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10 Franchises That Ended On A Massive Cliffhanger

Thanks to rising budgets and falling audience numbers, studios are increasingly relying on long-term franchises to keep themselves afloat. Practically every big budget movie now has to have the option for at least two sequels, and maybe a prequel and a spinoff, too.

7) Fly Me To The Moon – Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

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The Rock has a unique habit of appearing in Brendan Fraser-less sequels to Brendan Fraser movies. This includes The Scorpion KingG.I. Joe: Retaliation and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Brendan’s loss is the audience’s gain, though, since The Rock gives a boost to any film he stars in. He’s not dubbed “Franchise Viagra” for nothing.

Journey 2 was a bigger hit than the original film thanks to his appearance, but it looks like his super packed schedule has put a third Journey movie low down on his to-do-list. It’s unfortunate, too, as the Mysterious Journey ended with a huge teaser for the next movie, with the family planning a no doubt wacky trip to the moon.

A potential third entry is probably entirely dependent on The Rock’s involvement, but if he’s able to find a gap in his schedule in the next 35 years, maybe it’ll happen after all.

6) Is The Whole World Doomed? – 28 Weeks Later

28 Days Later is the movie that all but revived the ailing zombie genre in 2002, and gave birth to the fast zombie thread that led to the remake of Dawn of the Dead and World War Z. It also got a sequel in the form of 28 Weeks Later, where a couple of kids have to survive another outbreak when London is re-infected.

The sequel was an intense horror ride, but despite healthy box office numbers and positive reviews, 28 Months Later never happened. The climax of the sequel hints the infection has spread beyond London, with a glimpse of Paris being overrun with the infected. This opened up all sorts of possibilities, but with key talent like Danny Boyle and Alex Garland being too busy with other projects, the chances of a third movie grow more remote with each passing year.

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