Since Harry Potter came out and exceeded all box office expectations, studios have been trying to chase the YA franchise craze, resulting in some beloved YA book series getting the screen adaptation they deserve, as seen with The Hunger Games and Twilight.
However, for every successful adaptation, there are multiple that studios were hoping would be the next big craze but instead resulted in box office failure, essentially killing any hope at continuing the franchise. This happens for many reasons, but the trend seems to be studio interference or veering from source material that has been proven successful.
Artemis Fowl
Fans were excited to learn that Artemis Fowl was going to be one of the newest adaptions to hit the big screen and they were even more thrilled to learn Disney would be backing the franchise. However, due to the studios wanting to make a more relatable main character, the story seemed to change too much and fans felt as though it lost the excitement the books seemed to have.
The movie ended up being released on Disney+ at the beginning of the pandemic and Disney accepted the failure and ended the franchise after the first movie.
Chaos Walking
The most recent adaptation on this list, Chaos Walking seemed to focus more on the star power of Tom Holland and Daisey Ridley to bring this film to success.
The first cut of the movie, which was described as “unwatchable,” was a sort of wake-up call for the studio. However, the reshoots were not enough to salvage the film, which was widely disliked by both fans and critics alike, resulting in the franchise ending after the first installment.
The Darkest Minds
Following the success of one franchise, Amandla Stenberg was cast as the lead in this YA adaptation about children who have special abilities. While the studios had high hopes for The Darkest Minds, it was not received well by fans and critics alike.
The main problem seemed to stem from the fact that fans felt as though the film lost the heart of the original books and focused too much on tropes of the genre to progress the story.
Cirque Du Freak
Cirque Du Freak came out around the time of Percy Jackson and fans were hopeful that this beloved franchise would have a more successful adaptation. However, like many adaptations before and after, the movie decided to make some major changes to the debut.
One of the things that fans were not happy about is how the film seemed to take pieces of the other books in the franchise and squeeze them into the movie, making the plot seem scattered and vastly different than the first book. Fans and critics rejected the movie and the franchise was ended after the first entry.
Eragon
Following one of the last Dragon Riders, Eragon tells the age-old story of the farm boy ending up being the chosen one. The books were widely loved and when the adaptation was announced and fans were thrilled to see the story get the big-screen treatment.
However, fans felt as if they were watching something else, due to the fact the movie made a lot of changes from the source material. Most fans would have preferred it to be a separate entity from the book as a whole, since the studio essentially changed the whole plot.
Daybreak
A mix between Zombieland, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Lord of the Flies, Daybreak follows teen Josh Wheeler on his journey to save the love of his life during a zombie apocalypse. The show was progressive, with one of the main characters a Black gay samurai in love with one of the main villains.
Fans and critics enjoyed the show, which was a mostly faithful adaptation of the graphic novel, but it didn’t gain the success that Netflix was hoping for, and so they canceled the series after only one season, claiming not enough people watched it.
Mortal Instruments/Shadowhunters
The Mortal Instruments books have been a widely successful series, resulting in spinoffs that are still trending as bestsellers today. The first adaptation, starring Lily Collins, didn’t make it past the first movie, due to the majorly underwhelming box office reception.
The series was given a rare second chance in the form of the FreeForm TV show, Shadowhunters. It quickly became a fan favorite, which is why fans were heartbroken after Freeform announced they were canceling the show after three seasons, giving it a one-hour finale to wrap it up.
Percy Jackson And The Olympians
Percy Jackson was set to be the next Harry Potter, even getting Christopher Columbus to direct the debut. Fans were thrilled to watch this adaptation since the series’ popularity was at its height, due to the final book being released only a year prior.
Due to studio involvement, the film strayed from the books and, in the words of author Rick Riordan, was put through a “meat grinder,” resulting in an underwhelming adaption that spanned two movies. Fans were thrilled to learn that not only is Disney+ making a faithful TV adaption, but Rick Riordan will be heavily involved.
The Maze Runner
The Maze Runner is the only movie that actually got the see all of the original books fully adapted to the big screen without being canceled after the third installment.
While the franchise did technically complete the original trilogy, the studio was originally planning on adapting the prequels, as well. Due to the main star, Dylan O’Brien, experiencing an on set-injury, the studio decided to only release the original trilogy and end on a high note.
Divergent
Fan of the Divergent series held their breaths for a while, watching the reviews of the franchise come in lower for each movie, yet they still held onto faith that they’d get to see the whole series on the big screen, especially when it was announced the final book would be split into two movies.
However, after the lackluster premiere of Allegiant Part 1, the studios decided that a straight-to-TV release was needed for the second part. Cast members, mainly Shailene Woodley, decided to pass on returning for the TV movie.
