Some movies begin setting up sequels during the first film, promising even greater adventures
with characters audiences are just getting to know.
But sometimes, for a variety of reasons, this doesn't always work out—and audiences are
left hanging, awaiting a next chapter that will likely never happen.
For example ...
Fantastic Four
Fox Studios' 2015 reboot of Fantastic Four had a famously troubled production, and it's
been suggested by both cast and crew that studio meddling kept director Josh Trank from
making the film he wanted to make.
While the film had an interesting take on the team's abilities and featured a stellar
cast, it was a resounding box office and critical failure.
Despite all of this, Fox insisted in the aftermath they were going ahead with a sequel, even
setting a 2017 release date … before taking it off the schedule three months after the
film's release.
The film's ending certainly set up a sequel ...
"Because we're a team now, and there's four of us, so we should come up with a name for
it."
… but for now, the screen fate of Marvel's first family appears to be in limbo — a
producer commented in early 2017 that Fox would "not make another Fantastic Four movie
until it was ready to be made," which could mean anything.
John Carter
Attempts to adapt Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic "Martian Series" of novels have been many
and varied, and they usually begin and end in Development Hell.
In 2009, rights holder Disney pinned their hopes on writer and director Andrew Stanton,
the man at the helm of a few Pixar hits, who had a grand vision for films based on the
first three books of the series.
But audiences who had no idea who John Carter was or why they should care stayed away in
droves, and the super-expensive flick contributed to Disney taking an $84 million loss that
quarter.
Despite the film's sequel-teasing ending and Stanton's plans, Disney scrapped the entire
idea, even going so far as to allow the film rights to revert back to Burroughs' estate.
Masters of the Universe
In 1985, the live-action adaptation of Masters of the Universe, based on an insanely popular
He-Man toy line and animated series, was the answer to every young boy's dream.
Starring Dolph Lundgren, it looked guaranteed to rake in the cash and spawn endless sequels,
and it seemed to confirm this with a very early example of the post-credits teaser.
Skeletor emerges from the pit of goo and tells the audience in no uncertain terms that he'll
be back—but it was not to be.
The Cannon Films production was constantly in danger of going broke, cuts were made wherever
they possibly could be, and the final fight between He-Man and Skeletor takes place in
the dark for a reason—producers were literally shutting down the production while cameras
were rolling.
Despite this, production actually began on a sequel, but it was scrapped and its sets
and costumes were recycled for the 1989 Jean-Claude Van Damme flick Cyborg.
Freddy vs. Jason
Despite its numerous flaws, the 2003 crossover movie Freddy vs. Jason pretty much gave fans
exactly what they came to see ...
"Are you crazy?
You got what you wanted, you pulled Freddy out, and now he's fighting Jason.
C'mon, what more do you want?"
The sight of the two towering titans of the slasher genre beating the holy hell out of
each other helped to make up for any shortcomings, and the film's ending left no doubt that Freddy—even
though he lost—wasn't done with Jason by a long shot.
But unfortunately, any of those fans still waiting for a cinematic Round 2 are going
to be waiting a long, long time.
There are many reasons for this, including, most notably, that New Line actually had to
buy the rights to Friday the 13th in order to get the crossover made, and Paramount long
ago reacquired those rights.
So don't hold your breath, horror fans.
Mac and Me
Although it came and went with practically nobody noticing in 1988, Mac and Me has become
infamous since the advent of YouTube.
It has been called both the most brazen E.T. ripoff ever and a 90-minute commercial for
McDonald's and Coke.
Scenes like this show-stopping McDonald's dance party and this ridiculous clip which
frequently shows up in compilations of the very worst film scenes of all time elevate
the film from simple cash-in to some kind of surreal capitalist trash masterpiece.
The film ends with a "We'll Be Back" tease, as the producers were obviously expecting
the money to come rolling in, but the film grossed only a measly $6.4 million.
Green Lantern
2011's Green Lantern was an ambitious, expensive, and ultimately failed attempt by Warner Brothers
to make something happen with a DC property that isn't Batman or Superman.
But despite the casting of the ever-likable Ryan Reynolds in the title role and a $200
million budget, the film was a complete mess, the result of being plagued with bad decisions
and studio interference from the beginning.
The film's post-credits sequence hinted that Sinestro would be the villain for the sequel,
but Green Lantern's critical and box office performance forced Warner Brothers to rethink
their strategy, and a rebooted Green Lantern film won't be arriving until 2020, by which
point Warner Brothers is hoping that fans will have forgotten about this one …
"Join me."
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