It’s no secret that comic book movies thrive off of sequels and franchises, but not every plan for a major franchise, even in the superhero space, manages to come to fruition. Ever since the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s films, blockbusters have been more keen than ever to hastily set up similar movie franchises in hopes of keeping audiences on the hook for a long time. Sadly, not every attempt by a comic book movie to do so has aged well.
Plenty of films feature cliffhangers meant to set up sequels that simply never come to pass. Sometimes these follow-ups fizzle out due to studio differences and creative conflicts, but more often than not, it’s simply a question of funding, with the original film simply not hitting the numbers necessary to generate a sequel. For better or worse, some comic book movies infamously failed to continue their franchises despite some obvious set up for another film.
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From the earliest DC adaptations to the beginnings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many superhero movies have improved upon existing adaptations.
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11 The Dark Knight 4
Christopher Nolan’s Robin setup didn’t go anywhere
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One of the strangest cases of a franchise that had the potential to keep going but didn’t is Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. At first glance, The Dark Knight Rises seems like the perfect end to the story of Batman in Nolan’s unique take on the DC universe, seeing him retire the persona while escaping to Europe to live happily ever after with Selina Kyle.
|
Green Lantern Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$185,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$534,987,076 |
|
International Release |
$473,487,788 |
|
Worldwide |
$1,008,524,647 |
However, the denouement that shows Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Robin discovering the Batcave seemed to imply that more adventures could’ve been on the table.
In truth, Nolan never planned for a 4th Batman film, much to the chagrin of fans who were disappointed with the final entry in the Dark Knight trilogy. This makes it all the stranger that the lauded director would choose to include the Robin scene in the first place, or even write in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character at all. Perhaps if the series had premiered after the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe truly became as apparent as it is today, it would’ve been a different story.
The Dark Knight Rises 
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Release Date July 16, 2012
10 Green Lantern 2
Wasted its single best scene
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Few superhero movies are as infamous as 2011’s Green Lantern. Starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, the film has been met with no end of harsh critique over its terrible CGI, awkward writing, and forgettable story. Reynolds himself has made no secret of his disdain for the film, openly mocking it on press tours and even directly cringing at his decision to accept the role in a Deadpool 2 meta joke.
|
Green Lantern Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$200,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$116,601,172 |
|
International Release |
$120,600,000 |
|
Worldwide |
$237,201,172 |
Ironically, one of the strongest parts of the film was actually its audacious attempt to set up a sequel. A beautiful mid-credits scene shows Sinestro wordlessly donning the Yellow Lantern ring to become the new symbol of fear, officially completing his fall from grace to become one of Green Lantern’s single most famous villains.
this scene would forever remain a hypothetical
Unfortunately, the abysmal critical reception and lack of commercial success ensured that this scene would forever remain a hypothetical, despite Warner Bros. original plans for the film to start a new trilogy.
Green Lantern 1.5 0
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Release Date June 16, 2011
9 Justice League 2
Couldn’t manifest before the DCEU collapsed
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The DCEU’s filmography was an uneven one at best, with the moderate success of standouts like Man of Steel and Wonder Woman constantly undermined by the critical failings of films like Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The saddest unfulfilled promise of the series definitely remains the follow-up to its first and only major team-up movie, Justice League, which teased the coming of the infamous alien warlord Darkseid to serve as the DCEU’s equivalent to Thanos.
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Justice League Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$300,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$229,024,295 |
|
International Release |
$432,302,692 |
|
Worldwide |
$661,326,987 |
Sadly, Warner Bros. return on investment for the DCEU gradually became worse and worse, with the absolute box office bomb that was The Flash being the final nail in the coffin.
In the end, the series came to a close unceremoniously with the release of Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom, leaving the very real plans for a Justice League follow-up featuring Darkseid and the Legion of Doom forever on the cutting room floor.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League 2.5 4
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Release Date March 18, 2021
8 The Amazing Spider-Man 3
Andrew Garfield never saw his Sinister Six
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The original The Amazing Spider-Man was a shaky start to Sony’s new Spider-Man series following the Sam Raimi films, but the continuity quickly came to a close with the poorly-received The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Curiously enough, much of the criticism leveled at the film stemmed from the fact that it spent entirely too much of its runtime attempting to set up The Amazing Spider-Man 3.
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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$230,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$203,605,622 |
|
International Release |
$510,428,900 |
|
Worldwide |
$714,034,522 |
Because of this, Sony gave up Spider-Man to Disney for use in the MCU, being stuck making solo films revolving around more obscure or villainous Spider-Man characters instead.
Today,
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
is a sad time capsule of planned sequels that were never meant to be.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 awkwardly tried to cram in a superfluous set-up for a Sinister Six movie, introducing Spider-Man’s famous team of villains by teasing the wings of Vulture and the arms of Doc Ock. As if that wasn’t enough, the strange espionage sub-plot regarding Peter Parker’s parents, who were shockingly revealed to have survived their fateful plane crash, only made matters more confusing. Today, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a sad time capsule of planned sequels that were never meant to be.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 3.5 9
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Release Date May 2, 2014
7 Dredd 2
Couldn’t bring back a fully Judge Anderson
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Of the many attempts to create a Judge Dredd movie, 2012’s Dredd is easily the best. This makes it all the more disappointing that Karl Urban’s star vehicle never got the chance to make good on its promises for a sequel.
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Dredd Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$50,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$13,414,714 |
|
International Release |
$27,623,028 |
|
Worldwide |
$41,037,742 |
The film sees Judge Dredd take on a mentorship role, taking on the rookie apprentice Anderson on a dangerous mission to apprehend a slum lord. Over the course of the film, Anderson learns to be as brutal and callous as a Judge needs to be, setting up a sequel in which she officially steps into the title.
Related 11 Major Judge Dredd Crossover, Ranked
Judge Dredd has been an icon of independent comics since his 1977 debut. In the years since, he has crossed over with a variety of heroes.
Concrete plans for a sequel were never formulated, despite the film’s ending implying that a new adventure with the official Judge Anderson could be on the table. While fans protested with grass-roots petition campaigns, the film was simply too niche to justify getting another crack. It doesn’t seem as though fans can expect to return to the populous Mega-City One any time soon.
Dredd 3.5 3
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Release Date September 21, 2012
6 Hellboy 3
Guillermo del Toro’s masterful duology deserved to be a trilogy
After the original Hellboy, creature feature icon Guillermo Del Toro returned to prove his proficiency with the character in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. To this day, some fans prefer the sequel to the original, but there wouldn’t be another Hellboy film until David Harbour’s terrible reboot in 2019. The ending of Hellboy II: The Golden Army was on something of a hopeful note, with Liz and Hellboy retiring from the BPRD after finding out that they’ll soon be parents.
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Hellboy 2 Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$85,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$75,986,503 |
|
International Release |
$92,332,740 |
|
Worldwide |
$168,319,243 |
Del Toro expressed interest in concluding the Hellboy films with a third installment, promising a riveting tale surrounding Hellboy coming face-to-face with his destiny as a weapon of the apocalypse, just as in the comics. Sadly, the project hit snag after snag, and eventually officially fell through in early 2017.
Another spin-off centered on the lovable fish-man Ape Sapien was also in development at one point, but this project was also scrapped following the announcement of the reboot.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army 4.0 1
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Release Date July 11, 2008
5 The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen 2
Couldn’t manifest after the first nearly sank Sean Connery’s career
Of all the movie adaptations of Alan Moore’s work, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is perhaps the single most critically reviled. Just like the comic series it’s based off of, the film stars various public domain characters from classic literature, such as Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and Allan Quatermain all assembling to help prevent an existential threat to the British Empire.
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The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$78,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$66,465,204 |
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International Release |
$112,800,000 |
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Worldwide |
$179,265,204 |
Sadly, the film fell short of its source material by just about every metric, making unnecessary character changes and fumbling the straightforward action adventure story.
The end of the film saw an obvious attempt to bait a sequel, with the seemingly deceased Quatermain implied to be brought back to life via ancient African magic. Fortunately for fans of the original series, the film’s horrid reception was enough to ensure that a follow-up was never even developed, making the scene entirely irrelevant. Perhaps the upcoming Disney reboot on Hulu will be able to finally do the comic book justice.
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Release Date July 11, 2003
4 Black Adam Vs Superman
The hierarchy of the DC universe remained the same
There was a time when DC was pushing the success of Black Adam incredibly hard. While the Shazam villain was never a particularly popular character, the involvement of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson seemed to make the DCEU think that going all-in on the marketing for Black Adam, which promised to “change the hierarchy of power in the DC universe“, was the franchise’s best bet at living to see another quarter.
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Black Adam Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
Between $190 million and $260 million |
|
Domestic Release |
$168,152,111 |
|
International Release |
$225,300,000 |
|
Worldwide |
$393,452,111 |
The film seemed to be setting up a confrontation between Johnson’s Black Adam and Henry Cavill’s Superman.
It’s true that Johnson had pitched a multi-year plan for DC centered around Black Adam, which saw a spike in marketing for the character even outside his debut live-action film. Unfortunately for the superstar actor, Black Adam ended up being one of the DCEU’s biggest flops at the time, though it has since been outdone in failure by the likes of The Flash. Regardless, the DCEU crumbled away before Black Adam could hope to square off against the Man of Steel himself.
Black Adam 2.5 6
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Release Date October 21, 2022
3 Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4
Some fans are still hopeful for Sam Raimi’s missing film
Despite concluding with a neat trilogy, many audiences still clamor for the release of Sam Raimi’s fabled Spider-Man 4. Although Spider-Man 3 ended in a neatly-wrapped return to the status quo, Tobey Maguire’s beloved take on Spider-Man still had the very real possibility to come back for a Spider-Man 4 directed by Raimi.
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Spider-Man 3 Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$258,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$337,281,992 |
|
International Release |
$558,641,833 |
|
Worldwide |
$895,923,825 |
Indeed, plans for such were well underway before Raimi himself pulled out, walking away due to creative differences he felt constrained by.
Dr. Curt Connors’ transformation into the Lizard was one of the few bits of unsatisfied setup from the original films
The planned fourth entry would see John Malkovich as The Vulture and Anne Hathaway as Black Cat, with the possibility of more villains on the table. Dr. Curt Connors’ transformation into the Lizard was one of the few bits of unsatisfied setup from the original films, and the reptilian antagonist was also in the conversation for Spider-Man 4.
2:50 
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Ever since Tobey Maguire’s appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, interest in Spider-Man 4 has reignited, making it not an impossible prospect despite Raimi’s reluctance.
Spider-Man 2 5.0 4
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Release Date June 30, 2004
2 X-Men: Dark Phoenix 2
Fox ceded control of the X-Men to the MCU
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It says something that Fox managed to fumble one of the X-Men’s most important comic storylines not once, but twice. X-Men: Dark Phoenix was the Fox films’ second attempt at adapting the Dark Phoenix saga after X-Men: The Last Stand, this time around using the younger version of the cast starring Sophia Turner of Game of Thrones fame as Jean Grey. The film ends with Professor X and Magneto engaging in one of their famous friendly games of chess as an ominous flaming Phoenix appears in the sky above them.
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X-Men: Dark Phoenix Budget & Revenue |
|
|---|---|
|
Budget |
$200,000,000 |
|
Domestic Release |
$65,845,974 |
|
International Release |
$186,597,000 |
|
Worldwide |
$252,442,974 |
Sure enough, this teaser was meant to set up a whole trilogy of new films branching off of X-Men: Dark Phoenix featuring the rebooted core cast. These planned sequels were meant to explore the cosmic connections the Phoenix entity had in the X-Men universe, bringing the alien Shi’ar empire into the fold.
When Disney acquired Fox studios to officially incorporate the X-Men into the MCU, all hopes of a follow up from this particular comic book movie were dashed.
1 Key Background
- A film’s financial success doesn’t always secure a sequel; critical and audience reception heavily influence studio decisions.
- Internal conflicts, such as creative disagreements and contractual issues, often prevent sequels from moving forward.
- Studios frequently shift focus to new projects, leaving promised sequels in development limbo.
Source: Box Office Mojo by IMDb
X-Men: Dark Phoenix 1.5 0
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Release Date June 7, 2019