The Top 10 Most Disappointing Unfinished Movie Franchises

When you go see Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire this weekend, the word is we will behold one of the most appealing of the unfinished movie franchises.

This is one of the things Warner Brothers has not screwed up, and it shows. In 2014, when the world was given yet another gander at the great Kaiju, there was an obvious glow among the fans. Gareth Edwards created a true Titan–one of scale, fright, and awe-striking power.

The King was back, and with him, came the MonsterVerse. A decade later, we get these two fabled frienemies working up the nerve to crush two new gruesome monsters–Skar King and Shimo. Then, there’s a rumor that says there are scenes in Godzilla x Kong showing this film franchise is far from over.

Don’t you just hate unfinished movie franchises? You invest in the characters, appreciate the theme, and prepare to hold on for the ride, wherever it may lead. Also, you invest money into seeing each movie, and then… nada! The movies stop and the character vanishes like a gust of wind. It’s the worst.

We feel you, which brings us to this new list from The Cinema Spot. These are the Top 10 (or, bottom, depending on your perspective) unfinished movie franchises.

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10. Inheritance (2006)

Remember Eragon?

This was a (now) pentalogy that was never given its due on the big screen because of otherworld fatigue. There’s only so much fantasy moviegoers can take in one decade. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth invaded movie theaters worldwide, so Eragon never stood a chance.

To make things worse, the book series is called “The Inheritance…Games.” Remind you of another successful fantasy book and film series?

9. Millennium (2009-2011)

Casual fans know this book series and one-time movie trilogy as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The “Millennium” novel series was a collection of seven books by Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson. (Well, at least the first three.) If only the movie franchise was as cohesive.

Back in 2009, a trilogy was released but never went beyond that. If you missed it and like the books, go find them. It’s worth some time. Never mind the reboot from 2011 (seen above). That wasn’t worth anyone’s time. Given its lackluster gate at the box office, the book series may not be given any more time at all.

8. His Dark Materials (2007)

The Golden Compass was to be the next great fantasy group of films. Instead, it was among the many unfinished movie franchises that got one movie, promised many more, and bupkis. There was much potential left untapped because of the economy.

When the 2008 recession hit, the remainder of the trilogy was put on hold and eventually shelved. By definition, The Golden Compass was a box-office success, but it still sucked out loud. Given the economy, there was no confidence in making money moving forward.

Now, HBO launched His Dark Materials as a streaming series, which earned critical praise… but that movie? Oof.

7. The Mortal Instruments (2013)

Much like The Golden Compass, this is a book series that never fulfilled its on-screen potential. In fact, it was only given one chance to succeed. Although the six books garnered much love among young adults, the movie tripped over its shoelaces and fell into a sewage ditch.

The movie from City of Bones was awful, but the books were so good. The first–and last–film became the broken promise of unfinished movie franchises. Fortunately, for fans of the books, Shadowhunters was a moderately successful TV series that ran for three seasons. Granted, it aired on Freeform, so there’s that.

6. Divergent (2014-2016)

We got a trilogy and were promised much more than that. The young adult book series caught fire when it was published. Fans clamored for movies immediately.

Allegiant was the worst of the three since it was only part of one book. It was supposed to be one of those cash-grab “Part One of Two” movies (a la The Hunger Games) but that never happened. The fourth film was denied. That became a TV series, which was also shut down.

In the end, the franchise wasn’t finished because no one cared following the opening credits of Insurgent.

5. The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008, 2024)

This is one of the most acclaimed children’s tales in history, so naturally, the movies were going to crush it at the box office, right? Not so much.

Against a $90 million budget, the movie almost lapped its profits at $162.8 million. Yet, this is a massive hole among unfinished movie franchises because of its underwhelming debut. Also, Mark Waters and his production team tried to cram all five books into one movie. It’s like he was drug smuggling and only wanted to cross the border once.

Fortunately, fans are given one more chance by Roku, who is trying to lay a claim in the original content world. We’ll see, but it looks promising.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010)

Seven books, one vision, and zero chance this fantastic series will get a chance of a restart. When The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe hit screens, the majestic C.S. Lewis saga seemed to be the “next” Lord of the Rings. It made $745 million and delivered. Then came Prince Caspian. Although it made $419 million and was the 10th highest-grossing film of 2008, it wasn’t a fan-favorite. By the time The Voyage of the Dawn Treader showed up, fans checked out and began following the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Disney owns it so it could come back, but that is some Peter Jackson-type storytelling to give it the love it deserves. Good luck with all that.

3. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012-2014)

The pain of unfinished movie franchises brings us to Peter Parker. Specifically, Andrew Garfield’s version. This actor deserves an apology and an explanation. He was a first-rate Spider-Man, but then he was faced with Jamie Foxx’s Electro and that deplorable sequel.

If you don’t believe he was good in that role, go watch Spider-Man: No Way Home. Who was first through the Doctor Strange portal? Before the sequel was made, a third and fourth film in the franchise was announced that was going to give way to the “Sinister Six.” That isn’t to mention a potential Venom film before Tom Hardy came along!

If only we could stuff that sequel back in the portal, right?

2. Percy Jackson & The Olympians (2010-2013)

What’s Greek, full of kids, and a complete waste of time? Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The tweenager six-book series was supposed to capture the world like Harry Potter. Only, there was no magic to be found in this movie. It was a ham-handed CGI washout that had fans groaning within 30 minutes. Turns out Rick Riordan (the author of the books) had zero creative control for input about his characters. In 2013, Sea of Monsters arrived, and it was clear people stuck a trident in this franchise and called it a day.

Fortunately, Disney+ has rekindled the mythological mystery series, so who knows? Maybe the residents of Mount Olympus will shine brightly on this magical idea this time.

1. DCEU (2013-2023)

After that majestic trailer, let’s all pour some out on the curb.

The number of foibles created by Warner Bros. in delivering this superhero waste could fill a storage facility. There was zero strategy for world-building or character development. It was rushed like Batfleck’s origin story. And then, there’s the entire Justice League debacle.

DC fans have been getting the worst of it countless times. They deserved better. They wanted more. And they got The Flash (and whatever Aquaman sequel that was) to end it all. It was a terrible time. James Gunn and Peter Safran are on a journey–one we can only hope gives us an inkling of what Kevin Feige was able to achieve over at Marvel Studios.

Hope. Ah, yes. Remember that?