Many moviegoers often complain about the lack of originality with movies today, considering that most movies are either sequels, prequels, or reboots to existing franchises. However if there was one genre that doesn't get too much complaints for producing multiple entries in a franchise it's superhero movies of comic book movies in general. In this case the stories are designed to be told in many iterations (which is one of the main draws for studios). Pretty much any movie that shows enough promise will get a sequel.
However sometimes the studios fail to see the potential a property has so plans to expand a story fall apart. In particular there are a few sequels that should exist because of pure awesomeness yet somehow never got past pre production. So here are the top 5 sequels that should be made, but probably won't.
5) SIN CITY 2/KICKASS 2
Now I know I'm cheating right off the bat since I'm including two movies in one slot, and th fact that both of these movies are currently in the works. I decided to include them both at once since we won't see them the way they should be (in my opinion). Much of the news I heard indicates that to me.
Let's start with Sin City 2. In this case it offers a huge opportunity for sequels, since there's no set narrative that the movies need to follow. All a Sin City movie really needs is a few tales about people who live in the most crime ridden city in the world, thusly giving absolute freedom for what you want the storyline to go. So how did they already ruin this concept before it went into production? Well they brought back Marv for this movie. No I'm not saying that it's going to be a small cameo appearance but a major role in the movie. Now I like Marv, but his story's over. The only way this premise could work is if the film was a prequel in which case this won't be the same Marv with the same motivations as in the original. Heck he could easily end up as just another thug since he hasn't even met Goldie at this point. And it ruins the potential of original stories that can be told in this world.
Next Kickass 2, a movie I've been looking forward to since the original. The concept of an average kid trying to live every geek's dream of becoming a superhero couldn't be told to it's full potential in one film (no matter how awesome it may be). However, in my opinion the studio took too long and now both the main actors of the original have gotten older. This issue is most prominent with Chloe Moretz who played Hitgirl. One of the great things about her character was the fact that she was such a young little girl yet she murders entire rooms full of bad guys while swearing like a sailor. Being a teenager takes that awesomeness away. Same goes for Aaron Johnson who grew and no longer seems like the same wimpy teenager that he was in the original. While I understand that this problem was mostly unavoidably but I felt they should have started filming the sequel during the production of the original, much the same way Richard Donner did.
4) BATMAN TRIUMPHANT
I'm not sure how many Batman fans out there have heard of this movie but this was ment to be the sequel to Batman and Robin. Now before you guys switch to a different article let me tell you much of the details on what this movie would have been like.
First of all while Schumacker would have been involved, it would have been to a lesser extent and talk was that Tim Burton would come in, effectively making this the official third Burton Batman movie. Clooney would also star in the movie but let's face it he didn't get to play the role in Batman and Robin, he's a great actor and given a good script he could have done amazing things with the role. The plot would revolve around Scarecrow who poisons Batman with the fear toxin making his greatest fear come to life, the Joker. Not only was Jack Nicholson set to reprise his role but it also would have featured the live action debut to his well known assistant Harley Quinn.
Naturally though the movie Batman and Robin happened killing this series while making sure the franchise wouldn't continue for almost a decade. For those wondering how the movie could have played out, elements of the movie were adapted into Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. So pop in that DVD and remember what could have been.
3) DAREDEVIL 2
Though not quite as successful as it could have been, the original Daredevil proved to be a rather entertaining movie...with it's director's cut. Yeah the original movie proves that Hollywood can make some serious mistakes. One of the things cut was a subplot that changed the entire tone of the movie, making it feel kind of like Marvel's Batman. While I'm not a fan of the casting for Electra and the goofy performance of Collin Ferrell, I felt that Ben Affleck did a pretty good job in the lead role (not great but ok) and Michael Clarke Duncan was an awesome Kingpin.
A sequel was clearly being considered with Kingpin still alive vowing revenge (yeah this was one of the few superhero movies that didn't kill off the main villain). There was so much potential for a sequel, seeing as how the backstory was already told, the atmosphere was established (in the director's cut), and best of all Jennifer Garner's character was dead, so we didn't have to deal with that ruining of a great character.
However the studio decided to release a gutted verson of what the director had in mind so the sequel won't happen. Currently with the success of other superhero properties there will be a reboot but I'm not sure I want to sit around watching the origin again since I saw it in the last movie. Well at least the studio won't get to gut the nonexistant sequel.
2) INCREDIBLE HULK 2
If there was one thing the Incredible Hulk proved it's that the general audience can forgive lackluster entries in a franchise if the next movie's awesome. It gave us all the awesome fighting we could want to have in a Hulk movie. Much like Daredevil they wanted Hulk to have a franchise so they set up a sequel in which the villain would be...The Leader. That's right, we could have had a villain that could potentially defeat the Hulk with clever strategies requiring some cleverness on Banner's part.
We may not see a sequel because of the issues going on between Norton and Marvel. While I'm not going to comment on the issue that happened I will say that it prevented this sequel from getting made. The closest we have to a sequel is The Avengers, but Norton was replaced by Ruffalo, making him feel like a different version of the character that somehow exists in the same universe. However with the success of The Avengers a sequel is at least being considered though the earliest it will be released is after Avengers 2, so we will have to be patient and hope the TV show comes thru.
1) FREDDY VS. JASON 2
While technically not a comic book movie, the sequel to the original was made into a comic so I'll count it. The original was considered one of the best in terms of movie crossovers (not that impressive but it at least is paired up with The Avengers). It gave us just the film we could want from this premise, giving an awesome horror action movie ending with an epic showdown between two horror icon.
Now you may be wondering why this movie deserved the #1 spot on this list. Well the answer to this question is simply in the proposed title, which was Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. That's right, the sequel was to also be a crossover with the Evil Dead franchise and have none other than Bruce Campbell's Ash Williams taking on Freddy and Jason. Sam Raimi was even called in to offer his input on the project.
So why did it die? Well according to Raimi it ultimately was ruined with fanboy debates in the office about which of these 3 was the most awesome. At the minimum there is the comic that shows what could have been. It's possible that a similar movie could happen since all 3 of these franchises are rebooted (with Evil Dead in the works), however it won't feature Robert Englund's Freddy and apparently Ash won't be in the remake so it won't be the same. let's take a moment of silence for what could have been.
So there's my list of sequels that should happen but won't. Like if you liked and comment below on sequels you wish Hollywood would make. And be sure to come back tomorrow as I begin an analysis of the Superman movies vs Batman movies. See you then.