Stillborn franchises? : Cancelled Projects

Stillborn franchises?

Does anyone remember stillborn franchises? And are there some examples?

Submitted 11 months, 4 weeks ago by Whopper1

Here are some stillborn franchises that failed: 1. Disney Fairies - Was good on paper, but bad on cinemas. They ended with Tinker Bell and The Legend of the Neverbeast. 2. DisneyToon - The ones that made Tinker Bell and The Legend of the Neverbeast. They closed in 2018. All of their upcoming films were cancelled. 3. Madagascar - For no reasons, this film series about a group of jungle animals (not produced by DisneyToon) ended with Madagascar 3.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by Whopper1

Who even cares about those wannabe franchises? It's all about superheroes now. Those old animated flicks are just dust in the wind, dude.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by TrollinStone

Madagascar though, isn't that DreamWorks? lol

11 months, 4 weeks ago by CineMixUp

Just to clarify on DisneyToon, they were shut down as part of a larger restructuring effort by Disney. They wanted to focus on their main studios, especially with the acquisition of Fox happening. It's a strategic move, not just because of Tinker Bell. Plus, the Madagascar series didn’t actually end, they got a spinoff with 'Penguins of Madagascar' and there's been talk about a possible fourth main series film for a while—production companies sometimes just wait to see if there's enough fan interest over time.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by AnimationAfficionado

Yeah Disney Fairies kinda flopped, it's a shame. My niece loved that stuff. They overestimated the market for it - and let's be honest, the movies weren't Pixar quality or anything. Money talks in the end, so Disney just cut their losses I guess.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by FranchiseFumbler

Even Planes. And Disney direct to video, which ended forever with Tinker Bell and The Legend of the Neverbeast.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by Whopper1

Ha! 'Stillborn franchises' is right. It's like Disney spat out these flicks hoping one would stick but none really did. Planes? Direct to nowhere more like it. Waste of cash and talent if you ask me.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by CynicalSid

Tinker Bell movies had their charm tbh, especially to the younger audience. My lil sis used to replay 'The Pirate Fairy' like a hundred times. Still, box office results speak louder than nostalgia I guess 🧚‍♀️

11 months, 4 weeks ago by PixieDust_xo

Disney's direct-to-video era had its ups & downs. Remember 'The Return of Jafar'? Honestly, that movie kickstarted the whole trend. Some were decent, others... not so much, culminating with the Tinker Bell series. It's a bit of a bygone era now, with streaming taking over and quality expectations going up. Direct-to-video just doesn't have the same pull anymore, especially not for heavy hitters like Disney.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by NostalgiaNerd92

Planes was def underwhelming. It's like Disney tried to cash in on the Cars hype but forgot what made Cars good in the first place. There's a reason not many people talk about Planes these days...

11 months, 4 weeks ago by FranchiseFumbler

lol guess what? Most franchises are stillborn because Hollywood's outta ideas. They pump up the hype machine, throw some shiny stars in our face & expect us to lap it up. Joke's on them when we don't bite.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by theRealist247

No one gonna talk about I Am Number Four? Had the books to back it up and everything, but they dropped the ball big time with the movie. Dreamworks totally copped out on a sequel even though the lore was there... Sigh.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by LorienLegaciesFan

The Eragon movie adaptation comes to mind. Talk about killing all franchise hopes with one poorly executed movie. They deviated so much from the source material that fans were NOT having it. And that book series had serious potential on screen!

11 months, 4 weeks ago by bookishnerd4

Remember Plastic Man? The movie was announced with a ton of hype then vanished. POOF! Just like its stretchy protagonist would have done. Man, that could've been such a cool, wacky series.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by ComicConRegular

Not a movie franchise, but Half-Life 3 has to be the king of stillborn franchises from the gaming world, lol. Valve doesn't know the number 3; it's like they're allergic or something.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by retrogamerz

DARK UNIVERSE, anybody?? Universal was so ready to kick off a new monster franchise with 'The Mummy' remake and had an entire lineup with A-list actors, but man, did it crumble faster than a stale cookie. We got one lousy film and some promo pics, then - poof.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by hyped_then_letdown

Dude, how about John Carter? They thought it was gonna be the next big thing, threw all that money at it... and then it just flopped. No sequels, no TV shows, nothing. Just a standalone disappointment.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by moviebuff83

Totally remember some epic fails. Anyone else feels the pain of the Golden Compass series? That movie tanked so hard we never saw a second one, despite it being set up for a full trilogy! They just didn't get Pullman's vision right, imo.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by franchisefanatic

How has nobody mentioned the OG of stillborn franchises? 'Super Mario Bros.' the movie from '93. They ended it on a cliffhanger and all. Planned to make a whole universe probably but we all know how that went down. Imagine if that had taken off lol.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

Cartoons get this all the time. There's this one called 'Sym-Bionic Titan' from the dude who did Samurai Jack. Super cool action animation. Had just one epic season and they were setting up for much bigger stories. But it got axed, probably cause the toys weren't selling. Such a shame, cuz it really had the makings of an awesome franchise.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by toonhead21

This is a bit different, but remember 'Scalebound' from PlatinumGames that was supposed to come out on Xbox? It was going to be this huge action RPG with dragons and co-op gameplay, major hype around it. And then poof, Microsoft cancelled it. There was huge potential for sequels and it could've been something big for Xbox. We got some sick trailers outta it though, sad it's gone.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by lostinhyrule

Ever heard of Half-Life 3? lol, we're still waiting. Guess video game series count as stillborn franchises when they never deliver.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by CaptainCancelled

These studios jump the gun with their 'cinematic universes' but forget to actually make a good first movie. Case in point: 'King Arthur: Legend of the Sword'. Supposed to be a six-film franchise. Laughable, really.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by GrumpyFilmbuff

hey guys, not sure if this fits but does anyone remember the 'Amazing Spider-Man' movies? Thought we were gonna get a whole universe with Sinister Six and all but then it got rebooted. Again.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by comicfan_2001

Oh man, so many to list! Anyone recall 'Divergent'? That series just nosedived after the third movie and they never finished it. There was supposed to be a final film to wrap it all up but it just disappeared.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by n0stalgia_nerd

Sure do remember them! Like when Universal tried to kickstart their 'Dark Universe' with that Mummy remake starring Tom Cruise. Had all these big plans for Dracula, Frankenstein & more. Totally tanked and all shelved atm.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by SeriesJunkie88

Even M. Night Shyamalan's The Night Chronicles.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by Whopper1

lol 'The Night Chronicles' sounds like a bad bedtime story collection. Shyamalan probs ran outta twists. better off dead amirite 😂

11 months, 4 weeks ago by TrollUnderTheBridge

Wait, what? There was gonna be more of those Devil like movies? Man, that elevator thing was dope, kept guessing who the devil was till the end! Such a shame, would've loved more like that!

11 months, 4 weeks ago by SealTeamRick

Indeed, Devil was intended to be the first of The Night Chronicles trilogy, with each film being based on original ideas by M. Night Shyamalan but directed by others. It's sad because these types of anthology series can really dive into different horror themes. Would have been cool to see what else he had in mind.

11 months, 4 weeks ago by CinemaSnobbery

Yeah, Shyamalan had this grand plan for The Night Chronicles series, right? I think the first one was 'Devil' which was about folks stuck in an elevator and one of them's Satan or something. Spooky stuff. But then it just... fizzled out. No Chronicles followed. Classic example of a stillborn franchise.