20 Film Franchises That Were Cancelled After One Movie
14. Masters Of The Universe
During the 1980s, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the biggest toy on the market, surpassing Transformers and Barbie. Knowing that it could only be popular for so long, Cannon Films snagged the film rights and released Masters of the Universe in 1987.
Apart from Frank Langella's performance as Skeletor (he was totally robbed of an Oscar), the movie has little to offer. Even though He-Man is known for living on the world of Eternia, 80% of the movie takes place on Earth to keep the budget down. Although Dolph Lundgren looked perfect as the iconic hero, his accent was so strong, it was difficult to understand him. Also, the toy line, Mattel, stated that He-Man wasn't allowed to kill anyone, making all his fight scenes boring and pointless.
Nevertheless, Cannon Films were so certain Masters of the Universe would be a hit, they already had a sequel written. In this film, Skeletor would've turned Earth into a post-apocalyptic wasteland and would've included fan-favourites from the cartoon such as She-Ra and Trap-Jaw. When this idea was scrapped, the script was repurposed into the Jean Claude Van Damme film, Cyborg.