Master Index of Archived Threads


Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 09:32 AM

DOA franchises, off top of my head: [list][*]Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins[/*:m] [*]VI Warshawsky[/*:m] [*]Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World[/*:m] [*]Lost in Space[/*:m] [*]Quigley Down Under[/*:m] [*]Young Sherlock Holmes[/*:m] [*]Flash Gordon[/*:m] [*]Zero Effect[/*:m][/list:u]

TransMonk Oct 18 2011 09:48 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Masters of the Universe (1987) From wiki: Cannon Films intended to create a sequel, which is indicated after the end credits when it is revealed that Skeletor in fact survives his fall. The low budget ($4.5 million) project that was to be directed (back to back with their aborted "Spider-Man" movie) by Albert Pyun was abandoned when Cannon wouldn't pay for Mattel's fees and the production used the already-made costumes and sets for the low budget sci-fi movie Cyborg.

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 09:51 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Nice one. Almost forgot: Legend of the Lone Ranger.

Vic Sage Oct 18 2011 10:12 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Howard the Duck! and Ralph Bakshi's animated LORD OF THE RINGS... it ends right in the middle of the story, putting off the conclusion to a sequel that never got made.

Frayed Knot Oct 18 2011 10:17 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Mel Brooks' 'History of the World - Part 1' OK, I'm actually kidding on that one, although I remember when it first came out somebody saying to me, 'I can't believe that this movie isn't even out yet and they're already planning for the sequel' All I could do was shake my head.

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 10:18 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

They seem so lonely when they come on late night cable. Films bursting with exposition to lay the groundwork for stories that would never follow. The Avengers (1998) The Saint (1997) King Solomon's Mines (1985)

Benjamin Grimm Oct 18 2011 10:23 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

The Rocketeer Daredevil

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 10:26 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Rocketeer sits pretty nicely on it's own, though, and if Didney was planning to roll out sequels that never materialized, the film doesn't bang it's chest about it.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 18 2011 10:33 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

The Rocketeer was intended to be a franchise, but it didn't do well at the box office. And that's a shame; it was a nice little movie. I bought it on DVD a few years ago for my kids to watch and they both liked it a lot. As did I.

metirish Oct 18 2011 10:35 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Monsters, Inc. For the life of me I can't fathom why there has been no sequel, and we watched again the other night....my son often calls me "Sully" in that Mike Wazowski voice.....

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 10:36 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

I agree on the Rocketdude. I'm not sure it's a shame that it didn't sprout sequels however. They likely would've diappointed.

metirish Oct 18 2011 10:37 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Edgy DC wrote: I agree on the Rocketdude. I'm not sure it's a shame that it didn't sprout sequels however. They likely would've diappointed. did I miss the point of the thread or what man?

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 10:40 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

No, you're gold. metirish wrote: Monsters, Inc. For the life of me I can't fathom why there has been no sequel, and we watched again the other night....my son often calls me "Sully" in that Mike Wazowski voice..... Monsters University, the prequel to Monsters, Inc., due 2013.

metirish Oct 18 2011 12:03 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

It could be awful but it could be like Toy Story, same people ?

Ceetar Oct 18 2011 01:40 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 01:44 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Was that meant to continue? Have plans for that gone away?

Ceetar Oct 18 2011 01:48 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Edgy DC wrote: Was that meant to continue? Have plans for that gone away? well, there are 5 more books in the trilogy. There are no plans for the second book. Adams had worked on the first movie some, and unsuccessfully, but died well before it was ever made. There are petitions out there for it too.

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 01:55 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Well, yeah, I know there were five books, but if the film wasn't conceived with the intent to start a franchise, I don't put it in the same category as, say, Lost in Space, where the actors all signed on for three films.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 18 2011 02:00 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Superman Returns

Ceetar Oct 18 2011 02:06 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Edgy DC wrote: Well, yeah, I know there were five books, but if the film wasn't conceived with the intent to start a franchise, I don't put it in the same category as, say, Lost in Space, where the actors all signed on for three films. 6, but okay then. [crossout]Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy[/crossout]

TransMonk Oct 18 2011 02:17 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

RealityChuck Oct 18 2011 02:20 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension promised a sequel, though I don't know how serious they were.

seawolf17 Oct 18 2011 02:20 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Edgy DC wrote: No, you're gold. metirish wrote: Monsters, Inc. For the life of me I can't fathom why there has been no sequel, and we watched again the other night....my son often calls me "Sully" in that Mike Wazowski voice..... Monsters University, the prequel to Monsters, Inc., due 2013. I'm actually really excited for this. The sequel to The Incredibles hasn't panned out, though.

Edgy MD Oct 18 2011 02:24 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

I tend to think of Superman Returns as the capping of a franchise. But while it may be that story-wise, I guess yeah, it does qualify, business-wise, as a failed launch of a new franchise. Which is somethinng, considering that it made crazy amounts of money.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Oct 18 2011 09:26 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Edgy DC wrote: I tend to think of Superman Returns as the capping of a franchise. But while it may be that story-wise, I guess yeah, it does qualify, business-wise, as a failed launch of a new franchise. Which is somethinng, considering that it made crazy amounts of money. I remember this as the costume-fetishwork that indirectly gave us f*cking Brett Ratner's take on the f*cking Dark Phoenix Saga. There will never be another-- much less a proper-- take on Dark Phoenix, and it's all because Singer wanted to put Brandon Routh in a codpiece and on a pedestal. (I recall BetterHalfer-- a gal with significant production-management experience-- turning to me halfway through the flick and saying, "So... the director's doing this guy, isn't he?")

RealityChuck Oct 19 2011 07:13 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Elektra.

Edgy MD Oct 19 2011 07:43 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Yeah, def. I suppose you could view it as a sequel to Daredevil, therefore redeeming DD from the fate of failed franchises. But it's not a sequel so much as a spinoff. A failed franchise spun off from a failed franchise. Ouch. The happiness of their marriage must be based on agreeing not to speak of these films.

sharpie Oct 24 2011 11:35 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

The Golden Compass which was part one of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. Looks like the other two won't be made anytime soon.

Vic Sage Oct 24 2011 11:38 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

i just watched PUSH, with Chris Evans, which sets up a "HEROES" like cosmology with super-powered folks being rounded up and indoctrinated by the government. It definitely signals its intention to be a setup for a sequel, leaving the story unfinished. And it sucked enough for no sequel to be forthcoming.

seawolf17 Oct 24 2011 06:37 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

sharpie wrote: The Golden Compass which was part one of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. Looks like the other two won't be made anytime soon. Enjoyed the books.

sharpie Oct 25 2011 08:17 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Yeah, the books were great. My kids were really into them as well. The movie wasn't very good and pissed off fans of the book by changing the ending.

RealityChuck Oct 25 2011 01:25 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Battlefield Earth. Mention of a possible sequel was made during production, and it's clear from the ending that Travolta could have come back as the villain. The fact the the film got some of the worst reviews in human history, and was a flop of impressive magnitude put an end to that pretty quick.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 25 2011 02:12 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Sequels have little to do with whether the material it follows is any good, right? In Hollywood anyway every flick is a potential series.

Edgy MD Oct 25 2011 02:21 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Every Sylvester Stallone movie anyhow. But some of them are built as the establishment of a series, with 75% of the content laid out as exposition, and the actors signed to three-picture deals and such. Many of them are even bankrolled with the idea that if they over-invest in the first film, they'll make up for it in the subsequent ones. And that's particularly sad, wasting all your jizz looking to the future, and not caring as much about the bird in hand.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 25 2011 02:24 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

It's probably still a bit early to call this one, but my hunch is that Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief will qualify for this category.

RealityChuck Oct 26 2011 08:07 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Sequels have little to do with whether the material it follows is any good, right? In Hollywood anyway every flick is a potential series. You're correct about the quality -- sequels are often made from awful films. But the main factor is the profitability. There used to be a fairly reliable formula about how much money a sequel would make, given the box office of the first film. If that number was less than what the film would cost, the sequel wasn't made. I'd say that formula is no longer reliable, but the principle remains the same: if the first film tanks, no one's going to invest in the second in the hope it will do better.

Edgy MD Oct 26 2011 08:19 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

I think the formula was that you could count on 60% of the box office of the prior film. But Superman Returns grossed something like $400 million, and yet they pulled the plug on the franchise. You can't make a sequel to that for under $240 million? Who are you? James Cameron?

Fman99 Oct 26 2011 07:32 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Still mad that Flash Gordon didn't spawn four or five sequels with Brian Blessed, Timothy Dalton, the return of Max Von Sydow and album after album of kickass Queen songs. Perhaps my favorite childhood superhero movie, with all apologies to General Zod and Co.

Edgy MD Sep 10 2012 07:55 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Edgy DC wrote: And that's particularly sad, wasting all your jizz looking to the future, and not caring as much about the bird in hand. What a clumsy pile of mixed metaphor that was. Anyhow, add John Carter of Mars to the roster of failed serials. I'm watching DVDs of an early franchise smash in William Powell and Myrna Loy's The Thin Man. It becomes boringly formulaic early on, but Powell's just great. The only problem is that he spends so much time in each film not wanting to be dragged out of his cocktail-soaked retirement, that right under his nose a missing person case escalates to murder, or a murder escalates to a triple murder, while he and his wife trade insouciant quips. Some detective he is. Part of the job is getting the perp before the bodies pile up, Nick.

Mets – Willets Point Sep 10 2012 09:02 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events managed to dramatize the first three of thirteen books in the series but it looks like no more will be made (which is good since these books deserve better than a "whacky Jim Carrey vehicle").

The Second Spitter Sep 10 2012 08:14 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

Unbreakable -quite possibly the only movie that I lament a lack of sequel. And the script for the sequel exists. Shame.

Frayed Knot Sep 18 2012 09:28 PM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

There appears to have been just a single 'Terry and the Pirates' movie done back in 1940, although at Five Hours Long maybe that qualifies for a series all by itself. I know there was talk of doing one about 10 years ago and maybe that would have spawned a franchise but I guess that first one never got off the ground.

Edgy MD Sep 19 2012 07:01 AM Re: Film Serial Franchises That Died After One

I'm going to guess that it may add up to five hours but was actually originally released in 15 one-reel 20-minute installments.