Sequels have become such staples in Hollywood that almost any film will get one if the original
makes enough money.
With some movies, however, franchise hopes are so high in advance that a follow-up is
already being put in motion long before the flick ever hits theaters … which makes the
fall that much harder if and when it flops.
Here are some sequels that never happened because their predecessor pics were so poor.
Independence Day 3
It took 20 years for Independence Day to get its first sequel, but Independence Day: Resurgence
was expected to be the first of three planned follow-up films that would continue Roland
Emmerich's alien invasion story.
The original movie was a box office smash and earned mostly favorable reviews.
But Resurgence turned out to be too little, too late to resurrect that moment.
The movie was slammed by critics for being an elaborate but ultimately empty spectacle.
And while it wasn't an intergalactic bomb at the ticket booth, its lackluster receipts
didn't indicate much audience interest in the movie or its potential sequels, either.
Eventually, those ambitious franchise plans seemed to fizzle in the wake of its release.
Maybe they shouldn't have killed off Captain Hiller after all.
"That's right!
That's right!"
There's still some hope for those who'd like to see the future of the series, which would
see some of its heroes on a new space adventure.
According to Emmerich, he and the studio are considering turning to the small screen to
carry out the next Independence Day adventure.
Who knows?
Maybe those crazy aliens will find a welcome new home on the small screen.
Battleship 2
Hopes were very high for Battleship.
So high, in fact, that Universal Pictures signed a six year deal with Hasbro Games,
makers of family favorites like Clue and Candyland, so that they could become the de facto board-game-to-cinema
provider.
However, it's first big attempt was a $220 million wash for the studio, as Battleship
decidedly sunk with critics and audiences alike.
Director Peter Berg placed the blame on stiff competition, in particular Marvel's The Avengers.
But the fact that it was derided for drowning all plot potential in a sea of formulaic action
sequences didn't convince audiences to hop aboard the ride either.
"Negative, sir, it's a miss."
Battleship was set up to be a studio tentpole, but after it was torpedoed with bad reviews
and dismal ticket sales, Universal quietly scuppered those plans — and several other
Hasbro-based pics they'd been banking on have failed to set sail as well.
Maybe someone should've foreseen that a boat movie by a guy named Berg might not work out
so well.
"Iceberg!
Right ahead!"
Divergent: Ascendant
Even the Veronica Roth faithful were turned off by the third installment of the Divergent
book series.
The trilogy's finale received grimmer reviews than its predecessors from readers who were
disappointed at its hectic conclusion.
So when Lionsgate announced they'd be dividing the final adaptation installment into two
films, the collective eye-rolling among Divergent fans was intense.
The first two Divergent installments weren't built for critics, so it didn't matter that
they weren't lapped with praise or prestige.
They still earned enough money to justify carrying on with the franchise.
However, the third film was an unmitigated disaster on all fronts, earning laughingstock
status with critics and barely bringing in half of what Insurgent did at the box office.
The production budget on the would-be final installment, Ascendant, was immediately slashed,
and that was just the start of its trouble.
The director soon diverged from the project, and after the studio revealed they'd turn
to television to produce the final chapter, several cast members hopped off the train
as well.
Whether it's dystopia fatigue or simple dislike of the source material that caused audiences
to tune out, the franchise seemed to be lost before it could arrive at its final destination.
Several months after its originally slated release date for Ascendant passed by, however,
Lionsgate announced a new plan to develop Divergent's final leg as a TV series on the
Starz network.
But without its original initiates onboard to finish the futuristic saga, it hardly qualifies
as a true sequel.
Jumper 2
Based on the Steven Gould novels, Jumper was a sci-fi extravaganza that was clearly supposed
to do more.
With a promising young cast, an open ending, and a frenetic story that could easily be
continued in new adventures, it had "franchise hopeful" written all over it.
Despite a tepid box office take and terrible reviews, lead actor Hayden Christensen claimed
sequel plans were still in development with the studio even two years after the original's
release.
According to him, the sequel would've followed its heroes to a darker place.
Leap forward a decade, though, and 20th Century Fox is officially out of the Jumper movie
business.
Director Doug Liman has since managed to transport the property to another locale for a reboot-slash-sequel
produced by YouTube Red.
However, instead of continuing on with Christensen's character's journey based on the second book
Reflex, the new series will be adapted from the third novel in the series, Impulse.
This installment focuses on his eventual daughter instead of him.
Meanwhile, actor Jamie Bell has taken it upon himself to start up another small screen reboot
based on the property, which may or may not feature him in his original role from the
2008 film.
"Did you think you were the only one?"
So while Jumper might have built a launchpad for separate projects, whatever launch plans
they had for Jumper 2 have obviously failed to clear the hurdle.
The Power of Six
The Pittacus Lore novel series, upon which I Am Number Four was based, was wildly popular
when the first film dropped.
And in an era when Young Adult adaptations were all the rage and actor Alex Pettyfer
was considered the up-and-coming heartthrob, the film was expected to launch a full-on
franchise for DreamWorks.
The sci-fi adventure told the story of powerful alien teens who are being hunted into extinction,
and would've been followed up with Teresa Palmer leading The Power of Six.
But after the first film drew the ire of critics and the disinterest of audiences, the sequel
was ultimately shelved.
Screenwriter Marti Noxon told Collider that result was regrettable because "Number 6 was
really awesome and I would have liked to have seen a lot more of her.
We need another kick-ass girl heroine."
Considering how underwhelming Four turned out to be, maybe they should've just skipped
ahead to the next number in the first place.
Showgirls 2
Given Showgirls' continued status as one of the most widely derided movies of all time,
it may be hard to believe there could've ever been a sequel.
According to director Paul Verhoeven, however, Elizabeth Berkley was supposed to take another
turn on the stripper pole — before the movie's terrible reception left her career in tatters.
He told movie site JoBlo, "we had actually been working on the sequel to Showgirls which
was going to be called Bimbos and was going to be 'Nomi does Hollywood,' but after Showgirls
was released there was no way anyone was going to give me the money for that.
If we could just make Elizabeth Berkley 20 years younger now I would love to make Bimbos
today."
Considering how she seemed to time-travel right back to high school for that mini-Saved
By the Bell reunion in 2015, it's probably not her age that'll keep Bimbos from ever
happening.
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