There’s nothing more unsatisfying for movie fans than for a story to go without a proper ending. On rare occasions, a planned trilogy doesn’t pan out and concludes without a satisfying finale, even in popular franchises. This can happen for any number of reasons, from creative differences to underperformance at the box office.

Some unfinished trilogies in Hollywood hurt fans more than others. From Andrew Garfield’s infamous Amazing Spider-Man franchise to Ridley Scott’s planned Alien prequel trilogy, these franchises never gave fans the proper finale they were hoping for–and probably never will.

10Ridley Scott Never Finished His Alien Prequel Trilogy

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Prometheus
7.0
Disney+ Hulu

Alien: Covenant
6.4

In 2012, Ridley Scott made his long-awaited return to the Alien franchise, over thirty years after directing the first film. Prometheus acted as a secret prequel to the original Alien, giving audiences new information about the creation of the xenomorphs and setting up certain plot points that would persist in the earlier films. Alien: Covenant followed the events of Prometheus, meant to kickstart a new era for the franchise.

Initially, Ridley Scott was incredibly optimistic about the future of his Alien prequels. He intended to make a new trilogy that would lead directly into the events of the 1979 film. Allegedly, the script for the next installment was completed, even though the project never saw the light of day. Scott’s Alien prequels appear to have been put on hold following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, with the franchise now focusing on new stories like Alien: Romulus and the upcoming series Alien: Earth.

9The Amazing Spider-Man Was Canceled After Two Movies

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

The Amazing Spider-Man 2
6.6

In 2012, Sony rebooted the Spider-Man franchise with a new actor taking over the role after Tobey Maguire’s trilogy. The Amazing Spider-Man debuted Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man in a new take on the superhero’s origin story. The film did well enough to warrant a sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which saw the eponymous superhero battle multiple supervillains, including Electro and the Green Goblin.

Sony had big plans for the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, with at least one additional sequel in development. There were even plans to develop an entire cinematic universe around Spider-Man and his supporting characters. However, the poor reception of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 caused Sony to falter in these plans and the character was eventually rebooted with Tom Holland in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even so, remnants of The Amazing Spider-Man remain, with Andrew Garfield appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Sony has even continued its planned cinematic universe of Spider-Man characters, though it is no longer connected to the Amazing Spider-Man universe.

8Zack Snyder Planned Three Justice League Movies

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Zack Snyder’s Justice League
7.9
Max

Zack Snyder was the most prominent creative voice in the development of the DC Extended Universe, making him the de facto choice to direct the franchise’s first major team-up crossover: Justice League. Snyder developed the first Justice League film as the set-up for a much larger storyline that would potentially include two sequels.

Tragically, Zack Snyder was forced to leave Justice League after the death of his daughter. Rather than delay the project, Warner Bros. elected to replace Snyder with Avengers director Joss Whedon. The reaction to Whedon’s Justice League threw the entire DCEU into disarray, casting doubt on any of Snyder’s original plans. While fans eventually got to see what Snyder’s version of Justice League would have been, DC has since moved on and plans to start a new cinematic universe in 2025 with James Gunn at the helm. However, Zack Snyder may still finish his Justice League trilogy if fans get their way.

7The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Keep Getting Rebooted

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
5.8
MGM+

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
5.9
Paramount+

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise received one of many reboots in 2014, this time with CGI-animated versions of its nominal characters. The movie wasn’t particularly well-received by fans but did well enough at the box office to warrant a sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, in 2016.

At the time of the sequel’s release, there were plans in place to develop a third and potentially final film featuring this version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These plans were put on permanent hold after Out of the Shadows flopped at the box office. The franchise was eventually rebooted yet again with the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, which was a far more faithful adaptation of the source material than the preceding films.

6Escape From LA Killed A Planned Trilogy

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Escape from New York
7.1
PLEX Prime Video

Escape from LA
5.7
Paramount+

The ’80s cult action filmEscape from New York is considered to be one of the best of its kind, featuring one of the most memorable performances of Kurt Russell’s career. The post-apocalyptic film introduced Russell’s Snake Plisskin, one of the most iconic action heroes of all time. The John Carpenter-directed film’s success led to the development of a sequel, Escape from LA, which was released in 1996.

Paramount initially intended to develop two sequels to Escape from New York, with Escape from Earth meant to conclude the trilogy. However, Escape from LA majorly underperformed at the box office, failing to outearn its meager budget of $50 million. The studio quickly canceled any plans for a sequel. After the movie’s cancelation, John Carpenter revealed that it would have followed Plisskin activating a superweapon called the Sword of Damocles and escaping from Earth in a space capsule.

5Tom Cruise Was Meant To Do One More Jack Reacher Movie

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Jack Reacher
7.0

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
6.1

In 2012’s Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise brought the eponymous action hero to life. The film followed former United States Major Jack Reacher as he investigated a grisly homicide that may involve a highly trained sniper. The film was a massive success, leading to the development of a sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which was released in 2016.

The success of the first Jack Reacher film led to plans for a full franchise featuring the character, with at least two sequels in development. However, Never Go Back was not received as well as its predecessor and made significantly less in its box office run. The franchise was eventually rebooted with Prime Video’s Reacher series starring Alan Ritchson. However, producer and frequent Tom Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie stated as recently as 2020 that he and Cruise were still interested in making a third Jack Reacher film, this time with an R-rating (via Empire).

4Terminator: Genisys Immediately Killed Plans For A Trilogy

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Terminator: Genisys
6.3
MGM+ Prime Video

The Terminator franchise has been in a state of disarray since the poor reception to the third film, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The 2015 reboot Terminator: Genisys was an attempt to clean up the franchise with a brand new timeline that presented a new take on the events of the original film.

Genisys was meant to revitalize the franchise with a new trilogy that would deal more heavily with the events of the dystopian future. Release dates were even announced for the next two installments in the trilogy, with back-to-back shooting planned for both films. However, Genisys was immediately despised by Terminator fans and all plans were put on indefinite hold.

3Terminator: Dark Fate Started (And Ended) A New Trilogy

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Terminator: Dark Fate
6.2
Sling TV

The Terminator franchise attempted its second attempt at rebooting the franchise in 2019 with Terminator: Dark Fate. This time, the new film ignored everything that came after Terminator 2: Judgment Day while keeping the events of the original two movies canon. The movie saw both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton reprise their iconic roles from the original films, teaming up with a cast of new characters who were meant to carry the franchise into a new era.

Like Genisys, Dark Fate was meant to kickstart a new trilogy of Terminator films. However, the movie vastly underperformed at the box office despite being better received than its immediate predecessor. Dark Fate‘s financial failure essentially killed the Terminator franchise, with all plans for future films put on immediate hold. However, the recent release of an animated series Terminator Zero gives fans hope that the franchise will continue, especially as rumors abound about James Cameron’s potential return to the franchise with yet another reboot.

2Hellboy Was Rebooted Before Its Third Film

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Hellboy
6.8
Philo

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
7.0
Max

Hellboy is a cult classic superhero movie starring Ron Perlman as the nominal character. Directed by the legendary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, Hellboy adapted certain storylines from Dark Horse Comics. The film received a sequel, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, in 2008.

Guillermo del Toro planned to return for a third and final Hellboy film after he finished developing his adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Del Toro eventually dropped out of The Hobbit but never ended up returning to Hellboy. Despite both del Toro and Perlman voicing their interest in finishing the trilogy, the franchise was rebooted in 2019 with David Harbour taking over the main role. The reboot was very poorly received, leading to yet another reboot being developed, with Hellboy: The Crooked Man set to release in late 2024.

1Solo May Have Been The Start Of A Planned Trilogy

Film
IMDb Rating
Streaming

Solo: A Star Wars Story
6.9
Disney+

After Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, multiple new Star Wars spinoffs entered development, including Solo: A Star Wars Story, a prequel following a young Han Solo. The spinoff was released in 2018, between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Solo starred Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo, detailing how he came to be the smuggler audiences meet during the events of A New Hope.

It is unclear exactly what Lucasfilm’s plans for Solo were after the first film, but it was plain that the studio intended to continue the story of young Han Solo in further projects. Ehrenreich reportedly signed a contract that included two additional appearances after Solo, hinting at a potential trilogy following his character. However, Solo underperformed at the box office and Disney pulled the plug on any potential sequels. As of yet, Solo‘s unfinished story has yet to continue, even in the many comic books set in the Star Wars world.