Some of the most iconic science fiction movies have started franchises and delivered sequel after sequel, even if that wasn’t the intention. Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey has two sequel movies (even though no one talks about them), while that same year gave us the first Planet of the Apes movie, a franchise that continues to debut new chapters to this day. That’s not even accounting for how modern sci-fi movies are largely developed with an eye toward franchises, giving us tentpoles like Avatar, the MCU, and the modern adaptations of Dune.
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Despite the success of the genre, and the mass appeal that this orignal universes have for global audiences, not every science fiction movie with untapped potential and ideas for more stories is allowed to tell them. Even worse than knowing that a sequel hasn’t been made when a movie has clearly given us a path toward what it would be is waiting on that potential return. Some of these movies we’ve been waiting over a decade to see, but even worse, some of them we may never actually see at all.
7) DISTRICT 10
Unlike some of the films on this list, District 9 fully set up its own sequel, with an addendum in the final minutes that a “District 10” camp had been set up for the Prawns, but also confirmation that Sharlto Copley’s Wikus was still alive and well, despite fully transforming into one of the aliens. It’s a near-perfect ending for a compelling film, so perhaps a follow-up might end up sullying the film that we got, but writer/director Neill Blomkamp has long been adamant that the sequel will happen one day. Perhaps the saddest thing about the seventeen-year wait between the release of the original film and now is that a sequel is even more relevant than it would have been even just a few years after District 9.
6) Return of the Killer Klowns From Outer Space
38 years ago, the Chiodo Brothers delivered one of the best sci-fi horror comedies of all time with the practical effects-driven Killer Klowns From Outer Space. Though the film made money, a sequel failed to materialize immediately, a surprise given how the horror genre was being treated in the 1980s, and though a follow-up has been put in development multiple times over the years, these clown-shaped aliens have failed to return to Earth. It’s a shame not only because the series has become more and more popular over the years, exploding from a cult favorite to a mainstream horror pillar, but because there’s no shortage of circus-themed gags that could be used to take people out.
5) Mars Attacks! Again!
No one ever really expected a Mars Attacks! sequel to get made after Tim Burton’s 1996 movie became a box office bomb, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have been awesome. Based on the trading cards from the 1960s, the film managed to bring some of that terrifying artwork to life in live-action, but naturally didn’t get to all of them, meaning there’s plenty of material to get inspired by. The truth of the matter about why Mars Attacks! failed and couldn’t kickstart a franchise is that it arrived too late in the game. Debuting six months after Independence Day, which proved audiences were eager for a deadly serious alien movie with realistic special effects, Mars Attacks! was firmly rejected because it was a dark comedy where all of the famous actors died in hilarious ways (a near Christmas release also didn’t help given the tone). Despite this, we still want more.
4) Dredd 2
2012’s pitch-perfect adaptation of the 2000 AD comics starring Karl Urban as the titular character deserved so much better. Though critically lauded at the time, and beloved by the fans that actually saw the film, the things that led to Dredd becoming a box office bomb were elements out of its control. Partially, it was the release date, as September has never been kind to major feature films, but also the fact that it was being sold as a new 3D movie, as the format had begun to sour on audiences, was also a mark against it. It also didn’t help that Judge Dredd as a property has never been that big in the United States, and it manages to largely still be associated with the Sylvester Stallone flop from the 1990s.
Despite the failure of Dredd at the box office, the enthusiasm from fans and the creatives involvedn ever waivered when it came to the potential for doing more. Urban and screenwriter Alex Garland (who reports indicate may have actually “ghost directed” the film) have only gotten more notable in pop culture, meaning it might be easier to finally get the financing for such a project. Garland appears to have largely moved on from the series, but Urban continues to beat the drum for its potential.
3) The Actual Cloverfield Sequel
When J.J. Abrams initially conceived of Cloverfield, he previously revealed that it came to him after visiting Japan and seeing all of the Godzilla merch at a store. This made him wonder why America didn’t have its own monster it could lay claim to, which planted the seed that eventually grew into Cloverfield. Naturally, the development of the movie itself and the viral marketing campaign that was built around it pushed this idea into a different territory altogether, but the potential for not only an actual sequel in this series but an evolution of the alien kaiju seen in the film is something that the series has failed to materialize.
Perhaps even more insulting than the 18-year wait for a sequel was when the 2018 film The Cloverfield Paradox was released. Though part of the “Franchise” in a loose sense, they share the same word in the title, but each movie has largely been self-contained. The Netflix release (notable only for debuting right after the Super Bowl that year) saw the giant monster from the original film make a cameo at the end. It was hardly worth the wait at the time, and still fails to make any kind of sense beyond the hope that it would satisfy fans for three seconds.
2) More Chronicle
In the 2010s, the found footage format reached its peak when it became clear that this filmmaking style could be used on more than just horror movies would experiment with it. One of the best examples of this was Chronicle, which managed to blend the superhero movie with the format and create a totally unique new film for both subgenres. As superhero movies have only become even more ubiquitous in pop culture, a follow-up could have gone in any number of ways, but it failed to arrive after the film’s 2012 debut and has remained dormant since.
There are a few good reasons why this sequel never got off the ground. Both the director (Josh Trank) and the writer (Max Landis) have become controversial figures in Hollywood, with few recent credits to speak of. Even more important than that, the found footage format has completely gone away in mainstream movies.
1) Edge of 2morrow
Of all the films listed here, Edge of Tomorrow‘s sequel is the one that has perhaps had the most official updates from director Doug Liman and star Tom Cruise. Though the 2014 film was a modest success upon release, Edge of Tomorrow has only grown in popularity as more audiences have found it on streaming (meaning the calls for the sequel have only gotten more intense). Ironically, this is also the most recent film on the list, meaning it’s so far been the shortest wait for the sequel.
The biggest hurdle standing in the way of the Edge of Tomorrow sequel isn’t the story, either. Despite the first film clearly wrapping up in a way that ended the narrative, a script for the sequel has been completed. No, the biggest issue with getting this one made is the availability of the talent involved. Between Doug Liman, Tom Cruise, and Emily Blunt, these are three highly sought-after talents, meaning that, ironically, finding the time to make a Groundhog Day-esque movie is in short supply.
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