The Big Debate: Franchise Fatigue

Sarah Myles

Film franchises have been around forever. From Laurel And Hardy and Charlie Chaplin in the 1920s, to James Bond from the 1960s onwards – Hollywood, it seems, has always known a cash cow when it sees one. So, why are we discussing the idea of ‘franchise fatigue’ now? Has it really taken a century to grow tired of this trend? If filmmakers and executives are still working together to churn out series instalments – just as they did back then – what is it that has changed to create this sequel-weary attitude?

The changes are numerous. Firstly, let’s look at the historical series from the likes of Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel And Hardy, and Abbott And Costello. These were beloved characters having different adventures in different films. Each one was its own story, and succeeded or failed on its own merits. Today, we have complex universes that require significant investment of time and money – you have to be a ‘completist’ in order to get the absolute most out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, for example, or risk feeling somewhat short-changed.

Secondly, and increasingly, we are seeing franchise continuations purely for the sake of making money. Sure, there are still film series that are actually well made – with stories that need to be told – but in all honesty, did the world really require more than one instalment of The Mummy? Was there an actual point to The Expendables 2 or 3, beyond the lining of pockets? Is the creative world a better place with Transporter 3 in it? It is these mind-numbing franchises that are causing fatigue, by cluttering up the release slate years in advance, leaving little room for decent series entries, or better yet, that rarest of rarities: the well-made single movie.

Which brings me to the third change – us. The informed audience. The people that are interested, and pay attention to the detail. In the past few decades, people like us have spent more and more time peeking behind the curtain, and looking the wizard in the eye. We so desperately want to know everything about how our beloved movies make it to the screen, that an entire industry has grown up around that thirst for knowledge. More and more information is disseminated beyond the studio walls – including the booking of release dates – in an attempt to build anticipation.

But, here’s the thing – studios have always planned future productions – they’d be terrible business people if they failed to look beyond the next 12 months – it’s just that now, they’re telling us about them because we’re demanding to know. And that’s why we’re weary – because how uninspiring is to know exactly how few new ideas we’re going to see in the next five years?

It’s essentially a pact with the devil. It’s a sacrifice we have to make – because sometimes, those early announcements of franchise instalments are actually exciting and interesting. I’m glad to know that DC have a firm date in mind for finally getting a Wonder Woman movie onto the big screen. If I have to wade through another Pitch Perfect or Fast And The Furious movie release date to get there, then so be it. The question is, how far down this rabbit hole are we going to go?

Will we, at some point, return to a time when the majority of film series are determined by quality story-telling, rather than a desire to blindly make more cash, or are we going to disappear under the weight of our own bottom line? I’m hoping for the former, but fear it will be the latter – in which case there will be no cure for ‘franchise fatigue.’