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Nothing’s a sure thing, but Hollywood filmmakers still make the mistake of putting the cart before the horse. Confident moviemakers planted seeds that foreshadowed upcoming sequels, but let down impatient fans when more chapters were never produced.
With optimal promotion, breathtaking special effects and ensemble casts full of heavy hitters, it’s easy to understand why studios believed pictures like The Dark Knight Rises and Wanted would get a sequel. It’s not wise to strike the iron while it’s cold, so after a lengthy break, sequel talks have gone mute.
10 The A-Team
In the film adaptation of the 1980s television series, the dishonorably discharged veterans fight to clear their names. The judge finds them guilty of their crimes and rather than face the consequences, the quartet escapes and foreshadows a sequel where the team operates as fugitives of the law.
A sequel for The A-Team would have an easier time finding its audience as the over-the-top action in movie is in line with some of the physics defying stunts witnessed in the Fast and the Furious films. However, plans for a sequel were scrapped due to low box office numbers.
9 Mystery Team
A team of over-the-hill children detectives are in over their heads when they’re hired to solve a murder mystery. After solving the final clue in Mystery Team, a sequel is teased when the trio is hired for another case at the end of the motion picture.
Mystery Team features a few names whose careers took off shortly after the release. Donald Glover, Aubrey Plaza and Ellie Kemper would go on to star as series regulars in Community, Parks and Recreation and The Officerespectively. The likelihood of getting the three stars contracted for a sequel after their increased fame is highly unlikely.
8 John Carter
A Confederate soldier travels to Mars with a magic medallion to lead a rebellion. The film is based on serials that inspired Star Wars. Disney’s high expectations for the film are evident with the ending sequel hook that displays the warrior’s return to Mars.
With an audience approval of 60% on Rotten Tomato, most viewers who saw the movie liked the movie. However, barely anyone saw the movie and that’s the biggest hesitation for a sequel. Green lighting a sequel for the record box office bomb was a fireable offense at Disney, so the studio let the rights for the property expire.
7 Wanted
Wanted is about a league of assassins who get compromised, and the newest recruit is enlisted to course-correct the organization. James McAvoy’s character kills Sloan, played by Morgan Freeman, making the shooter the last surviving member of the Fraternity. The closing monologue hints at a more assertive protagonist in a sequel.
Talks of a sequel were immediately announced after the film was a commercial success grossing $342 million from a $75 million budget. Talks stalled and most of the chatter during the last couple of years is from cast members and the director answering fans about the interest in a sequel.
6 The Other Guys
After the death of two remarkable officers, NYPD cops duke it out to fill in their shoes. The action comedy ends on a campy cliffhanger with the villain still on the loose teasing evil plans for the next movie.
The Other Guys was well received by critics, but the modest box office gross of $170 million from a $100 budget halted sequel discussions. Although the audience has grown following streaming and home media releases, the ship has sailed on any chances of a sequel.
5 The Rocketeer
A vigilante is born when a stunt pilot finds a rocket pack in The Rocketeer. A sequel hook at the end of the film has the mechanic Peevy draft up plans to modify the jetpack with upgrades for a sequel.
The critical praise and dismal box office numbers dubbed The Rocketeer a cult film. Reluctant to give a budget for the niche film, plans for a sequel remained in limbo for north of forty years. A Disney+ sequel, The Return of the Rocketeer was announced in 2021 and The Rocketeer may make parole from development hell sometime soon.
4 District 9
When a race of aliens land on earth, a government agent champions the outcast after he’s morphed into one of the refugees. The civil war is paused at the end of the District 9 when the alien leaves earth, but promises to return in three years with backup.
More than a decade since the promise, there’s no official news about a sequel so it’s safe to label the prawn an oath breaker. Despite Academy attention with four nominations, the studio has dragged their feet on the sequel, trapping the film in development hell.
3 Freddy vs. Jason
The long awaited battle between The Crystal Lake Killer and The Nightmare on Elm Street brought the two slashers to blows in Freddy vs. Jason. After their battle, it seemed as if Vorhees got the better of Krueger, until a decapitated Freddy winked an eye at the camera signaling a future rematch.
The real losers in the battle between the two famous serial killers are the fans who were cheated out of a second installment. The horror flick raked in $116 million at the box office, on the way to becoming the highest-grossing film in each of the series. The dollar signs were ignored because constant shuffling of rights owners made a sequel difficult to organize. Instead, the story was continued in the comic book Freddy vs Jason vs Ash.
2 The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk was the MCU’s second showcase of a major superhero. Fans expected a continuation of the story when the origins of Leader were previewed before the final fight. Due to complications with a rival studio over the distribution rights for the green giant, fans were angrier than Banner when they never got a sequel.
Part of the licensing agreement between Marvel and Universal gives Universal Studios distribution rights for The Incredible Hulk films. The deal seemed more attractive to Marvel before they were purchased by Disney. The tangled legal ramifications coupled with the departure of the original MCU Hulk, Edward Norton, lowered the chances of a Hulk sequel to zero.
1 The Dark Knight Rises
At the close of The Dark Knight trilogy, John Blake literally inherits the Batman mantle as the sole beneficiary of Wayne’s last will and testament. A sequel hook is employed before the closing credits as the detective enters the bat cave and gets surrounded by a colony of bats.
The Dark Knight Rises is the highest grossing Batman film to date and it’s understandable that the studio considered making additional entries to the franchise. The door to a sequel was slammed shut the following year when Warner Brothers went in a different direction to pursue the DCEU franchise that included Ben Affleck’s Batman. It would have been a tough film to watch without director’s Christopher Nolan’s involvement. The director and Christian Bale made a pact to limit their talents to three films.
