10 Film Franchises That Are Officially In Jeopardy

Big trouble in little Hollywood.

Bruce Wayne Superman Justice League
Warner Bros.

In a world where one dodgy sequel is enough to topple some of the biggest names in Hollywood, is it any wonder so many film franchises are surrounded by uncertainty?

In movie terms, today's empire is tomorrow's ashes and there are many reasons why a franchise might fall from grace, not enough backsides on cinema seats being one.

Other franchises are killed off by rotten reviews, licensing disputes, creative differences among the cast and crew or long stints in development hell, some falling prey to these issues earlier in their lifecycle than others.

Rewind to the 1980s and slasher horror was at the top of its game, but many of the biggest series in this sub-genre are almost non-existent right now, murdered by a combination of the above as well as shifting audience tastes.

A bunch of masked psychopaths won't be the last cinematic icons to lose their footing in Hollywood - where mistakes are repeated and profitable ideas milked within an inch of their lives - because this bunch have found themselves in troubled waters too.

10. Dark Universe

Bruce Wayne Superman Justice League
Universal

Universal's plan to launch a shared cinematic universe populated by classic celluloid monsters was a nice enough idea.

Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman existed in a shared movie universe many full moons ago, long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe became the gold standard for such things, so why shouldn't they do so again?

Unfortunately, Universal's attempt to execute its bold plan was rushed and flawed. Universe building is something that should never be fast tracked. Just ask DC.

Tom Cruise's The Mummy was intended to be the launch vehicle for Dark Universe, but it came unravelled at the box office, was savaged by critics and failed to give fans a compelling reason to revisit the world it had created.

Bride of Frankenstein, helmed by Bill Condon, was supposed to be the next stop for the monster express in early 2019, but it was recently postponed. The delay follows comments from Condon suggesting the movie is cutting ties with Dark Universe, a possible indication that Universal is overhauling the project.

What this means for the other announced entries in the series - The Invisible Man, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Wolfman and Van Helsing is unclear, but one thing's for sure, The Mummy's catastrophic failure has left this shared universe's future shrouded in darkness.

Contributor
Contributor

Been prattling on about gaming, movies, TV, football and technology across the web for as long as I can remember. Find me on Twitter @MarkLangshaw