When it comes to Hollywood, there’s no better solution to ruining a perfectly good franchise with a bad prequel. While it may be known that prequels are where established franchises go to die, Hollywood just can’t help itself sometimes. We know that some backstories are better left untold, but execs haven’t gotten the memo yet.
We’ve ranked 10 franchise-killing prequels that were probably better off left for dead. Let’s collectively pretend we never saw them, OK?
Cover Photo: Lucasfilm
Ranked! Franchise-Killing Prequels
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10. 'Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace'
Say what you will about Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, but at least it’s different from the original trilogy. Love it or hate it, there’s something oddly unique about the first chapter in George Lucas’ prequels. It may be a flawed film, but you can’t deny the cultural impact that The Phantom Menace had with online fandom moving forward.
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9. 'Prometheus'
From the get-go, Prometheus was the type of prequel that was doomed to fail. Even though Ridley Scott’s film attempted to provide context behind the original Alien, the movie turned out to be a jumbled mess. While there are some worthwhile elements - Michael Fassbender’s performance and the pod sequence being prime examples - all of these elements fail to meet the promise the engineers teased in the first film.
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8. The Entire Hobbit Trilogy
Although the entire Hobbit trilogy tests the limits of digital technology, it also happens to test the limits of our patience. In essence, the Hobbit movies are an exercise in how not to handle a prequel trilogy - rushed, yet overlong. While there is something to be said for the many, many production troubles that Peter Jackson's prequel trilogy endured, there’s a reason why you should never adapt one novel into three films.
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7. 'The Scorpion King'
The Scorpion King franchise began with Dwayne “franchise Viagra” Johnson translating a memorable 5-minute performance into a forgettable hour-and-a-half movie with a charismatic leading role. Nevertheless, Johnson has lived up to his name by invigorating a direct-to-DVD namesake that has spawned four sequels and an upcoming reboot (ugh). Nevertheless, The Scorpion King is more memorable for its braun than its brain.
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6. 'The Thing' (2011)
John Carpenter's 1982 remake of The Thing may be a stone-cold horror classic, but the 2011 prequel to the remake is anything but. Although Mary Elizabeth Winstead's presence is a highlight, this prequel serves as a classic example of over-promising and underdelivering. If anything, 2011’s The Thing is proof that you can have too much of a good thing.
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5. '300: Rise of an Empire'
While Zack Snyder himself is responsible for the inception of the screenplay, director Noam Murro does what he can to mitigate disaster even further. If Snyder’s 300 was the epitome of style over substance, then the sequel/prequel 300: Rise of an Empire is a pale imitation of that style. Ultimately, 300: Rise of An Empire encroaches on gonzo territory - whether it intends to be or not.
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4. 'Hannibal Rising'
Hannibal Rising may be a bad movie, but it is also an unnecessary one. With the exception of Gaspard Ulliel’s performance (R.I.P), there’s not much to vouch for here. At the end of the day, the failure of Hannibal Rising eventually led to the excellent Hannibal TV series, so at least there’s that.
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3. 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not only the worst in the fox era of the X-Men franchise (which is saying something), but it also showcases some of the worst CGI in any superhero movie. While "Huge Jackedman" demonstrates dedication to the titular role, everything about this prequel is either mediocre or downright unnecessary. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not a good movie by any means, but at least it’s more re-watchable than both the following entries on this list.
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2. 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'
Ever since Tobe Hooper’s classic was unleashed upon audiences in 1974, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has repeatedly tried (and failed) to reach the heights of the original. While there have certainly been worse entries in the franchise, this prequel serves as the most obvious cash grab of all time. Despite the presence of Matt Boehmer and Jordana Brewster, it doesn’t even attempt to justify its existence.
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1. 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald'
There are a lot of things that could be said about the Fantastic Beasts movies, but one of them is that J.K. Rowling is not a good screenwriter. For a myriad of reasons, The Crimes of Grindelwald is not only a bad sequel to an OK prequel, but might very well be a franchise-killer - at least according to the box office returns for the most recent film in the series. Ultimately, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the type of movie that everyone agrees is bad, but more importantly, it’s mostly boring and largely unmemorable. Interestingly enough, it also happens to win the award for most male toxicity in a movie since John Wayne.
