5 Failed Literary Franchises They Need To Kick-Start
There are few things more satisfying than watching a brilliant book be turned into an equally brilliant film. Such films are rare beasts, however, and adaptations are often a risky proposition for all involved studios, fans and authors alike.
The last few years have seen a slew of literary adaptations, some successful, others less so. Literary types live constantly in fear that their favourite works will be next in line for the Hollywood treatment, fed into the tireless jaws of the production machine that will likely spit out a speculative first offering, see if the masses gather, and then either throw their full weight behind the franchise or throw it aside, a tarnished property that will likely be left unfinished and untouched for years.
The great difficulty in adapting novels lies in creating something that is both old and new at the same time, and something that can engage with the millions of subjective interpretations and imagined adaptations of an audience that is often maniacally devoted to the source material. While no adaptation can align to everyones imagined ideal, its not impossible to satisfy an audience - all you have to do is identify the spirit and the soul of the original material and transfer it from page to screen in a way that engages the imagination rather than disappointing it, and that brings life and a new and fresh engagement with familiar material. Some of the films in this list managed this, and despite their success were left incomplete. Others failed on almost every level. But all of them share one key aspect the brilliant source material from which a successful film absolutely, unquestionably could be made. So, without further ado, let us look at 5 unfinished book-to-film franchises that need to be given a full run on the big screen.