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Summary
receive a franchise right is one of the operose thing to do in Hollywood , and mess of flick franchise have fall short of their potential over the old age . Sequels have always been par for the class for Hollywood blockbusters , but few of them have manage to reach the heights ofthe greatest movie franchise of all fourth dimension . In a modernistic geezerhood in which the cinematic landscape is rife with production base on pre - existing rational property , it ’s more important than ever to identify which shopworn franchises may not be worth proceed to ingeminate on .
There are plenty of film serial out there that have had an fantastically inviolable start , only to recover themselves promptly running out of steam . Often times , the first one or two entry in a serial will do much of the heavy lifting for its reputation , coasting on former glory only to fizzle out out with each new attempt at recapturing the illusion . Other times , cinematic universes will simply failto total into their own , despite their premise being mature with voltage . Few big franchises have been able to overcome the pitfall of ravage their potential and morphing into something truly great .
10The Terminator Series
James Cameron’sThe Terminatorwas an fourscore classic , catapulting Arnold Schwarzenegger into stardom with a glowering noir techno - repugnance masterpiece . Terminator 2 : Judgment Daymanaged to catapult the serial to even further heights , present one of the all - meter bang-up action mechanism picture show ever made . Unfortunately , every subsequent introduction has paled in equivalence to the original 2 films , the Terminator series even establishing different timelinesin a sleeveless attack to lead off anew over and over again . No matter how many clip the series tried , it never managed to continue the geographic expedition of Skynet ’s bleak future in a meaningful way .
9The Tron Series
The neon glow of Tron’s world fizzled out quickly
The originalTronwas an hole-and-corner sci - fi classic , whose creativeness managed to master its laughably bum peculiar effects . Almost 30 years later on , Disney’sTron : Legacyrevived the IP , hoping to plant the come for a historical action - dangerous undertaking dealership . Unfortunately , Tron : Legacyfailed to yarn-dye , and today the film is known more for being a swell Daft Punk record album than anything else . Considering the hypothesis Tron ’s digital world could ’ve reserve , it ’s a shame thatTronwas never able to manifest as at least a sizeable trilogy .
8The DCEU
Warner Brothers' MCU rival never found its footing
The DCEU seemed like it should ’ve been a sure - fire achiever for Warner Brothers , answering the Marvel Cinematic Universe ’s call to bring avid comic Koran fans to theaters in record numeral . Unfortunately , the ill - fate cinematic universe would see fumble after fumble as buff ’s frustrations lento build , and will formally come to a finish with the tone ending ofAquaman and The Lost Kingdom . It ’s really heartbreaking that Zack Snyder , being so successful with amusing book adaptations antecedently in his life history , was n’t able to make the most of birth some of the most well - known superheroes in the world under his beck and call .
7Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The mythological young adult series could’ve been the next Harry Potter
ThePercy Jacksonseries is a beloved fantasy epos that unite Greek myth into the New historic period in a daring way that inspired many young lector . Tragically , 20th Century Fox ’s duology of the same name would slaughter this strong foundation , fix everything wrong aboutPercy Thomas J. Jackson , hit egregious mistakes with the pacing and Flanderization of Percy and his friends . Considering how secure the source material was , Percy Jackson and the Olympianscould’ve rivaledHarry Potterhad Fox only direct smashing care in adapting the beloved books . Hopefully , the new Disney+Percy Jacksonserieswill follow where the movies failed .
6The Cloverfield Series
The franchise that could never decide what it wanted to be
Cloverfieldwas a find - footage kaiju film that took consultation by storm in 2008 with its evocative merchandising cause . A hearty , if not revolutionary , begin for a franchise , the followingCloverfieldfilms would engender from clearly unrelated handwriting that were reworked with a token effort to broadly speaking link as a shared mythos . The Cloverfield Paradoxwas a particularly inept fit , conk out to regenerate the nascent franchise with a clumsy multiverse story . It ’s good to sayCloverfield ’s continuation would ’ve benefit from some more intentional stories that played off of what made the first movie such an event comfortably .
5The Alien Series
Ridley Scott’s horror masterpiece bit off more than it could chew
Similar toTerminator , theAlienseries began spirit with two implausibly strong films , one claustrophobic horror movie that pushed the boundary of pragmatic outcome followed by a pulse - pound natural action picture show that up the wager alongside the traditional knowledge . Tragically , theAlienseries could n’t catch a break with a drawstring of poorly - receive sequels , not to name the canon being broken up by theAlien vs Predatorfilms . Today , Ridley Scott ’s prequels have turned theAlienfranchise into an esoteric epic that no one asked for , rather than angle into the pulpy revulsion that made the first two films so effective .
4The Robocop Series
Paul Verhoeven’s crime-busting classic fell off a cliff after the first movie
Robocopis one of the shine action film treasure of the fourscore , delight audiences into a fell sci - fi world that could extradite societal commentary and pulse - bounding gunfight in adequate mensuration . It ’s tragic that Paul Verhhoeven ’s alternative future Detroit could never again reach the same levels of quality , with the 2d and thirdRobocopfilms being bloated messes that wallowed in the trace of the original picture ’s grandness . Add in a soulless reboot in 2014 that dead lose the point of the original script , and theRobocopfranchise remains a single great motion picture surrounded by painful mediocrity .
3The Ghostbusters Series
The comedy touchstone was never able to fully resurrect
The first twoGhostbustersfilms were unique action comedies that plunged their well - balanced cast into the bizarre spiritual realm , juxtaposing the blue - collar value orientation of the everyman agonist with a violent and impulsive take on the other side . Two recent attempts to retake the conjuring trick , 2016’sGhostbustersandGhostbusters : Afterlifeweren’t quite able-bodied to hit the same precarious balance , understandably demonstrating a contentious kinship with their progenitors . The premise of a spook extinction squad should be so rich with opportunity , but the forward-looking age just has n’t been able to hit the same beats with a different plaster cast .
2The Hitman Series
The video game adaptation alienated returning fans and new viewers alike
IO Interactive ’s esteemedHitmanseries offered players an unprecedented level of freedom to research its labyrinthine level as the assassin Agent 47 , using subterfuge to subtly assassinate all manner of prey . Why , then , the motion picture adaptation opted for an eye - blaring monotonous portmanteau word of generic gunfighting is anyone ’s guess . Rather than take reward of the protagonist ’s penchant for camouflage and stealth to present a tense undercover agent thriller , the firstHitmanmovie went flash , relying on monotone activity that did n’t impress leading man Timothy Olyphant enough to return for a repetition performance in the as droll sequel .
1The Pacific Rim Series
A single bad sequel felled the box office giant
Despite being an avowedly mindless action pic , Pacific Rimstill had a beat up heart underneath the spectacle that shone through with its offbeat characters and enthralling domain - edifice , keep the cheesy kaiju activeness frolic well above par . woefully , hopes for remove the excitement into a lasting franchise were dashed withPacific Rim Uprising , which dead failed to live up to Guillermo Del Toro ’s vision for a dreary illusion world of giant monsters , leaving only a hollow shell of action at law setpieces . Pacific Rim ’s voltage as a in truth expectant Western kaiju series would instead be realized inthe Monsterverse , a reflection of what could have been .
