Movie Franchises That Don't Need Any More Sequels

Many movie franchise sequels have totally tanked their original title’s glory. One only needs to think of disasters like Sharknado which spawned an unbelievable six follow-ups. Whether they’re money grabs or badly informed decisions that were questionably greenlighted, movie franchise sequels that should’ve never existed seem to pop up over and over again. In this list, we delve into seven particularly bad franchises that never need another sequel – though some are unfortunately forthcoming.

This loveable crew of singing chipmunks was created by Ross Bagdasarian way back in 1958. The Chipmunks – made up of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore – have appeared in tons of TV commercials over the past six decades. Their affiliations have included Jell-O, Post Cereals, Soaky Bubble Bath, Toys R Us, and KFC. They’ve also had three feature television shows spanning multiple decades. But in 1987, the Chipmunks began their feature-length film run, which now totals eight films across 34 years.

Let’s face it – none of their films have been necessarily great. 1987’s animated The Chipmunk Adventure was a high point, featuring a remarkably cohesive storyline full of cute misadventures. The live-action and direct-to-video films, on the other hand, have all been a bit flimsy in comparison. The trio’s been transformed from a loveable classic cartoon trio into CGI disasters who act out extremely formulaic plots. Perhaps those green-lighting these films felt children’s movies could be carried by nothing more than potty jokes and modern pop. Bagdasarian’s original Chipmunks have sadly been reduced to lifeless animatronic figurines fumbling through sitcom cliches. This is one movie franchise that seriously needs so sequels.

With eight installments and counting, the Leprechaun franchise has taken some decidedly bizarre turns over its 30-year tenure. But even at the beginning, the first film in 1993 was awkward enough, especially when a shotgun-wielding Jennifer Aniston showed up. One of the major flaws of this series is that, although billed as a comedy-horror film, it is basically never frightening, not even for a moment. And between 1997 and 2003, things went from awkward to flat-out weird. There was Leprechaun 4: In Space set in 2096, followed by two films that accompanied the Leprechaun into the rap scene of Los Angeles, where he magically controls “Zombie Fly Girls” to do his bidding. Although this franchise should be deader than a doornail by now, it seems that, unfortunately, a new film is on the horizon. Lionsgate announced in 2023 that they’d be giving the franchise a reboot.

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Twilight enjoyed a five-film run between 2008 and 2012. Heartthrob Robert Pattinson played the pale vampire, Edward, with whom young Bella falls head over heels in love. The author of the Twilight novels, Stephenie Meyer, is a dedicated Mormon. This may have given rise to arguably one of the films’ worst aspects. Throughout the series, vampirism is used as a thinly veiled metaphor for abstinence, and once noticed it’s hard to unsee. It wouldn’t be such an issue if it wasn’t the main theme that carries all the films. This is compounded by noticeably sub-par acting from various cast members, strange special effects, and awkward costumes and wigs. While all the films are currently available on Hulu, there thankfully hasn’t been any word on a sixth installment. However, a TV show is reportedly in development, along with two new books from Meyer. pefully, this movie franchise has no future sequels.

Read More: "Twilight" TV Show In The Works At Lionsgate

At this point, it’s hard for anyone to argue that Fast & Furious should still be going strong. The series began with a bang in 2001, as Paul Walker and Vin Diesel drag-raced across Los Angeles. And while the films were always a little silly, things shifted into a realm of pure fantasy by the fifth installment. There have now been ten Fast & Furious films, many of them featuring huge ensemble casts. It seems like each successive film has more explosions, shootouts, and chases, equating to less and less dialogue and character development. Diesel’s character, Dom Torreto, has also become the subject of many internet memes along the way. Although this series has devolved into mindless and fast-paced shoot-em-up flicks, several sequels are in the works. At least two movie franchise sequels have been confirmed and are currently being worked on.

The first installment of this supernatural thriller came out in 1984. It was a somewhat poor adaptation based on Stephen King’s story of the same name, published in 1977. Critically panned by most respected magazines and critics, things never really got better over 35 years and eight franchise sequels. Unfortunately, not one of these films ever elevated itself above being a kitchen-sink drama with horror elements awkwardly tacked on.

It seems no director or writer can ever get King’s classic story correct on the big screen. The plots are always lacking, drifting from strong beginnings to strange meandering narratives that never get anywhere. Couple this with generally low budgets for effects and actors, and the Children Of The Corn films haven’t amounted to much more than flicks to kill time with late at night. Remakes of the original 1984 film were released in 2009 and 2023, but both were unsurprisingly lukewarm at best. The eight sequels produced between 1993 and 2018 have fared no better. It’s relieving to know that no new film is in the works.

This series follows Newt Scamander, the author of a magical beasts textbook used by students in the Harry Potter films. It’s a prequel series many have condemned as a cash grab by executives, and sadly, the masses aren’t wrong. Maybe the biggest issue with these movies is that they completely disregard facts from the larger Harry Potter series.

Originally slated to be a spin-off series, things quickly changed and they instead attempted to be full-blown prequels. This created all kinds of awkward gimmicks in the writing that attempted to make the films about magical beasts. The problem was they were no longer focused on them at all. J.K. Rowling originally intended for a five-film series, meaning two more movie franchise sequels should be slated for production. However, due to the first three Fantastic Beasts movies' poor reception, it seems future releases have yet to be greenlighted.

The Jeepers Creepers movie franchise centers around a couple facing down a strange, ancient creature known only as “the Creeper.” This creature comes out of hiding once every 23 years to feed on humans and rejuvenate its body. While the first film was a commercial success, it was met with mixed critical reviews. Things went downhill quickly from there. Three more installments progressively spiraled into unwatchable messes. The most recent film, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn, uses CGI so badly that it makes you question the entire post-production process. Fans have noted that a green screen is even visible at one point in the movie. The storyline is also completely divorced from the previous three installments. This makes it a confusing and jarring watch for anyone familiar with the rest of the franchise.

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