10 Franchises Other Than Star Wars That Will Return... Whether You Like It Or Not

Two things are certain in Hollywood: remakes and reboots.

We've now got to the point where reboots of remakes are being re-jigged and re-imagined before being remade and rebooted again, and with X-Men: Days Of Future Past even reboot-queled. Whether it is by the traditional means of the numerical sequel or whichever populist term is applied to the remake, it is unthinkable that any popular franchises will be allowed to wither and fade, especially when there remains an opportunity to make stupendous amounts of money out of them. The unspoken rule of certain films being untouchable like Casablanca, Gone With The Wind and Citizen Kane is now an old fashioned notion: if any of those films could be remade or further sequelised in a way that would appeal to a contemporary mass audience, they already would have been. It is not reverence for those works that prevents them being remade, it is the lack of public interest, but the same cannot be said of the films that populate this list, each of which remains popular and would virtually guarantee huge box office returns. These are franchises that have been so lucrative that it would be unthinkable for them to have escaped the attentions of Hollywood€™s bean counters, even if they may seem dormant right now. That is not to say that bringing Star Wars back is just about money - it is certainly a primary motivation and for some will be the sole reason, but popularity is equally a huge part of it. It is the perfect storm of being able to give fans what they want, or what you think they want in order to make money. If the product is good then we€™ll all be more than happy to make the exchange, and with Star Wars the signs are positive but it is extremely early days and very little is known so far - and it's important to remember that similar hype swirled around the Prequel trilogy in pre-production. What follows are ten other franchises that will inevitably return one day. The thought of some of them being reworked will make you feel physically ill but nothing can be ruled out when it comes to the business of making money, though whether we will get value for our €œhard-earned€ will be another matter entirely. The list discounts films that have been announced or are in any active state of development/production such as Alan Taylor€™s Terminator: Genesis, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road or the Avatar sequels. Similarly there is no speculation on single successful films that could feasibly get a sequel like Top-Gun, The Goonies, Blade Runner or E.T.
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Contributor

As well as the odd article, I apply my "special mind" to scriptwriting for Comics, Films and Games... Oh and I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flow'rs, I put on women's clothing, and hang around in bars. Follow me on Twitter @DrRobertOtnik