10 Forgotten Movie Franchises That Need To Be Tied Up

By Baz Greenland /

2. The Complete Chronicles Of Narnia

Buena Vista PicturesJust like the beloved BBC TV show that preceded it, the cinematic Chronicles Of Narnia started off with a bang and fizzled out before it got to the end. Riding on the highs of the Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter franchises, The Chronicles Of Narnia franchise should have been as big as The Hunger Games or Harry Potter itself. So why has the franchise dithered three films into C. S. Lewis's beloved seven-book series? Between the various talking animals, Mr Tumnus, the wintry landscape and the Dawn Treader, the films certainly captured the magic of the world beyond the wardrobe. Aslan was beautifully realised. Tilda Swinton brought a powerhouse performance as the White Witch. The child actors delivered solid performances. There was nothing about the cinematic adaptations of any of the three films that made us question the need for a fourth. Consider the box office takings to; $745 million, $419 million and $415 million respectively. While the sequels never matched the original, the franchise still made a healthy profit for Walden Media. Perhaps, like the BBC series, the issue lies with the narrative structure of Lewis's books. The central characters keep changing; Voyage Of The Dawn Treader was the last to feature any of the original Pevensie children. The Magician's Nephew is a prequel and The Horse And His Boy is virtually a Narnia spin off. But now that Harry Potter has finished, isn't this the perfect time to meet that challenge and complete the franchise?