the year i thought . Get Smart was another I want more of .....
ed w
December 31, 2011 at 1:21PM EST Reply to CommentThere was no way the Golden Compass was going to work anyway if it adhered in any way close to the books.
ed w To clarify, I'm not even referring to the religion/anti-religion controversy. But to key scenes of brutality that I can't go into without spoiling the story. Also, the first book was very well written but the next two seemed slapdash. It just wasn't good source material for a franchise.
December 31, 2011 at 1:26PM ESTAs to Master and Commander, given that the movie culled the best bits from several books it seemed like they never intended it to be a franchise.
Retrial Youre right. Peter Weir and Russel Crowe never gave any indication that they planned to do more movies of the series. It was very much "one and done".
December 31, 2011 at 4:31PM ESTErin Ed, I loved the books, but I see your point. The first is the only stand-alone book and definitely the best. The subtle knife is only there to tie the last book to the first. And it should never have been or tried to be a "kids" movie.
January 18, 2012 at 11:02AM ESTIan
December 31, 2011 at 2:36PM EST Reply to CommentMan, I really loved Master and Commander and Buckaroo Banzai. And have a real soft spot for several of these too - Dick Tracy, The Shadow, Mystery Men, etc.
craig_rowe
December 31, 2011 at 3:25PM EST Reply to CommentHere's a thought about Godzilla: make the movie with, you know, Godzilla in it. Oh, and babies? How freaking cliche. Take a note from Nolan when it comes to proven comic/sci-fi characters: respect your source material.
Monty Jack
January 1, 2012 at 12:24AM EST Reply to CommentHow about The Last Airbender? M. Night was handed this WONDERFUL source material for crafting a great movie trilogy, and he totally cocked it up. Now, no one will attempt another big screen version for the next, uh, five years or so.
bob
January 11, 2012 at 4:46PM ESTAs much as I hate to ever defend M.Night again - the failure of that movie was NOT his fault, but the studio. The movie fell victim (as have many recently) to the quick cash-grab known as post 3D conversion. Since the tech for turning a 2D film into 3D is expensive, the producers forced him to cut more than half an hour out of the film so there would be less to convert - leaving a 90minute incoherent film in its wake.
Elevation
January 1, 2012 at 12:51AM EST Reply to CommentGyllenhall was an awful choice to play Prince of Persia. That needed to be Naveen Andrews
Jonathan
January 1, 2012 at 4:11AM EST Reply to CommentI'm definitely in the minority, but I too love Speed Racer. It's the perfect adaptation of the anime that just gives me chills every time I see it, and the transitions and the way it fills in tons and tons of backstory is amazing. The editing in the first race especially.
Brian
January 7, 2012 at 9:54PM EST Reply to CommentGod damn I love Buckaroo Banzai. I was probably the exact age window where something like that would have been awesome, but it still continues to kick ass. Another honorable mention would be Nightbreed.
ken
January 9, 2012 at 4:53PM EST Reply to CommentThe Spiderwick chronicles covered all 5 books in one go, no need for more
joe Actually there are more books of spiderwick chronicles called beyond spiderwick.
January 12, 2012 at 1:42AM ESTMaria Eulalia Bello
January 9, 2012 at 8:31PM EST Reply to CommentI also defend Speed Racer. To hell with the Transformers
hop
January 9, 2012 at 8:33PM EST Reply to CommentHollywood raped me with the transformers bull.
Maddie
January 10, 2012 at 9:05AM EST Reply to CommentThe reason Spiderwick didn't become a franchise is because they made the first book with the ending of the final book, there wasn't anywhere to go. I don't think a franchise was ever intended.
joe Actually there are more books of spiderwick chronicles called beyond spiderwick.
January 12, 2012 at 1:41AM ESTbob
January 11, 2012 at 4:42PM EST Reply to CommentA lot of these failures make me sad - most notably SPEED RACER> I think it is a woefully under-appreciated. It was fast, fun, eye-catching, and had a very good heart. I think the problem is that Speed is just too nice. Apparently, we want our heroes today to be self-important, brooding, morally vague men who dwell in cities made entirely of dark, back alleys. Please forgiver SPEED RACER for trying to create an enjoyable fantasy with that rarest of the rare in Hollywood ... a positive, two-parent, father-involved family.
bob
January 11, 2012 at 4:53PM EST Reply to CommentRiddick...
bob
January 11, 2012 at 4:54PM EST Reply to CommentChronicle of Riddick says hello...
Billy There are actually 3 Riddick movies, and a 4th is in pre=production. There was Pitch Black. Cronicles of Riddick, and a cartoon movie that linked the two.
January 13, 2012 at 2:24AM EST- 1
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