8 Movie Sequels That Ruined A Perfect Franchise Ending
5. Avengers: Age Of Ultron
The Marvel Cinematic Universe probably isn't what immediately jumps to mind when you think of franchise endings, what with its constantly in-motion network of sub-franchises that never allow the studio to take more than a few months at a time off. But that's exactly what Shane Black's Iron Man 3 was: an ending.
It featured Tony Stark finally coming to terms with his own personal demons and putting his love for Pepper above his obligation to protect the world, destroying all of his Iron Man suits in the process. It saw him evolving in big ways as a character and immediately raised the stakes for the Avengers sequel that would come. Would Tony Stark no longer be a part of the team? Would he invent Ultron as a way to try and keep the world safe while still keeping his vow to Pepper? In what interesting way would they capitalize on this character arc?
Turns out, they just didn't.
Avengers: Age of Ultron, the first film to feature Tony Stark after Iron Man 3, opens with him back in the suit and doesn't care to give any kind of explanation because Joss Whedon more-or-less ignored Shane Black's film. And sure, Civil War later retconned this into being a thing again by having it be why Pepper left Tony, but Age of Ultron itself clearly did not care about stomping all over Iron Man 3's emotionally-fitting ending.