9 Movie Sequels That Just Got Cancelled

Whenever Hollywood produces a movie that is even remotely successful, talks of a sequel will always materialise. Like sharks drawn to a drop of blood, when studio executives catch a faint sniff of cash, they'll circle in and tear apart the film in question, searching for any possible foundations on which they can build a franchise.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, because studios do need to make money, after all, but even with the best intentions, these sequel ideas don't always work out.

Financial concerns, creative conflicts and lack of audience interest can kill potential follow-ups before they even come close to going before cameras, even if the films that came before them were wildly popular, and even if there's a cliffhanger ending that needs to be addressed.

This happens frustratingly often, and just in the past several months alone, a whole bunch of sequels have been stopped dead in their tracks, from third and fourth entries in major franchises, to proposed follow-ups that are unlikely to happen because the setup film failed at the box-office.

Welcome to sequel graveyard - population: these poor souls...

We're kicking things off with Doctor Sleep 2 because, technically, it hasn't been officially cancelled yet, but after the first film's underwhelming box-office run so far, the general consensus is that a sequel is basically dead in the water.

In early November, a box-office report from The Hollywood Reporter contained a small nugget about the future of the Doctor Sleep/Shining franchise, with the site stating that Warner Bros had already put a third film - with the working title Hallorann - into development:

"Warners was so keen on Doctor Sleep that movie studio chief Toby Emmerich had already struck a deal with director Mike Flanagan and his Intrepid Pictures to script a sequel whose working title is Hallorann, drawn from the character who appears in both The Shining and Doctor Sleep."

Now, it's still early days for Doctor Sleep and it could very well have some strong legs thanks to its positive word of mouth, but if its commercial appeal continues to falter, don't be surprised if Hallorann is never seen through to completion.