8 Small-Scale Movies That Blew Up Into Blockbuster Action Franchises

Summer is fast approaching, which means that it's once again time for Hollywood to overload - and probably underwhelm - us with all of the loudest, shiniest, explosion-iest films they can shake a stick of dynamite at. Because 'tis the season for big ol' action movies.

But during this fire sale of over-the-top actioners, keep your eyes peeled for some of the lower key action films that fly under the radar due to their lack of flashy trailers and big name stars. See if you can't get in on the ground floor of the next big blockbuster franchise before it actually becomes one.

Because, you see, not every big-time, action-packed, five instalment thrill ride comes out fully formed. Hell, sometimes, they weren't intended to be anything more than a modest little story that just happens to contain a car chase, some hand-to-hand combat, maybe a little espionage, and a relatable protagonist that audiences wouldn't mind seeing put through a series of escalating challenges that they must overcome against all odds.

A solid handful of our most beloved, epic action heroes started out as pretty small potatoes. And now they're really, really, really big... potatoes.

The unexpected transition between fun, small-scale storytelling and epic blockbuster franchise is often marked by the inclusion of the main character's name in the title. It happened with Rambo, and it also happened around the same time with Indiana Jones.

Although you could certainly argue that Raiders of the Last Ark was never meant to be a particularly "small" film, young upstart filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were given an extremely modest budget of $18 million to turn in one of the most inventive, exciting action-adventure movies in history.

And while Harrison Ford imbibed the character of Dr. Jones with his trademark sassy wit and cocksure charm we were used to seeing in his portrayal of Han Solo, it was fair to question whether they could be a whole franchise around this guy.

It honestly seemed like this could have been a one-and-done situation. Luckily, that wasn't the case.

Part of what makes this series so interesting is that, unlike other franchises, the motto for its sequels didn't seem to be "give us something bigger" but instead, "give us something different." They didn't really try to jam more action into the movies, they just focused on trying to utilize more creative action.

Spielberg didn't necessarily court blockbuster status, so much as fall into it time and time again.