11 & 12. The Subtle Knife/The Amber Spyglass
Prior to the release of New Line Cinema's film adaptation of Philip Pullman's hugely popular novel
The Golden Compass - the first in the trilogy known as His Dark Materials - it was expected that the film would be a huge hit, and pave the way for the adaptation of the two other stories,
The Subtle Knife and
The Amber Spyglass. The project, which cost $180m, was among the most expensive undertakings in the history of New Line, and its underwhelming box office performance - pulling in a "mere" $372m - resulted in a severe restructuring of the studio. It racked up a middling 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, while fans of the novel criticised its toning down of the source material's religious themes, while religious groups disliked what they perceived as anti-Catholic sentiment; essentially, director Chris Weitz was damned if he did, and damned if he didn't. Weitz remarked how the studio frequently interfered with production, and aimed to minimise this disruption should he be able to work on the sequels. The second film, The Subtle Knife, was initially planned for a 2011 release, but the disappointing financial returns on the first film diminished this possibility significantly. Despite a stronger-than-expected performance overseas, the economic downturn in 2008 made the project even less likely, and as it stands presently, the films have officially been put on hold. Actor Sam Elliott meanwhile claims that New Line were afraid of further PR problems given the negative reception the first film received from the Catholic Church. Franchises like these need to strike while the iron is hot, and even if the film went into production tomorrow, it wouldn't be out until 2014, a whole seven years since the last film. Also take into account that Dakota Blue Richards, who played Lyra in the first film at age 12, would be close to her twenties by the time production begins, and so they would presumably have to recast the role, which of course is never a particularly good thing. This one's out for the count, for sure. Are there any other franchises you're looking forward to that you don't think will get made? Let us know in the comments below.