10 Crazy Movie Sequels That (Thankfully) Never Happened

When it comes to Hollywood sequels, the rule might as well be "the same as the original, but way less original." Translation: let's repackage the first movie and re-sell it to the masses. And for some reason, this approach usually works; we happily buy into the hype of the filmic follow-up, regardless of whether it's artistically justified.

Most sequels that get made are produced in this unnecessary vein; sequels that are deemed to be more risky due to weird content or an outlandish premise, however... well, you don't see those anywhere near as often.

That's probably why the follow 10 sequels, all of which are either ludicrous or totally bizarre in their concepts, never managed to work their way out of the development stage. In most cases, it's probably a good thing that none of them did, as they would have tarnished the originals. In a few cases, though, it would have been interesting to see them on the basis that they were, above all, actually unique.

I'll let you be the judge...

On the surface, the prospect of Lethal Weapon 5 might not sound all that wacky. They made four of these things already, after all - what's stopping a fifth?

You might change your mind about the existence of this shelved follow-up, however, when you learn that it was supposed to take the franchise in a new direction, with Riggs and Murtaugh on vacation in a camper van. Yep: director Richard Donner originally envisioned Lethal Weapon 5 as a bumbling road trip about two old age pensioners - a sort of modern day Robert De Niro vehicle.

It sounds like the stuff of parody. I mean, what are the chances that these two would find themselves in a film-worthy scrape whilst cruising around in a camper van? Imagine the trailer, with Murtaugh stuck in the toilet cubicle, and Riggs behind the wheel, manically trying to avoid, like, Mexican drug dealers or something.

You just know that with this instalment the comedy hi-jinks would have soared to unbearable levels. Thankfully, it never went past the "Should we make it?" stage, as Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Donner were unable to find time in their schedules.

Also: Lethal Weapon 4 ended the series perfectly, and this would have likely pushed it too far into overkill territory. You know, in the way Rush Hour 3 did.