10 Blockbuster Movies Way Too Desperate For A Sequel

6. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

At the rate they're going 20th Century Fox are going to have to invest in a good thesaurus; we've had Rise and Dawn, yet the Planet of the Apes still feels a long way off. How likely is it the next film will be called Ascension Of The Planet Of The Apes? As cool as the ape effects are, there's no denying the new Planet Of The Apes series is moving through events rather slowly. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes initially looks like it's about to see the tensions between monkeys and humans reach fever pitch, but ends up playing a third act plot switch and making it all about in-fighting. Another big franchise succumbs to the studio's desire to keep things going as long as possible. Although in Dawn's case it was less Fox and more Matt Reeves that led to the glacial development; when first brought onto the project the director suggested a story that would fit between Rise and the sequel Fox were at the time prepping (probably the mooted War Of The Planet Of The Apes). His idea works, but in terms of the whole series it's treading water narratively. POTA may not be as big an offender as some of this list - at least there's a proper beginning, middle and end - but for all its polish Dawn seems unwilling to fully embrace the future. Did it work? Audiences are so enamoured with the mo-cap apes that the open ending didn't matter. Expect the apes to rise and rise for years to come.