9 Upcoming Movies That Could Be Franchise Killers

9. Independence Day: Resurgence

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Independence Day doesn’t hold up the way it used to; it’s still got some impressive effects and fun scenes (“Welcome to Earf!”), but there’s a lot of filler and silliness in there too. For some reason known only to the studio, they decided to wait twenty years to make a sequel, and release it in an era dominated by comic book movies without original star Will Smith; the box-office results should be interesting.

Returning director Roland Emmerich hasn’t had it easy the last few years – think White House Down – so it makes sense he’d want to return to his biggest hit. The fact is they waited too long; the original fans will have moved on long ago, and younger moviegoers won’t have any attachment to the original. It’s always lovely to see Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman getting work, but there’s hardly a compelling reason to go see it.

Liam Hemsworth will be playing the new hero too, and it’s a safe bet he won’t have the same charisma Will Smith did. It’s sad to say, but it looks like Resurgence will mark the end of the Independence Day franchise before it even really starts.