Epic movie franchises packed with multiple sequels, spin-offs, and expansions have increasingly grown in popularity, which improves the chances of dead franchises coming back for more. Some of the earliest movie franchises came from epic sci-fi and fantasy stories like Star Trek as the universe expanded and horror movies, as sequels, reboots, requels, and prequels were created to maximize earnings from popular properties. However, it wasn’t until the MCU was created in 2008 that Hollywood became seriously interested in how they could build a universe around certain characters or concepts.
As the MCU delivered hit after hit during the Infinity Saga with many of their releases earning upwards of a billion dollars each, studios began to revisit existing properties they had the rights to and think of ways to continue the story. Plenty of older films have been revived with a new update, like Bad Boys and Top Gun, while others set lofty goals to build a new franchise from the start, like Universal’s Monster Universe. Franchises have had varying success, and some have stagnated over the last few decades, but that doesn’t mean studios won’t return to them eventually.
8 The Matrix
Four Movies, An Animated Film, Comics, And Video Games
The Matrix was first released in 1999, and thanks to the deeply thought-provoking concepts explored by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, it grew a cult following almost immediately. Leading man Keanu Reeves plays Neo, an on-the-nose anagram for his not-so-secret destiny as the One, who learns he is actually inside a computer program controlled by machines harvesting the energy from his body. The films explore concepts of reality, truth, free will, and purpose. While the most recent film, The Matrix Resurrections was released in 2021, it received largely critical reviews. However, the franchise is such a strong IP that it’s hard to imagine it won’t be revisited at some point.
7 Jurassic Park / Jurassic World
Six Movies, Animated Kids Show, Video Games, And The Original Novel
Michael Crichton sold the film rights to his novel Jurassic Park to Universal Pictures before the book’s publication in 1991. Three years later, the first movie was released that was inspired by the novel, with director Steven Spielberg helming the project. Since then, the franchise has continued to grow in popularity, and after the first trilogy wrapped in 2001, the studio decided to expand the franchise in 2015 with Jurassic World. Recently, the future of the Jurassic World franchise has been uncertain. However, the franchise is one of Universal’s most successful, and it left plenty of space for the story to continue.
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6 Wizarding World
Eight Harry Potter Films, Three Fantastic Beasts Movies, Novels, And A Play
The Wizarding World franchise stemmed from the novels by J.K. Rowling, and despite controversial opinions about the author, the series continues to be enjoyed by many people today. The Harry Potter movies were overwhelmingly successful and launched the careers of the young actors who were cast, as well as a set of spin-off films. However, the Fantastic Beasts franchise was plagued with bad luck, which ultimately impacted the quality and put a halt to plans for the series. Now, a new Harry Potter TV series is in the works, and it seems likely that more movies will be created in the future to continue telling stories about the magical world.
5 Pirates Of The Caribbean
Five Movies, And A Disney Theme Park Ride
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise consists of five movies which were released between 2003 and 2017, all starring Johnny Depp as the bombastic, larger-than-life, Jack Sparrow. The films were overwhelmingly successful and continued to draw large audiences with each new release, but when Depp was drawn into a lengthy legal battle with ex-partner Amber Heard, he was dropped from the franchise by Disney. Depp has since won his court battles, and it appears as though Johnny Depp and Disney could potentially be back in talks for the future of the franchise.
4 Middle Earth
LOTR Trilogy, The Hobbit Trilogy, A TV Series, Animated Movies And Video Games
J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels depicting the fantastical world of Middle-Earth have been adapted and explored in several mediums, receiving global praise and adoration. At present, a new animated film is expected to be released in 2024 to explore an ancient battle that takes place hundreds of years before the current films, but with the rich, vast world created by Tolkien, it’s hard to imagine studios won’t want to expand it even further with more films in the future.
3 The Purge
Five Movies, And A TV Series
The Purge, like many other horror franchises, has continually found ways to reinvent itself and create more stories. While The Purge’s fifth entry was marketed as the franchise’s last, it appears that everyone involved with the project and the studio is interested in exploring the possibility of The Purge 6. The concept is simple with a parallel world that has decided to introduce one day a year when all crime is legal in an effort to thin the population, reduce crime, and indulge people’s baser instincts. The films are perfect for the horror genre, which also makes it perfect for further stories expanding the franchise.
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2 Tomb Raider
Two Original Movies, A Reboot Movie, And A Series Of Video Games
Lara Croft is the focus of a series of video games that was first released in 1996, titled Tomb Raider. Following the success of the games, movies were adapted starring Angelina Jolie. The series was also rebooted in 2018, starring Alicia Vikander as Croft, but it failed to hit its break-even figure at the box office, which halted plans for a sequel. However, the popularity of the games could be enough to bring this franchise back in the future. If the creative team is strong enough, there is no reason for Lara Croft to not reach similar levels of success as other female-led stories like Barbie.
1 Terminator
Six Movies, One TV Series, Video Games, And Multiple Theme Park Rides
Terminator’s earliest entries were written and directed by the legendary filmmaker James Cameron. After the release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Cameron stepped away from the project and had no direct involvement after 1991. The latest entry in the franchise, Terminator: Dark Fate, was released in 2019 and Cameron returned to write and produce, which added a degree of credibility to the project but did not get close to making back the money it needed to be successful. The franchise has had a messy history with timelines all over the place, but with James Cameron interested in working with the IP again, it could mean the Terminator has a future yet.
