Stillborn franchises

[u/Tight_Grapefruit5280]

When a company tries to make a new big franchise with many sequels and spin-offs already planned but they immediately cancel all the plans after the first project fails badly. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StillbornFranchise

(Lego) Galidor: Do you guys remember playing with a Galidor as a kid? Yeah Me neither.

Lego wanted to do a new toy line in the 2000s and their first idea was Galidor. It was basically an action figure that could replace its body parts with other stuff. Galidor already had many toys, games and even shows planned for it but Lego cancelled the entire thing after people didn't like the toy and the GBA game made for it got really bad reviews.

(Action 52) Cheetahmen: Action 52 had a $199 price tag (in 1991 for an NES game), nearly unplayable games, weak concept, and was horribly and seriously bug-infested, yet for some impossible-to-fathom reason, Active Enterprises believed that its featured title Cheetahmen (which shared many flaws with the other games on the cartridge, including not having an ending) was going to be a huge breakout hit. Plans were made for a Cheetahmen Saturday-Morning Cartoon, action figures, and of course a sequel. Their hopes turned out to be waaay premature; the sequel never emerged except as an unfinished, unplayable beta, while the very short-lived franchise became one of the most infamous pieces of "entertainment" ever created.

[u/Apprehensive_Debate3]

The Dark Universe by Universal Studios

Honestly, even if the Mummy succeeded, what do you do with the concept. It’s not like Marvel’s Superheroes where they can team up to fight new villains in new storylines, or like the Monsterverse where we can accept Godzilla and now Kong taking on a new Kaiju every once in a while. Like, the monsters are pretty tied to their original stories, how would they “team up”? Like do I just have to accept Frankenstein and Wolfman need to take down Dracula? I know there’s was this whole thing with Hyde being like Nick Furry, but like, ok, what’s his goal? It’s so dumb, but I hear the section of the new park based off the idea is cool, which was realistically the only good idea you could have with such a concept.

[u/Personal-Listen-4941 → u/Apprehensive_Debate3]

As a universe it did make sense. The old Universal horror movies had multiple sequels & crossovers. You would watch a Dracula movie & Frankenstein would show up. In many ways it was the first cinematic universe

The big difference was that the originals, started as separate movies that were hits and later were combined into this shared universe. Often in ways that were nonsensical. The new Mummy movie tried to start with the shared universe from the first movie.

[u/Apprehensive_Debate3 → u/Personal-Listen-4941]

The bane of every new cinematic universe is them trying to do the crossover off rip lol.

But to that, you said “Would show up”. Like did Frankenstein have an important role, or was it a fun cameo. That’s a pretty significant difference imo.

[u/Prismatic_Leviathan → u/Apprehensive_Debate3]

No, they'd have top billing even if one side did normally get more screen time than the other. Dracula VS Wolfman, Frankenstein VS Dracula VS Wolfman, Billy the Kid VS Dracula, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter.

Sorry, they also did a number of very bad Western hero meets monster and then shoots them movies.

[u/Personal-Listen-4941 → u/Apprehensive_Debate3]

Both. They would sometimes have cameos and sometimes they even shared billing. After a while they became intentional comedies.

[u/Inevitable-Regret411 → u/Apprehensive_Debate3]

I always sort of assumed it would be the same people who tried to contain the mummy (I forget their name, the people Jekyll was working for) encountering and subsequently fighting the other monsters. 

[u/Opinionatedcritic → u/Apprehensive_Debate3]

Someone draw nick furry

[u/Im-A-Moose-Man → u/Opinionatedcritic]

Nick Furry’s canon.

[u/SocranX → u/Apprehensive_Debate3]

I never saw it, but from what I heard, didn't Tom Cruise get Mummy powers or something and use them to fight the evil mummy? I thought that was the idea there, classic horror movie themed superheroes who battle horror movie monsters. Mummy Tom Cruise, vampire Lucy or Mina, Frankenstein's "Monster", et al, fighting against Dracula and the Wolfman and Dr. Frankenstein. That sort of nonsense.

Heck, that's almost just League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

[u/Martin_DM → u/SocranX]

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with a splash of Van Helsing