With the recent issues with The Flash movie, amidst Ezra Miller’s public controversies, the DC Cinematic Universe seems to be in trouble. While it has been nothing if not turbulent for DCEU, there are other cinematic universes that haven’t even had a chance to get off the ground. DC has had its major crossover movie, while other attempts at movie universes have yet to even get that far. Cinematic universes are a surprisingly tricky sell to the public. While Marvel gets widespread acclaim for its cinematic universe, many others have been met with apathy and disinterest. Studios want to make movies in these shared universes as they come with built-in appeal. People wanted to see the Avengers because Thor and Iron Man would be in it. The issue, however, is convincing people that your cinematic universe will last and interest them.
Often, what will happen is negative or lukewarm reception to a movie will scuttle a cinematic universe. However, Marvel itself had a few early fumbles and yet still managed to make one of the biggest and highest-grossing franchises in film history, so early failure isn’t often the only factor. While it’s possible some of these cinematic universes may come back from obscurity, it’s very likely their respective studios will leave them dead. Each of these franchises failed to get off the ground for particular reasons, which this article will explore.
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5 X-Men Origins
Marvel Entertainment
Rather than attempting to make a cinematic universe from a single movie, this was an early attempt to broaden the existing X-Men franchise. This universe is also unique in that it preceded the runaway success of the MCU, as The Avengers movie hadn’t yet been released and could have gone either way in the public consciousness. Then-called 20th Century Fox tried to kick off this universe with the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The film itself was flawed and generally panned by critics and was, for some time, one of the most infamously unpopular comic book movies. One of the crowning moments of infamy in the series was the debut of Deadpool, the ‘merc with the mouth’, except his mouth was sown shut by the end of the movie, which was, per Screen Rant, one of the film’s worst mistakes.
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This attempt to turn X-Men into a wider universe was also unique in that it wasn’t a permanent failure. Fox would make an X-Men prequel in the form of X-Men: First Class, however, the plans for X-Men Origins movies for Magneto and Gambit were shelved. The concept itself wasn’t a bad one, as Marvel would do similar prequels, spin-offs, and character-movies in the MCU. This cinematic universe was likely sunk due to the negative reception of both Wolverine’s movie and the latest mainline X-Men movie. The plans for X-Men Origins may have been able to weather a bad first showing, but two bad movies in a row would have been too much.
4 The Amazing Spider-Man Universe
Sony
The Amazing Spider-Man’s cinematic universe was not necessarily doomed from the start. Despite negative fan reception with some mainline Spider-Man films in the universe, starring Andrew Garfield, the Venom movies seemed like it could possibly promise to resurrect the franchise in some way. Garfield’s return as Spider-Man in the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home also gave some credence to the idea that this universe could survive. In fact, there is even a very small chance that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 could somehow come out now.
The main issue is that you can’t have a Spider-Verse without Spider-Man, and the last Spider-Man movie in the Sony universe was eight years ago. Another issue is that these characters have yet to appear in each other’s movies in any way beyond mentions or hints. Even in the first Iron Man movie, there were Agents of SHIELD running around; similarly, Thor had to deal with Hawkeye in his first movie. If Sony doesn’t seem to have confidence in the Amazing Spider-Man cinematic universe, viewers won’t either. Given how bold the MCU is with crossover, dipping your toe into the water over and over simply won’t cut it. While Spider-Man: No Way Home may give the universe hope for existing, it has yet to meaningfully exist in its own right.
3 The Dark Tower Universe
Via Sony Pictures Releasing
Steven King’s books are known for having an interconnected universe and a complex cosmology. There are few things as perfect for adaptation into a cinematic universe as a project that already has a built-in extended universe. The Dark Tower series would also seem like a perfect place to start. Following the adventures of a character called Roland, the series blends horror, science fiction, and fantasy and weaves characters from King’s other novels into itself. A tall order to adapt, but it would link into movies that are already made that the audience may have seen. Also adapting a universe with literary source material is going to be easier than building one from scratch. It’s very high concept, but the recent Netflix adaptation of The Sandman proves that high-concept, cosmic universes can work on-screen.
The issue is that the Dark Tower movie didn’t please fans or newcomers to King’s work, which is a dangerous place to start a cinematic universe. Fans found that the series simplified and flattened the rich mythology, while newcomers were still confused and baffled. King himself, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, admitted the project was flawed due to the studio’s attempts to make it into a PG-13 “tent-pole movie,” rather than embracing the strange and unique elements of the setting. It was also an odd decision to start the movie franchise with a sequel to the original book series.
2 The King Arthur Cinematic Universe
Via Warner Bros
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a classic tale of a single movie killing a cinematic universe. It wasn’t that the movie was infamously bad, like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but the project was meant to be the supporting weight for an entire franchise, and so even a lackluster movie would be catastrophic for the planned universe. Legend of the Sword was planned early on as the basis for the King Arthur cinematic universe and was planned with plenty of characters and details to spin off. When this version tested poorly with audiences, it led to reshoots and reworks that, in turn, resulted in the finished product to be more expensive, which mean that it hurt even more when it flopped. With the success of The Green Knight, however, which offers a less traditional version of the Arthurian Myths, perhaps there is hope for a resurgence in interest in a more mystical and artsy take on the franchise.
1 The Dark Universe
Universal Pictures
The Dark Universe is a cinematic universe that wasn’t killed by a single bad film. In fact the universe, such as it is, had The Invisible Man (2020) as a promising entry into the franchise. Starring Elisabeth Moss, the movie sits at an extremely respectable 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s even mild hope for the series to continue with some of the momentum from that success. The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, was a terrible flop, but, again, the MCU also had its early hiccups and issues and is now a powerhouse of cinema.
Why then is the Dark Universe struggling? The issue is partially TheMummy (2017), but also the pandemic has slowed almost all entertainment considerably, with notable delays that have occurred even as recent as this year. If the Dark Universe returns, it will be without the aid of the goodwill and hype generated by The Invisible Man. Despite this, the Dark Universe is probably the most likely on this list to be revived. It’s still possible they can mount a comeback, and these classic monsters have enough cultural relevance they may be able to get by on their own fame. If there is any hope, it likely lies in the Ryan Gosling-starring Wolfman.
