10 Horror Movies That Teased A Sequel Which Never Happened
The Dark Universe stalled not once but twice.
It may be truer now so more than ever, but the film industry's obsession with sequels is nothing new. The pull of building on a pre-established base rather than risking something original seems to be too strong for studios to resist a lot of the time.
Arguably, this is the case in the horror genre more than anywhere else. Just look at the franchises that have a ludicrous amount of series entries, regardless of the fact the quality hasn't been there for years, and sometimes decades.
Not every film does get a sequel however, and even some series that do continue completely disregard or ignore what came before it. Even movies that clearly go out of their way to set up a story continuation, be it through a sequel or even an entire franchise, can end up standing completely alone when all is said and done.
There's setting up the future and then there's getting ahead of themselves, and whether teasing evil superheroes across the world, returning serial killers, surprise monster appearances, and entire shared universes, things just didn't align for these ten pictures. The next big horror franchises they were not.
10. Brightburn
James Gunn has made a name for himself in and among the world of superheroes, but he started off in the horror genre with his feature film directing debut, Slither. 13 years later, he would produce Brightburn, something of a mix between the two genres he became known for.
The story, written by Gunn's cousin and brother, essentially flipped the tale of Superman on its head, and showed the fallout of a powerful alien landing on Earth without the unwavering intrinsic good of Clark Kent. Arguably the film could have gone further with its themes of horror and gore, but it was still a popular, successful outing.
As with most any comic book movie, there was a tease during the credits. Michael Rooker appeared hosting a YouTube video detailing other super human beings that were out there, including a half man, half sea creature, some kind of witch woman, and what appeared to be an image of an alien.
Such references, the sea creature being Rain Wilson's Crimson Bolt from Super, were supposed to lead to a sequel, but Gunn's commitments to The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy saw it put on the back burner, before it was discarded altogether.