These movies had a big future planned for them...
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones was supposed to launch a film series based on Cassandra Clare's popular novels. It introduced a sprawling supernatural universe that included Shadowhunters, demons, and ancient rivalries. The series certainly had plenty of material to explore, but its weak commercial performance impacted any plans. In fact, a sequel titled City of Ashes, which Sigourney Weaver was set to join, was postponed indefinitely in 2013. It was ultimately canceled. | © Sony Pictures Releasing
Ender's Game was positioned as a potential starting point for a series based on Orson Scott Card's science fiction novels. The film established its futuristic world and left room to adapt later books, but its commercial performance wasn't enough to justify continuing the franchise. | © Summit Entertainment
The Golden Compass was intended to launch a film adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The 2007 film introduced a complex fantasy world while leaving major elements of the larger story unresolved. The movie's disappointing domestic performance prevented the planned franchise from continuing. A TV reboot was made 12 years later, and it followed the source material much more closely. | © New Line Cinema
Disney clearly hoped The Lone Ranger could become a major action-adventure franchise, with Johnny Depp's star power and a huge budget behind it. The film established a world that could have supported further adventures, but its lengthy runtime, mixed reception, and disappointing box office made a sequel difficult to justify. | © Walt Disney Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Beautiful Creatures was another attempt to capitalize on the popularity of supernatural young-adult franchises. The movie introduced a magical world filled with witches, family curses, and supernatural politics. There were plans to produce a four-part film series, but unfortunately, the film's failure at the box office and lack of faithfulness to the source material derailed any hope for a sequel. | © Warner Bros. Pictures/Summit Entertainment
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was envisioned as the beginning of a much larger series, with plans reportedly calling for a six-film franchise. The film established an entire story around Arthur while introducing characters who could have carried future installments. Sadly, the 2017 film's extremely underwhelming box-office performance ended those ambitions almost immediately. | © Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures
The scale of Blizzard's Warcraft universe is absolutely enormous, so the 2016 movie had no shortage of material for future installments. The film introduced numerous characters and conflicts while leaving plenty of storylines open for potential sequels. Despite expressed interest and the film performing strongly in some international markets, a planned sequel has never materialized. | © Blizzard Entertainment/Universal Pictures
There were strong hopes that Eragon would become the next major fantasy franchise following the success of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. The 2006 film adapted only the first book of Christopher Paolini's series and left plenty of material for sequels. Unfortunately, following its poor box-office performance, plans for future sequels were dropped. | © 20th Century Fox
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets was designed around a massive science-fiction universe that could potentially support multiple films. Its elaborate alien civilizations and enormous cast of characters suggested that this was meant to be only the beginning. Director Luc Besson even expressed interest in expanding the series. Unfortunately, the film's financial performance made a sequel unlikely. | © EuropaCorp/River Road Entertainment
There were plans for The Dark Tower to become more than just a movie before its release in 2017. Sony envisioned a larger franchise involving films and television. Unfortunately, the film's disappointing reception meant those expansion plans never got off the ground, with producer Ron Howard later admitting that "we made a mistake" with the film's execution. | © Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing
Ubisoft and Fox hoped Assassin's Creed could become a major film franchise. The movie introduced audiences to an expansive game franchise, filled with lots of potential. Still, its future depended entirely on its commercial performance. Unfortunately, that end of the bargain wasn't fulfilled. The 2016 film received poor box office returns and negative reviews. Any hopes of a series were dropped swiftly after. | © Ubisoft Motion Pictures/20th Century Fox
Disney spent an absurd amount of money on John Carter, as they had hoped to establish a major science-fiction franchise based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' novels. The film introduced a huge Martian universe and left obvious room for further adventures. Unfortunately, the film's unbelievably poor box-office performance and lacklustre critical reception effectively killed those plans. | © Walt Disney Pictures
The Last Airbender was intended to adapt the first season of the popular animated series and potentially continue with the remaining material. The 2010 movie ended with plenty of unresolved storylines and obvious sequel possibilities. But its disappointing critical and commercial reception ensured that the planned series never continued. | © Nickelodeon Movies/Paramount Pictures
The 2017 Power Rangers reboot was explicitly built with a larger series in mind. The movie introduced its core team while teasing Tommy Oliver and future Rangers in its closing moments. Unfortunately, the film's modest box office and poor audience reception resulted in the cancellation of proposed sequel plans that would've led to the production of at least five films. | © Lionsgate Films
Universal intended for The Mummy to kick off its so-called "Dark Universe", a plan that would have connected classic monsters including Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Invisible Man. The 2017 film even ended with plenty of room for future adventures, but its underwhelming reception effectively stopped the shared-universe experiment before it could get started. | © Universal Pictures
Hollywood loves building the next big franchise, but not every movie has the makings of a cinematic universe. Many were clearly designed as the beginning of something much bigger, only for disappointing box-office results and audience reception to bring those plans crashing down. That said, here are 15 movies that were determined to launch a franchise that never happened.
