Yes, we’re going to talk about this. The film industry thrives on franchises and will not stop even if they fail. Last week The Huntsman: Winter’s War opened to terrible reviews (currently 17% on Rotten Tomatoes) and an underwhelming box office (less than $20 million and in 2nd place). This isn’t going to stop a single studio from greenlighting a boatload of sequels. Because in spite of such a chilly reception (pun intended) for Huntsman most sequels will make money. Next weekend we’re going to see Captain America: Civil War open and clean up. But there are some sequels that are sitting in limbo that may never get made, so I’m going to talk about them. Here we go.
-Crank 3D-
Not going to lie, the previous two are some of my favorite action films of recent years. Neveldine/Taylor dialed it up to eleven and it paid off. With the first film coming up on it’s ten year anniversary we need to see what’s the status on part three. Last year Mark Neveldine stated that everyone was interested, but it was all about timing. I’d say there’s a 50/50 chance this gets made.
-Tron 3-
It took close to 30 years for a sequel to Tron to get made and I was ecstatic. I discovered the original one afternoon on the Disney Channel. Immediately I was drawn into the world and wanted more. Ten years later I got my wish and Tron: Legacy was released. While it pulled in over $400 million at the box office Disney kept being hot and cold with the property. When it finally looked like Disney was going to pull the trigger last year they cancelled it. While Disney says there’s still a possibility of the film happening and Garrett Hedlund is optimistic I think there’s a 30/70 chance it’ll happen.
-Hellboy 3-
This one really stings. As the first two Hellboy films are some of the best comic book adaptations in my opinion I wanted to see this story get a conclusion. Since The Golden Army’s release there has been rumblings about what this 3rd film would entail. Rumor is that one Hellboy and Liz’s twins would be the destroyer of humanity and the other would be our savior. While Ron Perlman continues to keep fans spirits buoyed, but Guillermo del Toro has pretty much said it’ll take a miracle to get the film made. At this point: 20/80 chance the film gets made.
-Dredd 2-
After Stallone’s flaming garbage can of a Dredd film it was going to be an uphill battle for Urban and co. Fortunately the film was a brilliant take on the 2000AD comics that felt like a perfect franchise starter. Unfortunately the movie wasn’t a financial hit. I remember when I went to it opening weekend there was no one else in the theatre. While both Alex Garland and Karl Urban have said that they want to make a sequel producer Adi Shankar said it’s highly unlikely. Unless Urban gets a lot of clout in the coming years I’d assume it’s a 10/90 chance we’ll see Dredd 2 in the future.
-The Bourne Legacy 2-
Yes, this year will see the return of Matt Damon to the Bourne franchise, but what about Aaron Cross? Once Damon and Greengrass bailed on the series and made Green Zone (i.e. Kinda Bourne) the franchise’s writer Tony Gilroy stepped up. He and Jeremy Renner were going to the take the franchise in a different direction while keeping everything that previously happened in continuity. The Bourne Legacy was a sequel/reboot intended on leaving the door open for Jason Bourne to possibly return and team up with Cross down the line. Critics and audiences didn’t click with this new hero or the “chems” story, but it did double it’s budget at the box office. With Jason Bourne returning this year we have to wonder what this means for Cross. Optimistically, they’ll reference him in the new film and set-up a team up film. Worst case, they’ll completely ignore everything from Legacy. I’ll give Renner a 50/50 chance of returning.
So what are your thoughts? What films do you wish would get sequels? Or are you sick of all sequels?
sdfilmthoughts 