20 Film Franchises That Were Cancelled After One Movie

13. Super Mario Bros.

Flash Gordon
Buena Vista

When it was announced Super Mario Bros. was being made into a movie, it was a huge deal. Not only was the Super Mario series the world's most successful gaming franchise, this was the first film ever adapted from a video game. Considering it had big names like Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper attached, gamers were hyped.

The creative team behind the movie saw it as a guaranteed hit and had prepped a sequel. In the second film, the Mario brothers would battle a mad scientist called Wart, who served as the main villain in Super Mario Bros. 2.

But this never came to be because, as we all know, Super Mario Bros. super-sucked. It was so bad, it turned audiences off video game movies - a stigma that still stands today. Nintendo were so appalled by how the movie turned out, they didn't allow film adaptations of any of their property until Pokemon: Detective Pikachu 26 years later.

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James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows