13 Failed Attempts to Start Film Franchises (That We Would Like to See)

"Failed" here means either the initial film was a flop or all the sequels were a disaster, OR that the first film was executed well enough but no further installments are forthcoming. I've marked the title red for the former or green for the latter. (The colours have no bearing on whether I personally enjoyed the film or not.)

A.V. Club posted their 13, but here are ours since we either don't agree or haven't seen certain movies on their list; a film is on this list for plot not necessarily because we endorse a particular film's overall execution of certain elements e.g. violence, sexual material. Also, this list may include films that are rumoured to have sequels or reboots (since rumours don't mean anything). These aren't in any particular order ("*" means it was also included on A.V.'s list):

1. The Seeker (1997): There are a total of five books in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising best-selling series from the UK. Rife with Welsh and Arthurian mythological themes, as well as time travel through ancient British history, 20th Century Fox simply didn't give the film they produced nearly enough time that this outstanding series requires to develop--and the first book in particular. Here's hoping that someone across the pond will get the £££ to do the series right.
2. Superman (1978): Now here's a franchise begging to have sequels that don't rely soley on Lex Luthor or kryptonite as the villains. One look at the comics since the 80s shows you it's more than do-able. Superman has one of the most ignored (by the films) roster of quality arch-nemeses this side of Kandor.
3. *The Rocketeer (1991)
4. *Daredevil (2003)
5. *Dick Tracy (1990)
6. A Wrinkle in Time (2003): This series of books needs a serious chance to be developed for the cinema instead of being disrespected by Disney's P.C. Squad and relegated to direct-to-dvd. My sister and I grew up with the award-winning book series as kids.. a series that acted as magnificent parables in a "The Phantom Tollbooth meets The Chronicles of Narnia" sort of way.
7. *Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
8. The Dirty Dozen (1967): The sequels all got stuck in WWII, but TD12 is a concept that could fit in any era of world conflict that involves the U.S. I'd love to see a group of American military criminals turned on a band of Islamic jihadists.
9. *Sahara (2005)
10. *The Shadow (1994)/The Phantom (1996)
11. The Punisher (2004): The decision to go with a villain not from Frank's rogue gallery was irritating enough, but then to dump Thomas Jane after a fine performance?! The sequel deserved to be punished.
12. The Saint (1997): Given how hard it is to find good roles for him, Val Kilmer alone is probably still having fits that such a promising franchise was neutered by formula storytelling, leading to terrible fan reception and floppish box office receipts.
13. Street Fighter (1994): Here is a sweet video game franchise that no one can get right. For some reason the writers and/or studios feel the need to rewrite elements of the story, or throw in un-necessary over-the-top sequences in order to establish plot or characters. What's wrong with simply a souped-up tournament-based story like Bloodsport or Lionheart? Wanna really reel in the bucks? Pair up Street Fighter VS Mortal Kombat.

Honourable Mentions: The Neverending Story (1984), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Comments

[Bast]

A sequel to 'Sahara' would just make my day.

[Sekhmet]

I agree with most of your list, those films I've seen, except Sahara. A rousing, funny, over the top "popcorn" movie of the Saturday Matinee wonder type, I loved it, and so have a number of friends. We'd buy advance tickets to see those two in action again.

[Generic Viagra]

well without any intention to insult to anybody, but all that movies suck my friend, just look the list and you notices why never somebody want to make a sequel.