# Movies that were obvious set ups for future franchises. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578 "2017-06-22T00:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/1 "2017-06-22T00:14:26Z")
I watch The Accountant recently and if ever there was a movie that was a set up for future movies, this was it. I don’t expect much from action movies. Fights, good triumphing over evil, fights were good triumphs over evil, a serviceable plot that gives a good context for the fights. The Accountant did that. But I could not help but think that this was the building of a “team” of some sort. The ending clinched it. I read now that there is, of course, a The Accountant 2 in the works. There are tons of movies that started franchises, but are there movies that were so very obvious in the execution? Also, I don’t know why but this flagrant maneuver seems to be why some people dislike Ben Affleck despite his obvious talents. Maybe it’s me, but this just seems to, well, forward for lack of a better word. ETA: I want to clarify that I’m not talking about movies that were _meant_ to be franchises. We all knew there’d be more than one Lord of the Rings. I’m thinking more of movies that are supposed to be stand alone. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/2 "2017-06-22T00:16:52Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > …Maybe it’s me, but this just seems to, well, forward for lack of a better word. Blunt? Lacking in subtlety? Written by a lazy hack? (Why yes, I have seen the movie) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/3 "2017-06-22T00:29:54Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Blunt? Lacking in subtlety? Written by a lazy hack? (Why yes, I have seen the movie) Yeah, that too. ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/4 "2017-06-22T00:35:41Z")
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins Sometimes it’s right in the title. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/5 "2017-06-22T00:37:40Z")
> [@Annoying\_Buzz](#): > > Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins > > Sometimes it’s right in the title. See but this is an example of a movie that was meant to be part of a series. It’s right there in the title. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/6 "2017-06-22T01:03:10Z")
The Rocketeer Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Hudson Hawk ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/7 "2017-06-22T01:04:21Z")
_RED_ was about the same, you could clearly tell they had a sequel in mind. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/8 "2017-06-22T01:07:04Z")
_Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension_ They even teased the sequel at the end of the movie. But then, so did _History of the World, Part 1._ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/9 "2017-06-22T01:10:21Z")
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD. On the one hand, that’s not _quite_ THE ADVENTURE BEGINS. On the other: _c’mon_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/10 "2017-06-22T01:12:20Z")
_[Salt](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944835/)_ tried to set up a series with Angelina Jolie ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/11 "2017-06-22T01:16:22Z")
I agree with The Rocketeer. It coulda been a franchise contender if only it hadn’t been so obvious. Sky Captain had such potential-- giant robots that shoot lasers from their eyes! But it was so terrible and so ruined by Kate Capsh. . . I mean Gwyneth Paltrow that I didn’t notice any ‘here come the sequels!’-ness. Too busy lamenting what could have been. I loved Hudson Hawk. I haven’t seen it in 20 years or so. I also do not remember any hype associated with it before I saw it on HBO waaaaaaay back in the day, so I enjoyed it for the silly musical detective story that it was. I don’t remember thinking there _must_ be a sequel brewing though. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/12 "2017-06-22T01:18:04Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > _Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension_ > > They even teased the sequel at the end of the movie. But then, so did _History of the World, Part 1._ I’m still waiting for Part 2. But then again, went in thinking there would be a sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/13 "2017-06-22T01:35:02Z")
I don’t think they meant for _Highlander_ to have sequels… ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/14 "2017-06-22T01:36:34Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I don’t think they meant for _Highlander_ to have sequels… And they didn’t. Good for them! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/15 "2017-06-22T02:06:32Z")
_The Sword and the Sorceror_, from 1982. I loved that movie and wanted to see more, but noooooo. The 1980 film version of Flash Gordon. That last scene, with the hand picking up the ring, and the words **THE END?** ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/16 "2017-06-22T02:19:57Z")
The End question mark??? has got to be a genre all by itself. Cheesier and even more ham-handed than the lazy, hack writing of The Accountant. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/17 "2017-06-22T02:26:34Z")
**Sahara** , with Matthew McConaughey as a treasure hunter who travels the globe with his plucky sidekick in tow, athletically uncovering the historical artifact du jour for the rich benefactor who bankrolls his adventures. (Well, his _latest_ adventure, anyhow; the whole story plays out exactly like it’s just one installment in a series – and, if the thing hadn’t flopped so danged hard, it probably would’ve been.) ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/18 "2017-06-22T02:27:33Z")
The most recent big studio attempt at a Three Musketeers movie from 2011. It looked it was going to wrap up cleanly as a stand-alone film, that is until the very last shot suddenly left things hanging for a sequel that will almost certainly never get made. Instead of eliciting a “wow” it just felt like hubris on the part of the film studio. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/19 "2017-06-22T02:32:35Z")
Green Lantern, certainly. “The Golden Compass” obviously. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578/20 "2017-06-22T02:39:37Z")
“Young Sherlock Holmes” Wow, did that suck. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-obvious-set-ups-for-future-franchises/789578.md?page=2)