It's easy to think that it's a very modern trend for movies to start planning for a sequel before the first movie is even a hit, but it's actually a long-running thing throughout Hollywood history.
There's been a lot of talk online recently about Morbius 2, mostly having fun at the expense of the critically-derided superhero movie starring Jared Leto. The first movie was one of a long line of blockbuster outings which included set-up for a sequel that, potentially, might never happen.
We're not saying Morbius 2 won't happen (yet), but it inspired us to go down memory lane to pick out the most notable planned sequels that never saw the light of day – and most likely never will.
(Even if you can never really say a definitive no these days when nostalgia and legacy sequels are all the rage...)
1. ET II: Nocturnal Fears
How to follow up one of the most beloved kids' films of all time? Perhaps with a horror film where Elliott and co think ET has returned, only to discover the Earth's latest visitors are red-eyed 'albino mutations' with sharp teeth and a taste for abductions and cattle mutilation.
Steven Spielberg wrote the sequel himself, but eventually got cold feet, reportedly saying that he didn't want to "rob the original of its virginity" (whatever that means). And some would argue that ET is scary enough already without the added monsters.
What to Read Next
2. Dredd 2
After the horror of 1995's Sylvester Stallone-starring Judge Dredd, Pete Travis and Alex Garland got the UK comics classic back on track for 2012's Dredd.
Despite comparisons to the setup for The Raid, Karl Urban was grimly perfect as the merciless cop as he fought to the top of a sealed-off tower block (in reality Dredd was actually filmed a year before the Indonesian action movie).
It received a warm critical reception, but its failure at the US box office makes a sequel look very unlikely, no matter how well Dredd did on DVD and how many times Urban is asked about a return.
3. Gladiator 2: Christ Killer
The 2000 Oscar-winner ended with the death of Maximus Decimus Meridius, but Russell Crowe knew who could solve the problem of bringing him back for another go around – his pal Nick Cave.
Cave dreamed up a story in which the Roman gods resurrected Maximus to kill Jesus. He lives on eternally, fighting in conflicts including World War II and Vietnam, and ends up working in the modern-day Pentagon. Ridley Scott thought it worked "brilliantly", but for some reason we can't begin to guess at, the studio turned it down.
However, while the Cave sequel won't be happening, Scott did confirm in September 2021 that a script was being written for Gladiator 2, and that he would get working on the sequel after his Napoleon Bonaparte movie.
4. Fantastic Four 2
Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot was supposed to be a dark 'n' gritty course correct after the derided pair of Tim Story films, but a messy editing job resulted in a movie that showed some potential but simply didn't work.
Despite a poor reception from critics and moviegoers – not to mention reports of the director's erratic behaviour and his public falling out with the studio – Fox announced there would be a sequel... then quietly dropped it from the schedule a few months later.
Fear not though, thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Reed Richards is officially in the MCU and a new Fantastic Four movie will be with us eventually.
5. Roger Rabbit: Toon Platoon
The follow-up to Robert Zemeckis's semi-animated classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was a prequel set in 1941 where Roger and his cartoon pals travel to Europe to rescue his wife Jessica Rabbit from Nazis, who are forcing her to make propaganda films for the Third Reich.
Spielberg dropped out as producer because he wasn't happy with making light of Nazis after directing Schindler's List. Still, in 1998 some test footage was shot, but Disney wasn't pleased with the results, and a skyrocketing budget saw development halted.
Zemeckis still maintains that he wants the film to be made, but even he doesn't hold out much hope of it ever getting the go ahead, as Disney's current management "has no interest in Roger, and they certainly don't like Jessica at all".
6. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Well that should probably be 'Willy Wonka and the Great Glass Elevator', we guess.
Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory may be widely considered a classic, but Roald Dahl hated the adaptation of his book. He didn't like the changes to the story and maintained that Spike Milligan should have been cast over Wilder.
And so he point-blank refused to allow them to film a version of his sequel.
7. Gump and Co
A legal dispute with the writer of the Forrest Gump novel, Winston Groom, was settled after Paramount agreed to buy the rights to his sequel, Gump and Co.
Unfortunately, screenwriter Eric Roth has said that he turned in the script the night before September 11, 2001, and that after the attacks he agreed with Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks that "the world had changed" and the project didn't feel "relevant" anymore.
8. Superman Returns 2
While we maintain that Brandon Routh was underrated as Superman, there's no denying that his 2006 film was a bit of a mess that couldn't match the acclaim of Warner Bros' other DC reboot, Batman Begins.
The sequel was intended to film in 2007 for a 2009 release, but was delayed by director Bryan Singer, who eventually dropped out to make the poorly received Jack the Giant Slayer.
Eventually, Warner Bros junked the sequel in favour of the Man of Steel reboot.
9. The Amazing Spider-Man 3 (and 4)
Sony had grand ambitions for its Andrew Garfield-headed Spider-Man reboot, including a third and fourth sequel as well as spinoffs for the Sinister Six, Venom and an undisclosed female character.
But after the critical panning of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (and despite it taking an impressive $709 million at the box office), the whole project was scrapped in favour of the new partnership with Marvel Studios, putting the younger Tom Holland in the red and blue pyjamas instead of Garfield.
As we now know though, that wasn't the end of Garfield's Spidey days as he made a surprise (and very welcome) return in Spider-Man: No Way Home, prompting fans to ask for another solo Spider-Man movie for him.
It's unclear if that will ever happen, but even if it does, it won't pick up on the threads of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. A Venom movie did get made (two of them in fact, with a third on the way), so it could be set in that universe though.
10. Double V Vega
There's no doubt that Quentin Tarantino likes to shoot the breeze about possible projects (like that Kill Bill threequel), but his idea for a Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction spinoff starring the Vega brothers Vic (Michael Madsen) and Vincent (John Travolta) came up more times than the usual.
It looked like a definite possibility for a while, but eventually Tarantino seemed to decide that it couldn't be a sequel because both characters were dead, and couldn't be a prequel because they were too old.
Apparently, a film starring their identical twin brothers was even considered, but we're okay without, thanks.
11. Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye
This is an interesting case, because obviously A New Hope received its fair share of sequels (and prequels, alas). But the originally planned follow-up to George Lucas's 1977 hit will never exist outside of its novel adaptation.
Splinter of the Mind's Eye was commissioned to be a low-budget follow-up to Star Wars – mainly featuring Leia, Luke and Vader running around a swamp planet – should the first film be a flop. Which it obviously wasn't, so we got the far more impressive Empire Strikes Back instead.
12. John Carter 2
The adaptation of the pulp series John Carter of Mars was hamstrung from the beginning by uncertainty about how to market it, shortening the name to the highly undescriptive 'John Carter' at the last minute.
A script for a sequel was apparently written, but Disney gave up the rights to the property in 2014, ending any faint chances that it would ever make it to the screen.
13. Green Lantern 2
Back in 2011, before Deadpool turned his fortunes around, Ryan Reynolds starred in a little film called Green Lantern that very obviously laid the groundwork for an ongoing story.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix screenwriter Michael Goldenberg was hired to work on the script for a sequel, but Warner Bros realised that no one wanted another confusing mess of a film and dropped all plans to continue.
If that wasn't enough for you, the complete reboot of the DC shared universe that began with Man of Steel – coupled with Reynolds's outspoken dislike of the film – guaranteed that the series will never continue, and any future Green Lantern film will be a complete reboot.
Best Entertainment and Tech Deals
Coronation Street X Joanie - Gilroy Retro Newton And Ridley Sweatshirt
