To call Hollywood a land of contradictions is an understatement. While absolute garbage (by most standards) frequently turns into multi-film franchises, it just so happens that every once in a while, a gem of a film falters at the box office and is banished, forever condemned from ever having a follow-up.
We look into 7 such films in the list below.
All of these films were awesome in their own right, but due to unforeseen circumstances (either box office misfires or creative shuffles), these great movies just never got their long sought after sequel.
Let's take a look at them.
1. The A-Team
The Joe Carnahan 2010 action bonanza ‘The A-Team’ was an insane, rollicking adventure that should have definitely turned into a franchise.
Starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Biel, the film focuses on a group of crazy special operatives who have to stop a bunch of bad guys from blowing up the world. With the US government in hot pursuit, the A-Team will have to come together and rely on their wits if they are to come out on top.
With great action, fantastic comedy, and a penchant for disregard for logic, The A-Team remains one of the most memorable action flicks to come out this century, and it's a shame that its box office underperformance kneecapped its inevitable sequel.
That’s especially surprising considering how well the cast’s careers took off in the years that followed, with Bradley Cooper becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars and Liam Neeson cementing his reputation as a modern action icon.
With the 80's series still one of the beloved series of all times, who knows if we'll see a sequel, or even a complete reboot, somewhere down the line.
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
The 2015 Mad Max film by George Miller might just be the greatest action movie ever made, which makes the absence of a sequel all the more surprising.
After Mel Gibson immortalized the role in the 80s, Tom Hardy stepped into the shoes of Max here, forced to navigate the wasteland with degenerates, cannibals, and cult leaders in hot pursuit.
Winning a whopping six Oscars, Mad Max: Fury Road won over everyone through its stunning visuals, insane stunts, and fantastic turns from both Hardy and Charlize Theron. While Miller did eventually get the support from Warner Bros to make a sequel to the film, for reasons known only to him, he went ahead with a prequel instead, Furiosa, which bombed at the box office.
This torpedoed any hope of a future Mad Max film starring Hardy.
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3. The Nice Guys
Shane Black has always had a unique knack for comedy, and nothing shows it better than his 2016 feature The Nice Guys.
Set against the hazy, sleazy backdrop of 1970s Los Angeles, The Nice Guys perfectly captures the era with its disco soundtrack, neon-soaked streets, and bizarre Hollywood conspiracies.
A perfect crime comedy that takes you on an unforgettable rollercoaster of twists and turns, Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are in top form here, getting more than they bargain for when an innocuous disappearance case turns into a game of life and death.
Despite earning rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, the film struggled at the box office, quietly becoming one of the decade’s great cult comedies instead.
Black’s script balances razor-sharp dark humor with moments of violence perfectly, and given he was the mastermind behind the Lethal Weapon franchise, it’s a shame he never got the chance to turn The Nice Guys into another hit series.
4. Edge of Tomorrow
Doug Liman and Tom Cruise’s 2014 sci-fi adventure Edge of Tomorrow is another film that should have been a franchise already.
Cruise plays Major William Cage, who is forced to relive the same day again and again after inadvertently crossing paths with an alien species. As the aliens invade and decimate the Earth, Cage’s unique ability is all that remains between total annihilation and the survival of the human race.
Alongside Cruise, Emily Blunt delivers a standout performance, bringing both grit and heart to the film’s relentless time-loop battle.
Edge of Tomorrow is not only one of the best science fiction films of this century, it is one of the better Cruise movies of recent memory. With its surprisingly emotional story and inventive take on time loops, the film delivers on every level.
Although there have been repeated attempts to make a sequel, with Liman even having completed a screenplay, the follow-up has so far not materialized. For a film built around repeating the same day, it’s ironic that audiences never got to return to this world again.
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5. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The spy comedy subgenre is hard to nail, and when a gem such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E. comes along, Hollywood decides to kill its potential before it has a chance to fly.
British maverick Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of the 1960s TV series manages to impress greatly, courtesy of its star-studded cast and its Cold War era spy plot that pits a CIA and KGB agent in an unlikely alliance in the face of global armageddon.
Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer are marvelous here, and Elizabeth Debicki as the femme fatale could not be better. From its sleek 1960s style to its jazzy soundtrack and meticulously choreographed action sequences, the film oozed charm, so it’s a shame Hollywood cut this spy adventure short, as Cavill and Hammer could have delivered many more stylish, high-stakes missions.
6. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Making a genuinely good board game movie is tough — and it’s even tougher when audiences don’t show up to support it in theaters.
This is exactly what happened with John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein's Dungeons and Dragons feature in 2023. With a stellar cast that includes Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Hugh Grant, the film has it all: heart, adventure, great characters, and a fantastic ode to the game it is based on.
The film focuses on an unlikely group of eccentric individuals as they come together to steal a powerful artifact, hoping to shift the balance of power in the region.
The Dungeons & Dragons film hit all the right notes, but its struggle to connect with global audiences ultimately killed any chance of a sequel, although there have been talks of a potential TV series reboot.
Given the popularity of the board game, there's scope for turning much-loved universe into a successful franchise, although until then, audiences are left rolling the dice in their imaginations.
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7. Zack Snyder’s Justice League
The long-awaited Snyder cut of Justice League ended on a cliffhanger, and it is baffling to think that Warner Bros decided to shelve that whole universe and instead focus on a Marvel-like reboot.
As Batman, Superman, and others finally defeat Steppenwolf, the DC big baddie Darkseid looks at them through a boom tube, setting up an epic showdown that would have been DC’s craziest movie yet.
However, a string of disappointments in DC (by no fault of Snyder) in 2023 meant that the studio was less than eager to continue this universe, handing the reins to James Gunn instead to soft-reboot the entire franchise. As fans continue to clamor for Snyder’s return and the sale of Warner to Paramount looking increasingly likely, we might just get a sequel to this DC epic in the next few years.
