Some movies are lucky enough to become a huge hit with great potential for a sequel, only for those plans to get scrapped for one reason or another. On the other hand, some movies are released with the intention of building an entire franchise, only to be met with poor box office returns, a negative reception from critics and audiences, or other circumstances that ultimately crush those dreams. Either scenario happens more often than Hollywood would like to admit, as you can see from the plentiful examples we have collected here.
Alex Rider
Younger fans of the James Bond movies got to see what a version of 007 from their demographic would be like with author Anthony Horowitz’s “Alex Rider” series. Unfortunately, the 2006 adaptation of the first novel, Stormbreaker — starring Alex Pettyfer — was also the last of the teen spy’s big screen adventures after it earned a 36% Rotten Tomatoes score and disastrously low domestic earnings, according to Box Office Mojo.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Unmatched box office expectations and dismal critical reception for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as well as Andrew Garfield being “let go” for his last-minute absence at a Sony event in Brazil (according to The Guardian), led to the discontinuation of the Marvel web-slinger’s second big screen franchise, which was also meant to include multiple spin-offs like a Sinister Six movie. However, there has been recent demand for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 since Garfield reprised the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The Cat In The Hat
The Mike Myers-led The Cat in the Hat actually did make an impressive dollar at the box office in 2003 and talk of a sequel was on the table. However, according to Today, Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel’s widow, Audrey, agreed with most critics that it was not one of the best Dr. Seuss movies and, as a result, refused to allow Hollywood to make any more live-action adaptations of her husband’s book.
Chicken Little
There was a time when many of Disney’s greatest animated movies received straight-to-home-video sequels by DisneyToon Studios and 2005’s sci-fi take on Chicken Little, starring Zach Braff, was going to get the same treatment. That was until John Lasseter took over Walt Disney Animation in 2006 and, according to story artist Tod Carter’s interview with Animated Views, canceled all of DisneyToon’s intended follow-ups, ultimately bringing the sky down on Chicken Little 2.
The Chronicles Of Narnia
How an entire alternate dimension exists in a wardrobe is not as big a mystery as why we never saw more Chronicles of Narnia movies past the adaptations of the first three books in the fantasy series. In 2011, Walden Media lost the rights to author C.S. Lewis’ novels, which were passed on to Sony, whose planned Silver Chair movie got lost in development hell.
Dark Universe
Star and producer Tom Cruise’s 2017 update of The Mummy was actually one of several attempts to build an MCU-style revival of Universal’s classic monster movies called The Dark Universe. Yet, after it tanked, the studio went back to the drawing board, and it does not appear to have given up on the concept completely with ongoing projects like Ryan Gosling’s Wolfman reboot and Radio Silence’s secret monster movie.
Divergent
Some YA novel-inspired movie series die after the first or second installment, but the Divergent franchise was one movie shy of completion before the second and third films’ diminishing box office returns prompted the idea of finishing the franchise as a TV special that never happened. In 2021, producer Neil Burger told the ReelBlend podcast that he has little faith in a fourth film, which would have told the second half of the final book in Veronica Roth’s trilogy, Allegiant.
Ender’s Game
Ender’s Game is the first in a beloved coming-of-age sci-fi novel series that was brought to the big screen in 2013, but saw a bitter end following a box office performance that was not so out-of-this-world. According to The Guardian, protests of the film in response to author Orson Scott Card’s homophobic opinions may have sealed its downfall.
Eragon
Fans of Christopher Paolini’s best-selling, four-part fantasy series (The Inheritance Cycle) agreed with most critics that the 2006 adaptation of the first book, Eragon, was a derivative mess. Following the poor reception and underwhelming domestic box office, all planned sequels were scrapped, but Variety reported in 2022 that a Disney+ TV series reboot is in development.
Fantastic Four (2015)
Tim Story’s Fantastic Four movies from the early 2000s were not widely beloved by any stretch, but they look like Avengers: Endgame compared to the critical and commercial reception of Josh Trank’s 2015 reboot. Forbes reported in November of that year that a follow-up to the behind-the-scenes-drama-ridden comic book movie set for summer 2017 was taken off of Fox’s release schedule, paving the way for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four movie from director Matt Shakman.
Forrest Gump
Director Robert Zemeckis’ Best Picture Oscar winner from 1994 stands just fine on its own, but we almost saw more of Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump. In 2008, Eric Roth told SlashFilm that he submitted a screenplay for Gump &. Co. — based on author Winston Groom’s sequel novel — the night before the tragic events of September 11, 2001, which convinced him, Zemeckis, and Hanks that the material was no longer relevant.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
While proud of his 2011 version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, according to EW, director David Fincher still thinks of it as a “swing and a miss,” given its underwhelming earnings killed plans for two sequels. Sony’s next English-language Lisbeth Salander movie was a 2018 adaptation of David Lagercrantz’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web, but at least the late Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy could be fully realized for Swedish cinema.
Green Lantern
Before finding a comic book movie sweet spot with 2016’s Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds starred in one of the biggest critical and commercial failures in DC movie history, Green Lantern. Sinestro actor Mark Strong later revealed he was bummed to learn his villainous turn in the post-credits sequence would amount to nothing when Warner Bros. scrapped plans for a trilogy, as ScreenRant recalls.
Hairspray
The beloved 2007 adaptation Hairspray, the stage musical based on John Waters’ 1988 comedy, was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but, as director Adam Shankman revealed to the U.K. Press Association in 2010, New Line Cinema pulled the plug on Hairspray 2: White Lipstick. Years later, Waters revealed to Variety (via X) that he had written another sequel for HBO that was not picked up either.
His Dark Materials
Before the popular fantasy novel trilogy, His Dark Materials became a hit HBO show, it almost became a film trilogy before New Line Cinema canceled its plans after The Golden Compass’ 2007 release. When speaking to the Evening Standard (via The Guardian), star Sam Elliot blamed the Catholic Church’s criticism of author Philip Kaufman’s anti-religious stance, while the film’s 42% RT score and underwhelming domestic earnings could have also contributed.
John Carter
While now regarded as one of Taylor Kitsch’s best movies, 2012’s underrated adventure, John Carter, was a failure with critics and audiences at the time, leading to the planned trilogy’s failure to launch. As Collider reported, director Andrew Stanton later revealed his sequels to the adaptation of A Princess of Mars would be called Gods of Mars and Warlord of Mars.
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
Despite Dwayne Johnson’s reputation for giving franchises a boost, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island — his 2012 sequel to 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth — was not quite the success he hoped for. As the actor personally confirmed in 2018 on X (then still called Twitter), he had no active plans for a follow-up, which would have taken inspiration from another Jules Verne novel called, From the Earth to the Moon.
Jumper
One of the most famous (or infamous) Hayden Christensen movies outside of Star Wars turned out to be a lesson in not jumping ahead of yourself. As SyFy recalls, Jumper was conceived as a trilogy. However, after not quite making the money it hoped for and getting torn apart by critics, the 2008 sci-fi thriller was forced to stand alone.
King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword
Guy Ritchie’s attempt at a fantasy epic was meant to be the first installment in a shared universe of adventures taking place in Camelot. Unfortunately, as THR recalls, the Charlie Hunnam-led King Arthur Legend of the Sword was one of the biggest bombs of the 2017 summer, both critically and commercially.
The Last Airbender
Because it is often cited as M. Night Shyamalan’s worst movie (let alone an all-time stinker), there are likely quite a few moviegoers relieved that his plans to follow up The Last Airbender — as he described to MTV News — never came to be. Fans of Nickelodeon’s original animated series who are still curious to see the story retold to completion in live-action will get the chance when Netflix’s upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender reboot premieres.
Percy Jackson And The Olympians
There were five books in Rick Riordan’s fantasy novel series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, when the first adaptation — 2010’s The Lightning Thief — hit theaters. However, only two movies were made in total, because of even more diminishing returns, critically and commercially, with 2013’s Sea of Monsters. Thankfully, it appears that Disney+’s upcoming Percy Jackson TV show will be more faithful to the now seven books of source material.
Power Rangers
Dean Israelite shared with EW that Saban had a six-movie arc in mind before he was officially brought on to helm the 2017 Power Rangers reboot. Forbes would report later that the chance of those five sequels was highly unlikely. However, that does not mean we have seen the last of these young, costumed defenders of justice… just not this version of them.
Sahara
Director Breck Eisner shared in 2005 that he felt good about his chances to helm a Sahara sequel, which was already in active development at the time. Unfortunately, the Matthew McConaughey-led action flick suffered underwhelming box office returns and, according to Den of Geek, author Clive Cussler’s lawsuit against Paramount for using a script without his approval, which has since kept Dirk Pitt from having more big-screen adventures.
A Series Of Unfortunate Events
According to Variety, Paramount and Nickelodeon Films hoped author Lemony Snicket’s (née Daniel Handler) popular YA saga, A Series of Unfortunate Events, could be their answer to Harry Potter. However, no follow-ups to the 2004 film — based on the first three books — ever materialized. Eventually, the Baudelaires’ 13-volume story was adapted into a Netflix original series, which proved to be a more fitting translation of the source material anyway.
Valerian
The French comic that inspired popular sci-fi movies like Star Wars finally came to the big screen with 2017’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Unfortunately, director Luc Besson’s passion project did not break even at the box office making his hope for a sequel seem like a lost cause at this point.
City Of Ember
Director Gil Kenan’s 2008 adaptation of Jeanne DuPrau’s The City of Ember — the first in a series of YA dystopian novels — was met with mixed reviews, but was also a box office disaster. Thus, the chance for a sequel — which stars Saoirse Ronan and Tim Robbins told iO9 they would open to return for — went out like a light.
Prince Of Persia
As ScreenRant recalls, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time actually became the all-time highest-grossing video game movie in 2010 with more than $336 million worldwide. However, the earnings were unmatched by the $200 million budget and additional marketing costs. That, as well as poor reviews and criticisms of white-washing, sunk Disney’s original plans for Jake Gyllenhaal (who learned a lot from working the adventure film) to lead a Pirates of the Caribbean-style franchise.
I Am Number Four
Alex Pettyfer’s second attempt at leading a YA adaptation after Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker was the sci-fi adventure, I Am Number Four, which made only $55 million domestically on a budget between $50-60 million. It was also not well received by critics or audiences, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Thus, as screenwriter Marti Noxon told Collider (via Contact Music), plans to adapt the book’s sequel, The Power of Six, were shelved.
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
It is surprising enough that Gladiator is getting a sequel, but to learn that there was talk of turning another Russell Crowe-led period epic into a franchise from ScreenRant is equally amusing. The Oscar-nominated Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World did not make quite enough money in 2003 to warrant a follow-up. But, according to Deadline, a prequel has been in the works since 2021.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2010s)
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise continued on the big screen with 2023’s animated Mutant Mayhem, but there was hope to see it continue in live-action in the 2010s. Producer Andrew Ford explained to Collider that the underperformance of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows killed chances for more of the Michael Bay-produced series.
When reviewing these stories, two important lessons come to mind: sometimes, it pays to start things off thinking small and some good things are best left alone.