10 Major 2014 Films That Will Probably Kill Their Franchise
6. Guardians Of The Galaxy
As much as its detractors are keen to remind everyone that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one misstep away from audiences losing faith, that's a rather conceited opinion. At present its not really a pressing concern given the overwhelmingly positive initial reaction to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it's still worth exploring. The MCU began life in pretty generic territory where it suffered a couple of duds (Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk), yet ploughed on undamaged; the overall series is bolstered by being built from numerous narrative strands. And it's on these individual strands where a flop could have a real impact. A misfire could end up shutting down one of the many sub-series; if, for example, Thor suddenly started sucking and stopped showing off his abs people would likely just skip his installments. And that brings us to Guardians Of The Galaxy. On the narrative peripheries of the MCU, theres no pre-association with the universe to help guide non-fans to James Gunns sci-fi epic (Benicio Del Toros appearance in Thor: The Dark Worlds credits doesnt count) and theres no big star to draw in those on the fence. Its a gamble and if it fails, while the MCU will soldier on, the Guardians will be back in the keep. It doesnt even matter if the film is good or not; if it doesnt get an audience then the sub-franchise is dead.
