5 Comic Book Sequels That Should've Happened

With every studio building their own cinematic universe, it seems like every superhero film is getting a sequel nowadays. However, Hollywood is an unpredictable terrain where more projects are started than finished.

There are many cases where sequels that showed a lot of promise were going to be produced but were canceled for various reasons, particularly in the comic book genre.

So we’re going to look at five great comic book sequels that we never saw.

'Fantastic Four 3'

This may not be a popular choice, as many didn’t appreciate the first two Fantastic Four films, but they were fun and engaging for what they were.

Following Rise of the Silver Surfer, the cast and director were set to return for a third film. There was no script, but late screenwriter Dan Payne did have some ideas. During the second film's release, he said in an interview that he always loved "the Skrulls, the Puppet Master, and Annihilus and the Negative Zone" and would like to "see them on the big screen someday." If Payne were involved, the Negative Zone and maybe some of the villains he mentioned may have appeared in the third film.

Actress Jessica Alba also made some speculations, expressing interest in Franklin Richards being introduced to the series. "I think that would be hilarious," she said. "He’s so powerful. I think that would be a really interesting dynamic, a mother-child dynamic. She’s still a superhero but she’s super-protective and he’s wild, he can do anything and has no sense of what’s appropriate. That would be really fun".

As cheesy and as silly as the first two films were, it would’ve been great to see the cast together one last time, especially with their chemistry. Unfortunately, due to Silver Surfer’s poor performance at the box office, the idea of a sequel was abandoned.

'Spider-Man 4'

Despite the mediocre Spider-Man 3, the fourth film Sam Rami was planning was intended to redeem the series. "I was very unhappy with Spider-Man 3," he said in an interview. "And I wanted to make Spider-Man 4 end on a very high note, the best Spider-Man of them all".

It would have finally shown Dr. Curt Connors transform into the lizard and feature Mysterio, Black Cat, and the Vulture (who could have been played by John Malkovich). Arguably, an overdose of villains was what spoiled Spider-Man 3. If the film was made featuring the villains that were revealed, it could’ve suffered a similar fate. This may have been why Sam Rami eventually left the project. "I couldn’t get the script together in time, due to my own failings" he stated, "and I said to Sony, ‘I don’t want to make a movie that is less than great, so I think we shouldn’t make this picture. Go ahead with your reboot, which you’ve been planning anyway.’"

It's unfortunate that we never saw Dr. Connors turn into the lizard as it was a plot point the last two films were hinting at. Since the Spider-Man series has been rebooted twice since 2007, watching Connors in the original trilogy, being aware of the potential that was never fulfilled, is really difficult.

Tim Burton's 'Batman Forever'

Wouldn’t it have been fantastic to see more of Burton’s Gotham? Well, in the early 90s, following Batman Returns, Burton almost got a third installment. Nothing was set in stone, but, similar to the Fantastic Four 3, there were a lot of ideas.

Batman Continues was its original title. Catwoman would've appeared in the film, setting up for her own standalone film that Burton was hoping to direct; it would've featured the Riddler, possibly portrayed by Robin Williams, and the Scarecrow, with Chucky voice actor Brad Dourif being Burton's initial choice.

Batman Returns received mixed reactions, particularly from parents who weren't expecting the film's dark adult tone. Hence Burton was let go from the production. Following his exit, Michael Keaton left, turning Batman Forever into a completely standalone film, set far away from Burton's beautiful Gotham City.

'Dredd 2'

Very much like Burton’s Gotham, it would be fantastic to see more of Mega City One. Especially considering how small-scale and open-ended the Dredd film is. The 2000 AD Judge Dredd comics offer encyclopedic possibilities for a sequel. There’re so many places and battles and villains Urban’s Dredd could come up against. Alex Garland, the film's screenwriter, was very aware of this as he suggested he had a trilogy planned during the first film's release.

"I wrote a second script which was about Dredd going out to the Cursed Earth," he told Bleeding Cool News. "If they want to make sequels, I’ve got a story that goes from this one into the origins of Dredd and the city. Then the third one would have a strange, existential attack from the Dark Judges."

After years of campaigning on social media, Garland told fans rather bluntly in an interview with Collider to keep their money as "the people who make the decisions don’t get moved by that kind of thing. They’re moved by other stuff, other equations, other algorithms." The first film simply didn't do well enough at the box office.

However, Karl Urban's Judge Dredd could still return. A TV series known as Judge Dredd: Mega-City One has been in development. Last July it was announced that the first two seasons have been mapped out and the show will soon be heading into pre-production. Whether Karl Urban will be involved is yet to be seen.

'Hellboy 3'

It’s clear from the first two films that the Hellboy series is supposed to be a trilogy. The ending of Hellboy 2 leaves many loose ends that were clearly meant to be tied up in another installment. Hellboy leaving the Bureau and discovering he’s going to be a father is a great cliffhanger before a third film. On top of that, Guillermo Del Toro is an incredible director and his Hellboy films really display his talent in visual and creature designs. It would be wonderful to see him return to that world again.

Alas, unlike a continuation of Dredd, Hellboy 3 has no chance of fruition. Following a meeting with actor Ron Perlman and Hellboy Comic Creator Mike Mignola, Del Toro tweeted "100% the sequel will not happen. And that is to be the final thing about it." To make matters worse, a reboot is in production with an expected release date in January of 2019.

When looking at all these canceled projects, knowing of their ideas and potential, the only thing you can do is close your eyes and whisper, "If only..."