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PODCAST

Failure to Franchise

A bi-weekly podcast devoted to infamous examples of failed film-franchise starters. In a Hollywood landscape dominated by giant tentpole movies, not all attempted franchises can succeed. Many intended first entries of a series fail to generate the planned sequels due to low box office, poor judgement, or, simply put... utter incompetence. This show is a celebration of (or perhaps a memorial for) those failures, as hosts Trev and Chris dissect what went wrong with these cinematic misfires. @F2Fpod

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:27:23

Episode 144 - American Samurai (1992)

Failure to Franchise ·

2026/04/21

"Misfired Cannons" comes to a conclusion as a post Golan & Globus era Cannon limps to its final days amidst new ownership but continued, and growing, financial woes. In a blatant attempt to try to recapture some of their past glory, Cannon looked to start a new franchise that might capture the same fans as those of one of its most popular previous successful series, American Ninja. So, recruiting one of the stars of that franchise, and the director of the first installments, Cannon unleashed

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01:35:50

Episode 143 - Cobra (1986)

Failure to Franchise ·

2026/04/07

It's the third installment of "Misfired Cannons," and time to look at what happens when Cannon Films decides to work with one of Hollywood's biggest megastars. Sylvester Stallone was riding high off the success of both the Rocky and Rambo franchises in the mid-80s, so deciding to launch a new action franchise with the notoriously frugal and not always successful Cannon might have seemed a strange, unexpected move. So what sort of deal did Cannon offer Stallone to make it hard to resist? What other

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01:24:09

Episode 142 - Avenging Force (1986)

Failure to Franchise ·

2026/03/24

So you've developed a sequel to one of your recent "successes," but the legendary action star of the previous film has decided he doesn't want to do a follow-up. Are you supposed to scrap the whole thing? Not if you're Cannon Films, who knew better than to throw out all the work they had already done on a potential Invasion USA sequel, and instead decided to rework it into a new potential franchise starter of its own. "Misfired Cannons" continues as we look at 1986's Avenging Force, which saw Chuck

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01:56:52

Episode 141 - Invasion U.S.A. (1985) w/ Special...

Failure to Franchise ·

2026/03/10

For film fans of the '80s, one studio was synonymous with over-the-top action, wild premises, and low to mid-budget insanity. Cannon Films delivered a massive output of video store staples and cable classics, and today are looked back on nostalgically as an entertaining alternative to the "big" studio fare of the era. But Cannon certainly had at least one thing in common with the major studios - their fare share of failed franchise starters. So we're devoting two months to the studio's "Misfired

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01:36:05

Episode 140 - The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018)

Failure to Franchise ·

2026/02/24

"The Girl with the Failed February Franchises" concludes with our look at 2018's The Girl in the Spider's Web. Even though the previous film hadn't made as much as Sony had hoped for, it still earned Rooney Mara an Oscar nomination, received critical acclaim, and the entire creative team was down to return for more. So, of course the thing to do is...ignore all that and instead hire a new director and cast to jump ahead to the fourth book (the first not written by series creator Stieg Larsson) and

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01:43:26

Episode 139 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Failure to Franchise ·

2026/02/10

In 2005 (and 2008 for the American translation), the posthumous release of Swedish author Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy" took the world by storm. A series of Swedish cinematic adaptations soon followed, making even bigger pop culture icons of the characters of Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist, and Lisbeth Salander, the punk computer hacker with a mysterious past. And then, Hollywood decided to take their crack at it...not once, but twice. And we're investigating both, with our "The

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01:33:44

Episode 138 - The Predator (2018)

Failure to Franchise ·

2026/01/27

"Thomas JANEuary" concludes with 2018's The Predator, an attempt to resurrect, revitalize, and "event-ize" the classic sci-fi action franchise. To do so, 20th Century Fox recruited famed Hollywood action screenwriter and the acclaimed director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys, and Iron Man 3 (and co-star of the original Predator movie), Shane Black, as well as his former Monster Squad collaborator Fred Dekker, to helm a new entry with an interesting ensemble cast. But The Predator would face a

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01:47:11

Episode 137 - Give 'Em Hell Malone (2010)

Failure to Franchise ·

2026/01/13

We recently realized, though it was never our specific intention, that we covered Thomas Jane movies the last two January's of this podcast. So, what the heck...let's lean in! Welcome to "Thomas JANEuary," a two-episode tribute to the rugged, prickly, shoe-hating star of The Punisher, The Mist, Mutant Chronicles, HBO's Hung, and so much more. First up, we're looking at 2010's Give 'Em Hell, Malone. A relic from the dying days of the DTV era, this indie neo-noir thriller seeks to pay tribute to the

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01:46:50

Episode 136 - Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/12/30

A new year is almost upon us, but you know what they say: the holiday season isn't officially over until you've listened to part two of "Failure to Franchise presents Trev & Chris-tmas." This time, Trev gifts Chris the long-in-the-works passion project of legendary filmmaker James Cameron, the cyberpunk manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel. But, wait...if this was Cameron's passion project, why the heck is it directed by Robert Rodriguez? We discuss that and more, including the unique marriage of

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01:34:08

Episode 135 - I, Frankenstein (2014)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/12/16

It's that most wonderful time of the year, and "Failure to Franchise Presents Trev and Chris-tmas" kicks off with a timely look at a sci-fi action take on one of the most important, iconic, and revered properties of all time. And to be sure, 2014's I, Frankenstein pays homage to Mary Shelley's beloved creation by including all the most cherished elements of her classic novel...the heroic gargoyles who are actually angels; the evil human businessman who is secretly an ancient demon; the Filipino Kali

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01:28:45

Episode 134 - Elf (2003)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/12/02

It's a very special F2F Holiday Special! Before we exchange our gifts for our next annual "Failure to Franchise presents Trev & Chris-tmas," we're taking a brief, merry break to visit one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time, and arguably the last movie to date to enter the "Classic Christmas Movie" canon, 2003's Elf. Directed by a pre-Iron Man and Star Wars Jon Favreau, and starring Will Ferrell in his first major leading role, Elf was a giant hit upon release and continues to delight

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01:36:59

Episode 133 - The Crow (2024)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/11/18

"CROWvember" concludes! Not with another Russell Crowe movie, but with the actual bird! Sorta? I dunno, just roll with us here, as we look at 2024's The Crow, a long-gestating comic book movie franchise reboot that went through a lot of permutations, with multiple directors and leading men attached, before finally arriving (with Rupert Sanders at the helm and Bill Skarsgard in the lead role), and being met with a combination of audience apathy and outright anger. But is the movie better than the

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01:40:36

Episode 132 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of...

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/11/04

New month, new theme. We're kicking off "CROWvember" with yet another failed franchise starter from the surprisingly-regularly-featured-on-F2F Russell Crowe. But this time, it's a classy, prestige play Oscar contender from acclaimed filmmaker Peter Weir that was, nevertheless, meant to hopefully kick off a cinematic series. Adapted from the long-running "Aubrey/Maturin" period war-drama novel series by Patrick O'Brian, 2003's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a rousing 19th century

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01:42:08

Episode 131 - Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City...

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/10/21

Our special "Trick 'r(esident) Tre(vil)" month concludes, with the 2021 cinematic reboot of the Resident Evil series. We've lost Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson (except for an in-name-only producer credit), but hey, we've got a crap-ton of 1998 references to make up for it! That's because Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City promised to be a more faithful adaptation of the original video game source material, condensing the first two games into one movie. And yet, even with this allegedly

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01:39:30

Success to Series #6 - The 'Resident Evil' Franchise

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/10/07

For a special Halloween edition of our "Success to Series" spin-off show, we're taking a break from our usual failures and instead beginning our "Trick 'r(esident) Tre(vil)" theme month, with a loving look at a series we unironically adore - Paul W.S. Anderson's six-film Resident Evil saga (2002-2016), starring Milla Jovovich. We explain why we genuinely enjoy this oft critically-panned series, once again pontificate on the star-power of Jovovich, and try to figure out why we're okay with the huge

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01:31:45

Episode 130 - Shaft (2019)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/09/23

"Double-Shafted September" concludes with our look at Shaft, the second reboot of Shaft, following Shaft. Yeah, ok, this is pretty confusing without the years, isn't it? Just to be clear, this is the 2019 version, another attempt to kick-start a version of the franchise with Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft, Jr. But this time, he's not alone, as the actual, ostensible main character is actually Jr's son, John "JJ" Shaft III, played by The Boys' Jessie T. Usher. JJ is a new kind of Shaft, a nerdy,

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01:39:52

Episode 129 - Shaft (2000)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/09/09

Are you ready to be shafted? No? Well, how about...double-shafted?? Cause we're kicking off "Double-Shafted September," a two-episode series dedicated to both attempts to relaunch the iconic Blaxploitation franchise that started with 1971's Shaft. First up, we're looking at 2000's Shaft (yep, same name), directed by John Singleton, and starring Hollywood's biggest badass M'Fer, Samuel L. Jackson. In this updated version, Jackson plays John Shaft, the nephew of Richard Roundtree's original John

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01:19:56

Episode 128 - The Garbage Pail Kids Movie (1987)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/08/26

Here it is! It's all been building to this! The epic conclusion of "Summer Surprise," and one of our most anticipated....err, or should we say dreaded episodes yet! That's right, it's 1987's The Garbage Pail Kids, based on the controversial, extremely popular, '80s Topps trading card set parodying the mega-successful Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. How does one make a movie out of a non-narrative trading card line? Is the proper target audience for a Garbage Pail Kids movie kids or adults? Can an audience

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01:32:40

Episode 127 - The House with a Clock in its Walls (2018)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/08/12

"Summer Surprise" continues with...what's this? Another witch movie?? That's right, but this one has a hell of a pedigree. A family dark-fantasy romp from Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett, and directed by...Eli Roth?? Huh. So how did the infamous filmmaker behind such extreme horror hits as Cabin Fever, Hostel, and Thanksgiving handle the opportunity to helm a more family-friendly adventure story based on the first book in a popular series of children's

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01:22:13

Episode 126 - I Spy (2002)

Failure to Franchise ·

2025/07/29

The "Summer Surprise" randomizer brings us yet another classic TV show turned big-budget movie, this time with a look at 2002's I Spy, a groundbreaking dramatic spy series from the '60s starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby, now re-imagined as an action-comedy big-screen adventure starring Owen Wilson and Eddie Murphy. The cinematic I Spy clearly failed to make the impact the filmmakers hoped for, but is it entirely the movie's fault? How much did Eddie Murphy's other then recent box-office bombs hurt

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