10 Cinematic Universes That Failed To Happen

This is a failed shared universe that doesn’t get talked about enough. The Transformers cinematic universe saw its genesis after the massive hit that was Transformers: Age of Extinction, the fourth film in the much derided Michael Bay franchise. A writers room was hired and tasked with expanding the universe. Many ideas reportedly came out of the writing sessions, two of which would enter active development: Transformers 5 and Bumblebee.

Transformers 5 would become known as The Last Knight and the basis of the cinematic universe, setting up the Transformers as having been partaking in human history since the dawn of man. Oh yeah, and it all is based on the Transformers helping out King Arthur and his mates. What is it with King Arthur and failed shared universe attempts?

It’s a truly bizarre movie that put off both audiences and critics who were largely indifferent to its attempts at establishing a cinematic universe, with it becoming the lowest grossing and worst reviewed film in the series. The movies poor box office returns apparently cost both Hasbro and Paramount over $100 million - no small sum.

The failure of The Last Knight caused Paramount to reassess the franchise going forward. They pushed forward with the Bumblebee spin-off as it was already shooting when The Last Knight crashed head first into theatres. This paid off as Bumblebee was a modest commercial success and enjoyed the best reviews of the series. Perhaps there is faith for the robots in disguise yet.