Full Answer
5 Sci-Fi And Fantasy Franchise Starters That Failed (But Still Deserve A Watch)
Not all movies can become the next Harry Potter or Star Wars. These 5 sci-fi and fantasy films desperately tried but failed to launch a franchise.
Mortal Engines (2018)
Based on Philip Reeve’s YA novel of the same name, Mortal Engines is a great steampunk fantasy/sci-fi that hinted at a much wider world and story but never got to realize its full potential.
The Golden Compass (2007)
Adapting beloved book series into a movie format has always been a challenge and a risk for directors — a truth that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ’s Chris Weitz had to experience first-hand.
Inkheart (2008)
Based on Cornelia Funke’s hugely popular eponymous German novel series, Inkheart follows the story of Meggie Folchart (Eliza Bennet) and her father Mo (Brendan Fraser), who have the ability to ‘read out’ and transport books’ fictional characters and elements into the real world.
Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (2013)
Coming on the heels of The Twilight Saga, the adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s bestselling Mortal Instruments YA novel series betted on similar success.
10 John Carter (2012)
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom novel series has inspired influential science-fiction stories to conquer the mainstream, most especially with Star Wars. Thus, it took a long time for a cinematic adaptation to come to fruition. Enter Pixar honcho Andrew Stanton with Taylor Kitsch in the title role.
9 Inkheart (2009)
Inkheart is one of the last-ditch efforts to recalibrate Brendan Fraser ’s leading man persona. Based on Cornelia Funke’s novel trilogy, this film centers on Meggie Folchart, a woman who discovers that she and her father, Mo (Fraser), were gifted the ability to summon characters and elements from books to the real world.
8 Mortal Engines (2018)
Mortal Engines is one of the latest examples of wasted potentials. Peter Jackson is so passionate about the source material that he hired his visual effects supervisor, Christian Rivers, to adapt Philip Reeve’s steampunk young-adult novel series to life.
7 The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
Another young-adult novel series brought to life, this time by Nickelodeon Movies, The Spiderwick Chronicles focuses on the Grace siblings, twins Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore) and Mallory (Sarah Bolger), who discovers a world of magical creatures around their new house and learns of its hidden secrets.
6 The Rocketeer (1991)
The Rocketeer is one of the most overlooked live-action Disney films that thankfully gained traction as a cult hit. But, at its time, it was a box-office upset that resulted in sequels to be scrapped.
5 Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow (2004)
Speaking of adventure serials, here comes Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. This sci-fi action film had the distinction as one of the pioneering films to be shot entirely on a digital backdrop.
4 Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Based on William Joyce's The Guardians of Childhood book series, Rise of the Guardians unites childhood icons like Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin), Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), and Sandman to stop Pitch Black (Jude Law) from causing destruction.