10 Movie Franchises That Screwed Up Their Final Part

There's nothing more infuriating than committing yourself to a film franchise, scouring the Internet for spoilers and what-not and pouring your entire soul into it only to get a lousy final act that leaves your tearing your hair out and ruing your decision to commit for this long.

Not every film can end on a high but, when they do not, they anger and disillusion a fanbase who has stuck with them from the word go, tempering their goodbyes with spite as well as sadness. And when they end as hideously as some of the biggest franchises have, it's hard to hide the anger.

Some great film franchises have final parts so woeful that they end up overshadowing everything that was good in the first place, ruining a sequence of films for good and ultimately costing them further instalments down the line. And when, in the case of something like Spider-Man 3, we then end up with a reboot that is even worse, it's even worse.

The minimum audiences expect from their favourite film franchises is a satisfying conclusion to a series they have invested time, money and everything else possible into. And sometimes, the final note just falls rather flat...

When the first trailer for Spider-Man 3 was released back in 2007, fans went crazy. Black suit? Check. Sandman? Check. A new Green Goblin? Check. More of Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst? Check. All good things.

But hindsight is an incredible thing and Spider-Man 3 is a prime example of a successful film franchise that ends on a bum note, despite having two predecessors that, to this day, are still regarded as among the finest superhero films ever made. Sure, Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst are brilliant as Peter Parker and Mary Jane but there is so much wrong with this movie it’s hard not to run at length about it.

Rather infamously, the biggest problem was cramming in too many villains. Venom was rushed in at the last minute with Topher Grace then giving a performance so flat and uninspiring there was never any risk of Spider-Man actually being in any danger.

Sandman and James Franco’s Green Goblin were both good enough characters on paper, but Sony’s decision to throw Venom into the mix too cost them the chance to shine in their own right. And it was no surprise when both characters were omitted from the later-scrapped Spider-Man 4, where John Malkovich and Ann Hathaway were lined up to play Vulture and Black Cat instead.

All of the above is without evening touching on THAT dance scene...