Movies That Were Hilariously Sure Of A Sequel...

The Cliffhanger: This series is already kaput, and it feels like it didn't accomplish anything. And this second film is so disgustingly confident in itself that it's just funny to take the piss out of it. The entire movie is a trailer for the next movie, setting up mysteries and more & more loose ends to be addressed in the future, and it ends in the middle of a fucking battle with Spidey's latest nemesis. It's the most confident sequel establisher in history.

What Happened? It was the lowest grossing Spider-Man picture in history, which is staggering considering that ticket prices are higher and it had 3D premiums. It was also a critical disappointment, with most agreeing it was an incredible piece of shit. So, it spooked Sony into thinking long and hard about what to do with this particular property, and another reboot is in the works.

The Cliffhanger: The movie is an origins tale, and it pretty much sets up this world without really doing anything with it. It feels like a tease for the planned trilogy, even closing with a cliffhanger in the end credits teasing who's gonna be the bad guy in the next movie. Hell, Warner had even hired somebody to pen a sequel before the movie had even been released.

What Happened? The movie failed on all fronts. It was an abysmal box office failure, one of the lowest grossing big-budget superhero movies in history. Add to this, the critics pretty much hated it. Years on, nobody can say nice things about this incredible pile of shit.

The Cliffhanger: Ahem.


What Happened? Sweet, sweet justice. It had a disastrous opening weekend and only got worse from there, as people quickly found out that it's a fucking turd, and it's astonishing that a movie so incompetent found its way into theatres. Fox quietly removed the sequel from their schedule, and nobody ever spoke of this debacle again.

The Cliffhanger: Because young adult novels have to be milked for all they're worth at the box office, the final Divergent novel was split into two parts... and this was the first part of the third book. The film ends with Generic Female Hero announcing that the fight isn't over against their oppressors, then the maybe-dead bad guy appears.

What Happened? Nobody gave much of a shit about this franchise to begin with. But it made A profit, so that was deemed good enough to go ahead with the sequels. The second film made even less money than the first, and this third movie continued the trend of diminishing returns. Lionsgate weren't gonna pump more cash into this sinking ship, so the fourth film was cancelled, showing that not every YA novel needs the last book to be split into two. Greed didn't pay off, for once.

The Cliffhanger: The movie was intended to be the first of a trilogy, and that info is widely available. The movie was not content to just be concerned with the big Zilla, introducing some babies as well. And just when you think the movie can end safely, it ends with a shot of a baby Zilla emerging from its egg, alive. Can you say "Sequel"?

What Happened? The movie made some bank, sure. But it was a bit of an underperformer on the whole, and the critical bashing made the studio nervous about pursuing sequels. Ultimately, the backlash spelt death to the sequel plans. All we got instead was an animated series that nobody saw.

The Cliffhanger: Not really a cliffhanger, but the movie does its best to set up a sequel that never happened. After all, on top of Robin being present here, Batgirl is also introduced. The movie ends with Batman, Robin and Batgirl all ready to get to work, and Alfred saying "We're going to need a bigger Batcave!" Sheesh...

What Happened? It sucked, everyone hated it, and it was a box office failure. Another movie was in the works, but it was cancelled.

The Cliffhanger: Intended to be the start of a new franchise, the movie ends with Daisy asking the Mario Bros for their help.

What Happened? It flopped, it was panned by critics, everyone hated it, nobody wanted anything to do with a sequel. That pretty much covers it...

The Cliffhanger: Again, this movie was designed to kick off a brand new franchise. And the movie's confidence it itself was manifested in a post-credits sequence depicting Skeletor's head emerging from the water at the bottom of a pit, saying "I'll be back!"

What Happened? It was a critical and commercial failure. It has its cult following now, but there was not enough demand for a sequel at the time. Now the franchise is being rebooted with a fresh cast & crew.

The Cliffhanger: Not really a cliffhanger, but the movie is based on the first in a series of novels, and does its best to establish this world and leave room wide open for a sequel.

What Happened? The response was lukewarm, to say the least. Even though it wasn't a big flop, it didn't light the box office on fire, leaving the studio to wonder if a sequel would be worth the investment. 8 years on, and no sign of a sequel has materialised.

The Cliffhanger: To be fair, the set-up for a sequel is more of a gag than anything else, but still, the ending is tagged with a trailer for a sequel that never happened. It's clear the movie was intended to be the start of a franchise.

What Happened? The movie stands as a cult classic and it has its fans who would love to see a sequel, but it just never happened. The specifics aren't really clear, but it was stuck in development hell all the same.

The Cliffhanger: It's not that the movie ended on a cliffhanger, but it left room wide open for a sequel, and there were a few loose threads. The movie is based on the first in a young adult series, as it hoped to be the next Hunger Games. The studio were so sure of a sequel that it was being prepped before this first movie was even released, with casting already underway and shooting dates set...

What Happened? Bad reviews and very disappointing box office. It made some bank, but by Hollywood terms, it was a financial failure. Chatter of a sequel pops up now and again, but it remains to be seen if we ever actually see it, and for young adult novels they have to strike with a sequel while the proverbial iron is hot. The television show Shadowhunters seems to have replaced it.

Suggested by TrekMedic

The Cliffhanger: Vin Diesel's ego couldn't simply be contained within the Fast & Furious franchise, so it spilled out into this witch-hunting blockbuster that audiences didn't really care about - let alone actually like. It ends with Diesel, his ego, and Token Female teaming up to go on many more adventures, signalling the intended start of a new franchise.

What Happened? The usual stuff. Box office failure, it lost money, and critics and audiences couldn't muster up much enthusiasm about it. Diesel then continued his usual business of exploiting Paul Walker's legacy by making another 300 Fast & Furious movies.

The Cliffhanger: Yes, this is a TV show. And yes, further seasons did occur after this particular cliffhanger. But the story bears repeating. Season 8 was originally tagged with a superb ending which wrapped everything up and would've been a terrific ending for the show as a whole. But with season 9 and the movie almost a definite during production, the ending was changed: the ship is on the verge of destruction, the characters have all fled into mirror universes, and Rimmer dies (again), kicking the Grim Reaper in the balls.

What Happened? Season 9 and the movie didn't happen when they were supposed to. The window to continue right on from season 8 was missed. When Red Dwarf finally came back for a three-part special over ten years later, the cliffhanger was just ignored in favour of returning to business as usual. Season 10 did have a few lines of dialogue relating to it, but it still remains unsolved.