There are only three things you can count on in this world: Death, taxes, and sequels.
And sure, most sequels aren't really necessary, but they aren't always a bad thing.
After a great movie, a sequel is like a second date with our favorite characters.
"Uh-uh.
Second date.
No tongue."
Unfortunately, we don't always get to enjoy that sequel, even when the preceding movie
explicitly promised another installment.
Here are movies that teased sequels that never happened.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 made a lot of promises.
It teased both a sequel and a Sinister Six spinoff.
Even worse, it ended right in the middle of a backflip.
But there were plans for more.
From scenes in the actual film to complex end-credit Easter eggs, Sony was manning all
the guns to bring its extended Spidey universe to life.
And they probably would have if Marvel Studios hadn't made Sony an offer they couldn't refuse,
spelling the end for Andrew Garfield and his friends.
The two studios agreed in 2015 to share joint custody of the webslinger, freeing him up
to appear alongside his fellow heroes in Marvel-produced films.
The part was recast with Tom Holland, and The Amazing Spider-Man 3 never materialized.
Godzilla
Following the unprecedented success of the MCU, practically every film studio was eager
to cash in with cinematic universes of their own, but virtually none have had much luck,
with the possible exception of Legendary's MonsterVerse.
2014's Godzilla and 2017's Kong: Skull Island were both well-received, and 2019's Godzilla:
King of the Monsters looks to continue the trend with an all-out Kaiju brawl.
But this success was a long time coming.
After 1998's Godzilla bombed, the big green lizard's big-screen fortunes were essentially
crushed for the better part of two decades.
Apparently convinced that this ill-conceived version of the iconic beast was something
audiences were going to want to see more of, the filmmakers included a final teaser scene.
At the film's climax, Godzilla lays eggs, and our heroes must destroy all the hatchlings.
But the teaser reveals that they missed one.
Unfortunately, the film's poor reception sank any chance of a sequel, and it left the door
open for Legendary to acquire the rights in 2010, which so far seems to be working out
well.
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
2002's Kung Pow: Enter the Fist is one of the weirdest films ever made.
Comedian Steve Oedekerk began with a print of the 1976 kung-fu flick Tiger and Crane
Fist, digitally inserted himself into the lead role, added new footage to expand the
plot, and gave the world its first kung-fu fight with a CGI cow.
It's crass, juvenile, and awesome, and fans have been waiting for the sequel teased in
its final scene.
The bit plays like a trailer, teasing the ongoing conflict with the aliens which were
revealed to be the first film's villains, as well as the brawl that's sure to ensue
when the kung-fu cow returns for revenge.
Oedekerk insisted as late as 2015 that the sequel was still happening, but there hasn't
been a whiff of news since, making the return of the Chosen One increasingly unlikely.
"Your days are over mister."
Bubba Ho-Tep
Writer/director Don Coscarelli is best known for the five films in his long-running Phantasm
series, but in 2002, he gave us one of the single weirdest cult classics ever put to
film, Bubba Ho-Tep.
It's the story of an elderly Elvis Presley who's forced to take action when his nursing
home is terrorized by an ancient mummy.
The film's ending seemed to set up the possibility of future adventures, even teasing the title
Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires for the next installment.
But as Bubba fans know, there's no way it'll ever happen.
It's an unfortunate case of the film's star shooting the sequel down.
Bruce Campbell made it clear in an Entertainment Weekly interview, saying,
"I killed it.
I killed it for me.
I feel that the first one was a nice little gem and you don't have to make a sequel for
everything.…So, that one I'm just going to let go."
Of course, Coscarelli could always make the film with another star, but as far as fans
are concerned, without Campbell, there is no Bubba.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
The 2004 film Hellboy, an adaptation of the cult Dark Horse comics character of the same
name, could have gone several ways.
The half-human, half-demon superhero might have translated very poorly to film, if not
for the extreme commitment of director Guillermo del Toro and star Ron Perlman.
"Didn't I kill you already?”
The film was a moderate hit and spawned the 2008 sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army.
The film teased further adventures with the revelation that Liz was pregnant with twins,
and del Toro spent the better part of the next decade struggling to bring Hellboy 3
to life, but the dream eventually popped.
The director confirmed via Twitter in 2017 that he was sorry to report that the sequel
was definitely not going to happen.
After an outpouring of disappointment, del Toro clarified that the door was open for
other filmmakers to move forward with the property, and it looks like Universal is finally
going the reboot route.
In 2018, imprint Lionsgate announced that a darker, more horror-flavored Hellboy would
be released in 2019, with Stranger Things' David Harbour in the title role.
Airplane II: The Sequel
There are few comedy classics more beloved than 1980's Airplane!, the purest example
of the goofy comic sensibilities of the writing team of David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams.
"Can you fly this plane and land it?"
“Surely you can’t be serious."
“I am serious.
And don't call me Shirley."
It's an absolutely relentless wall of gags, and 1982's appropriately titled Airplane II:
The Sequel exceeded expectations, even though it just repeated a lot of the jokes.
"Elaine, screwdriver.”
There seemed to be no reason why Captain Ted Striker and crew wouldn't return for a third
go-round, and a post-credits title card promised that Airplane III was on the way, but the
blame for this empty promise can pretty much be pinned on Hays himself.
Years later, Hays revealed that he'd simply gotten sick of people pestering him about
the forthcoming picture, causing him to back out.
He explained:
"You have to understand the atmosphere, 31 years ago.
Sequels were frowned upon....They were negotiating for doing Airplane 3, and it had really gotten
to me.
I was being ragged on by the press a lot when I'd go to events....When finally I said, 'I'm
not going to do it,' that was it, they didn't do it."
"Let's get out of here.
Close it up.
Lights out.”