Netflix Is About To Lose a Marvel Star’s Box Office Bomb That Was Supposed To Launch a Franchise

Marvel movies have consistently been some of the highest-grossing films ever and have helped make household names out of their actors, but the franchise’s stars have collectively earned a few hits outside of the MCU. That was certainly the case for a 2013 box office bomb that earned a Marvel star his lowest-rated movie yet – and Netflix subscribers only have a few more days left to stream it.

Four years after making his Deadpool debut in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds starred in another comic book movie, R.I.P.D. That film, based on Peter M. Lenkov’s 999 comic book of the same name, is set to stop streaming on Netflix on January 1st. The movie stars Reynolds as Nick Walker, a recently slain cop who is recruited into the legendary afterlife police R.I.P.D. and paired up with veteran undead sheriff Roicephus “Roy” Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges) to find spirits attempting to avoid their final judgement.

R.I.P.D. Killed the Intended Franchise

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R.I.P.D. was intended to launch an entire franchise with sequels that Lenkov told Syfy he hoped would explore “different partnerships — whether it was a cop from the Al Capone days in Chicago partnered up with somebody from the Miami Vice days.” Unfortunately, none of that ever came to fruition after the first film proved to be a massive franchise killer.

Although the film was set up to be the next big summer blockbuster with a Men in Black-esque concept and major star power from Reynolds and Bridges, the movie turned out to be a colossal flop. R.I.P.D. only grossed $78 million against an estimated $130 million budget and earned disastrous Rotten Tomatoes critic and audience scores of just 13% and 38%, making it the lowest-rated movie in Reynolds’ career. Despite some “turn your brain off” action fun, R.I.P.D. was a massively underwhelming final project that too heavily leaned on Men in Black without adding anything new, instead feeling like a cheap knockoff with weak CGI, an inconsistent tone, and an overall poor execution. Even Reynolds and Bridges couldn’t save the film, their onscreen chemistry falling flat and their characters too cartoonish and uninteresting.

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A prequel film, R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned, did eventually follow, but it was released direct-to-video in 2022 and earned little buzz and only managed a 26% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. There is some hope for a future, though, with Lenkov revealing that he is “still hoping I could somehow convince everybody to do it as a series one day, because I think the concept is bigger than a movie.” He added that he “wouldn’t follow the movies that exist now. I would try to reinvent it.”

Where to Stream R.I.P.D. After It Leaves Netflix?

R.I.P.D. won’t be entering the afterlife following its removal from Netflix. Although the movie doesn’t currently stream outside of Netflix, it is scheduled to move to the rival streaming service Peacock on January 1st, ensuring that the film will continue to be easily accessible. R.I.P.D. is also available to rent or buy online.

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