Which is why there are a whole lot of movies out there that will never see their trilogies completed
Hellboy
If there's an unmade sequel out there that fans truly want to see, it's Hellboy III. Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army was released in July 2008, starring Ron Perlman as the eponymous hero. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $160 million worldwide on an estimated $85 million production budget. Although the movie was a modest success for del Toro, it wasn't a monster hit. So Universal Pictures never commissioned a third installment.
Two years after Hellboy II released, del Toro told Rotten Tomatoes he was interested in potentially making another Hellboy movie after his aborted take on The Hobbit. Two years later, Perlman donned his Hellboy costume (full makeup and all) to visit a terminally ill child. That bit of kindness inspired del Toro to push for another film, telling Entertainment Weekly: "I can say publicly that now we are together in trying [to do Hellboy III]."
But, years passed and nothing ever happened. Perlman said if Hellboy III were to happen, it would need to be twice as big as the previous two installments, which del Toro said would cost around $120 million to produce. Unfortunately, no studio is willing to put up that kind of money for a franchise that likely wouldn't crack $500 million. Still, del Toro is optimistic that if Pacific Rim 2 is successful, Legendary Pictures might finance Hellboy III. Perlman isn't so confident, and said there's little chance of Hellboy III happening
Amazing Spider-Man
Despite critics and audiences largely detesting Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3, Tobey Maguire at least got the chance to conclude his Spider-Man trilogy. That's something Andrew Garfield will never get to do, because in 2015 Sony Pictures suspended plans to expand the Amazing Spider-Man franchise and instead opted to share the character with Marvel Studios. As a result, we now have a new Spider-Man (Tom Holland) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a rebooted Spider-Man film series. That one officially kicks off with Jon Watts' Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017. But what were Sony's original plans?
Prior to Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014, Sony planned to launch an extended Spider-Man franchise to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was going to include two more Amazing Spider-Man films (releasing in June 2016 and May 2018), as well as spinoffs for Venom and the Sinister Six, directed by Alex Kurtzman and Drew Goddard, respectively. Sony also hired Lisa Joy Nolan to write a script for a female superhero movie set in their Spider-Man universe, but nothing has since come of it.
Although the studio canceled plans to pursue more Amazing Spider-Man films, they have not shuttered all the Spider-Man spinoff films. In March 2016, Sony confirmed they were moving forward with the Venom film, with Dante Harper penning the script and Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach producing. However, there don't appear to be plans to have the movie connect to either the Amazing Spider-Man films or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
National TreasureWhat happened on page 47? That is the one question that has been plaguing National Treasure fans ever since Jon Turteltaub's National Treasure: Book of Secrets released in 2007. The unnamed President of the United States, played by Bruce Greenwood, tells Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) that when Gates reads the President's Book of Secrets to take a look at page 47. Unfortunately, audiences were never privy to what exactly was on the fateful page. But considering that the book contains answers to mysteries like the JFK assassination, the missing minutes of the Watergate tapes, and the existence of Area 51, audiences can only imagine what puzzle the President needed Gates' help with solving.
Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, Book of Secrets was a surprising financial success, earning almost $460 million worldwide. The success prompted Disney to commission a sequel the following year. With the studio acquiring domain names for National Treasure 3 and 4, rumors began to spread that the Mouse House was eyeing back-to-back sequels. Although he was interested in making another National Treasure film, Turtletaub said they were going to take their time and get the story right before moving forward. "[U]ntil we have a great story, a great adventure and a great piece of history to explore, there's no point in making the movie," he told Canoe. In 2013, things were finally moving when Turteltaub told Collider they were about "halfway there," and that they were planning to start production in 2015. Unfortunately, nothing ever happened.
TRONIt took almost 30 years, but Disney finally released a sequel to Steven Lisberger's cult hit TRON. Joseph Kosinski's TRON: Legacy, starring Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner, released in 2010 to average critic reviews. And though the movie became a modest box office success, earning over $400 million worldwide on an estimated $170 million production budget, it wasn't enough for Disney to justify a third installment.
But the thing is, TRON: Legacy writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz had already begun working on a script for a third film before Legacy even released. Not long after Legacy hit, Ain't It Cool News reported that Disney was gearing up to announce TRON 3 — but the announcement never arrived. Instead, years and years of updates, promises, and delays ensued, with a new writer being brought on board due to Horowitz and Kitsis leaving to work on their ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time.
Things were finally starting to look up when rumors swirled that production might ramp up in October 2015. Unfortunately, Disney decided not to move forward with TRON 3, which Wilde confirmed. Boxleitner soon expressed disinterest in continuing the franchise, too, after going through several production ups and downs. With Star Wars, Marvel, and countless fairy tale remakes, Boxleitner feels Disney is "going to play it safe with their old [formula]." Still, Hedlund believes there's a glimmer of hope. He told ComicBook.com: "I haven't been told it's totally dead," which admittedly isn't the strongest vote of confidence. But, he did suggest possibly continuing the series 30 years later, like Legacy did.
Kick-Ass
Disney and Warner Bros. may control the majority of major comic book properties via Marvel and DC Comics, but that doesn't mean people should count out other studios. Universal Pictures has made several attempts at producing non-Marvel and non-DC Comics movies, such as the aforementioned Hellboy series. Another successful attempt to break from the Big Two? Kick-Ass, based on the indie comic series of the same name by Mark Millar.
Director Matthew Vaughn brought Kick-Ass to life on the big screen in 2008, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson starring as the eponymous costumed hero. Praised for its adult themes, Kick-Ass received positive reviews from critics and managed to become a modest box office success, prompting Universal to move forward with a sequel. Directed by Jeff Wadlow, Kick-Ass 2 released in August 2013 to negative reviews. Although the film was a decent commercial success, it failed to perform as well as the first film.
Shortly before the release of Kick-Ass 2, Millar confirmed plans for a third movie that would largely depend upon how much money the second movie made. Later that month, Millar reiterated plans for a third installment and even went further, saying Kick-Ass 3 would conclude the Kick-Ass trilogy with a major death. In 2014, Taylor-Johnson, Mintz-Plasse, and Moretz all expressed interest in Kick-Ass 3, despite the fact that none of them were actually contracted for a third film. However, instead of immediately pursuing a sequel, Vaughn said in 2015 that he'd like to make a Hit-Girl prequel before tackling Kick-Ass 3. But with Vaughn booked directing Kingsman 2 and I Am Pilgrim the next few years, who knows if we'll get either movie?
Trilogies that will never be completed Part 2
January 16, 2017