Long-running movie franchises are bound to go through a certain amount of change, but sometimes a franchise has to radically reinvent itself to stay popular. Some of these changes are forced by casting issues, but more often movie franchises have to do something drastic to refresh their stories, or else they run the risk of becoming stale and predictable. Freshening up a familiar story isn’t always easy, but sometimes bold gambles can revive a tired movie franchise, ensuring that they gain a new wave of popularity for years.
Not all franchises are built to last, but rethinking the formula can extend a franchise’s lifespan by years. Even if a franchise has been dead for a long time, creative thinking can bring it back from the grave. Sometimes this means changing genre like the Fast and Furious movies, telling a slightly different story within the same universe like Planet of the Apes, or shifting toward a different target audience like Ghostbusters. Old franchises don’t have to die, as long as there are enough interesting ideas to provide a new approach.
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10 Planet Of The Apes
One failed reboot didn’t kill the franchise
The iconic ending of the original Planet of the Apes movie is a brilliant twist. Although it didn’t seem to set up any direct sequels, there were four released in quick succession. Tim Burton’s 2001 remake aimed to reboot the franchise after decades of silence, but it was a critical failure. Nevertheless, the subsequent reboot series has been a huge success, trying to create an origin story within the same universe, rather than just another version of the same story. This allowed for more creative freedom, and the story of Caesar’s rise has been able to keep things fresh.
9 Fast & Furious
The street racing franchise expanded to a global scale
The Fast and the Furious was a taut action thriller about a police officer who goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of street racers in Los Angeles. Somehow, this developed into a franchise obsessed with international espionage and high-tech heists. The turning point was Fast Five, a heist movie set primarily in Brazil which introduced Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs, the agent tasked with hunting down Dominic Toretto’s crew. The Fast and Furious franchise’s wildest stunts have all been attempts to one-up the climax where Dom and Brian drag a bank vault through the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
8 Ghostbusters
The kid-friendly franchise became even more geared toward younger audiences
Ever since it was first released, Ghostbusters has become popular with younger audiences. All the main characters in Ghostbusters are adults, but this didn’t stop young fans falling for the movie’s paranormal fun. The legacy sequel, Ghostbusters: Afterlife introduced some younger characters to take the reins of the franchise, indicating how the franchise had embraced its popularity with children. Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace lead a group of actors still in their teen years, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire looks likely to continue this trend, although the original Ghostbusting team might have a bigger part to play.
7 Mission: Impossible
Tom Cruise’s action juggernaut has consistently raised the stakes
Some things have remained constant in the Mission: Impossible franchise, such as Tom Cruise running at full pelt and technologically advanced threats to global security, but the franchise has come a long way from its first installment. The original Mission: Impossible was as much about tension as it was about all-out action, and it’s unthinkable to imagine a new Mission: Impossible movie hinging on a completely silent scene with Ethan Hunt lowered into a sanitized vault, unable to touch the floor or make a sound. The franchise has shifted toward high-octane thrills, showcasing Cruise’s death-defying stunt work.
6 Friday The 13th
The horror franchise had to find a new villain to stay alive
Jason Voorhees is one of the most widely-recognized villains in the horror genre, and he was key to Friday the 13th expanding from a single movie to a full franchise. The antagonist in the original movie wasn’t Jason but his mother, who took to murdering camp counselors as a form of revenge for her son’s death. Jason then became the central antagonist in later movies, and the franchise inserted elements of supernatural horror to keep things moving. Friday the 13th has changed Jason Voorhees’ look just as frequently as his character.
5 Star Wars
The Skywalker saga was just the beginning
Although the original Star Wars trilogy was an unprecedented hit, the success of the movies didn’t launch any further spinoffs or sequels until the prequel trilogy began in 1999. In the modern cinematic landscape, big franchises usually develop much faster, and the Disney era of Star Wars is a good example of this. As well as live-action TV shows, there have been two spinoff movies, with plenty more apparently in the works. The newer projects, such as the upcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, are steadily moving away from the classic characters of the original trilogy.
4 James Bond
The long-running Bond franchise has made a habit of reinventing itself
Originally based on the series of spy novels by British author Ian Fleming, the James Bond movies quickly took on a life of their own. Sean Connery embodied the role to a whole generation of Bond fans, so replacing him directly would never have been a viable option. Instead, each new actor who steps into the shoes of 007 signals a new era for the franchise, with a new tone and new rules of the universe. Daniel Craig’s bond was more grounded and emotionally vulnerable than ever before, and it’s likely that casting for Bond 26 will once again bring about many changes.
3 Jurassic Park/ Jurassic World
Steven Spielberg’s first Jurassic Park movie probably didn’t need a sequel, but the idea of bringing dinosaurs into the modern era was too exciting to use only once. The Jurassic World movies haven’t just revisited this idea, they have also expanded upon it, leaving the park to show dinosaurs unleashed on the wider world. The core concept is still the same, and many of the old characters have returned, but the franchise has broadened its scope to provide something different. Jurassic World 4 has been confirmed, although none of the old cast members will be returning.
2 Rocky/ Creed
The sports franchise continued despite its main character retiring
The Rocky franchise suffered after Rocky Balboa’s retirement. Watching the character enter an exhibition match in Rocky Balboa, years beyond his physical prime, was an indication that Sylvester Stallone was running out of options for the character. By shifting focus from Rocky to his young protégé, Adonis Creed, the franchise took an exciting direction. Michael B. Jordan proved to be the perfect choice for the franchise’s new era, and his character’s emotional connection to Rocky, via his deceased father, has helped build a bridge between the past and the present.
1 Scream
Unmasking the killer was just the beginning
The first Scream movie wasn’t just a fun slasher, it was also a twisty whodunnit. After the murder mystery was resolved, there didn’t seem like an obvious direction for a sequel, but the franchise kept going by featuring copycat killers and bringing in younger characters as new potential victims or culprits. Scream went from broadly spoofing the entire genre to specifically parodying itself, with the in-universe Stab franchise. The behind-the-scenes drama on Scream 7 means that the franchise may have to reinvent itself once again after some unexpected cast changes.
