5 Directors Who Should Never Have Returned To The Franchises They Created

By Matthew O Donnell / May 31, 2013

Some directors have given us some of the greatest film franchises in the world, so popular, in fact, that fans usually want more. And often they get it, in increasingly worse sequels. This leads said fans to cry out for that director to come back and regain control of their franchise, or at least follow it up with something decent. On the other hand, perhaps said director just misses a franchise, and wants to return, now that they have the technology/money/power to do so, so they can continue a franchise the way they originally envisioned it. Sometimes, it isn't that simple, however. Sometimes it goes horribly wrong.

5. John G. Avildsen - Rocky V

Who? I hear you cry! John G. Avildsen was the director of the first Rocky in 1976, you know, the good one. Well, when reviews were waning after Sylvester Stallone directed the next three instalments, John G. Avildsen was brought on to direct Rocky V, in hope that the franchise would return to it's former glory. It didn't work out. With an antagonist named Tommy Gunn, and Sly Stallone mumbling his lines even more so than before, Rocky V is now best known as the worst Rocky film ever made. In between this, however, Avildsen directed all three instalments of The Karate Kid franchise, further proving his ability to destroy any major franchise with one fell swoop.