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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

01:16:25

Episode Eighty-Six - The Punisher (1989)

Failure to Franchise ·

2024/01/02

Failure to Franchise is kicking off 2024 with our "New Year's Punishment Party!" No, it's not a weird S&M thing, ya freaks! Instead, we're spending January looking at not one, not two, but three failed attempts to start a movie franchise based on one of Marvel Comics most popular (and problematic) characters, Frank Castle, AKA the violent vigilante known as The Punisher. First up, we travel back to 1989, the year of Tim Burton's Batman, to look at the year's other comic book movie about a black-clad

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01:36:20

Episode Eighty-Five - The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/12/19

The third annual "Failure to Franchise Presents Trev and Chris-Mas" wraps up (see what I did there?) with a look at 1999's The Thomas Crown Affair, a remake of the 1968 classic heist movie starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. This time around, the titular main character is played by Pierce Brosnan, taking a break from his then current role as James Bond (heard of it?), to try to add another blockbuster franchise under his belt. But despite bringing Rene Russo and Denis Leary along for the ride,

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01:20:29

Episode Eighty-Four - The Nice Guys (2016)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/12/05

The Third Annual "Failure to Franchise Presents: Trev & Chris-Tmas" kicks off with Trev's present for Chris - a critically acclaimed but audience-ignored neo-noir comic crime-thriller from a celebrated screenwriter and starring two beloved movie stars. So why the heck did The Nice Guys sink like a fish at the box office in 2016? We're here to try to figure it out, as we discuss writer/director Shane Black's distinctive aesthetic, the comic abilities of Ryan Gosling, why a bigger Russell Crowe might

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01:44:08

Episode Eighty-Three - The Flash (2023)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/11/21

Our "DCPU" series concludes, with the most recent movie we have ever covered! That's right, we're going all the way back to, uh, earlier this year, for an in-depth look at the looong-in-the-works superhero epic, The Flash. Why are we already so confident this one will be a non-starter? Well, between the change in DC cinema leadership since its release, the multiple controversies surrounding the lead actor, and the lackluster box office, it seems a safe bet! But that's only scratching the surface of

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01:30:35

Episode Eighty-Two - Black Adam (2022)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/11/07

Over ten years in development. A narrative connection to a recently successful superhero franchise starter, Shazam. And a globally beloved megastar in the lead role. And yet none of that could keep 2022's Black Adam from becoming the next entry in our "DCPU" series. So what exactly went wrong with this long-in-the-works entry about one of DC's biggest anti-heroes? How much blame can fall onto that leading man, Dwayne Johnson, who promised to change the hiearchy of the DC universe, but instead walked

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01:37:16

Episode Eighty-One - Green Lantern (2011)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/10/24

Happy HALoween!! Light your GREEN jack-o-LANTERN, and join us for an extra spooky(?) episode, as we continue our trip through the "DCPU" with 2011's Green Lantern. That's right, the superhero debacle so infamous, even its own star still frequently mocks it today. But how did a comic book movie released at the height of the character's comic popularity, and at a time when superhero movies were undeniably on the rise, end up such a pop culture punching bag? And is the reputation deserved? We discuss

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01:51:18

Episode Eighty - Superman Returns (2006)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/10/10

Our look at the "DC-PU" continues, with Superman Returns, directed by...uhh, never mind. The film stars Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, and...uhhh...never mind about that, also. Look, clearly this isn't the easiest movie to talk about that we've ever done, for obvious reasons. But it IS, nonetheless, an important part of the history of arguably the most iconic superhero of them all - an attempt to resurrect and reboot a failed franchise and send it soaring to new heights. But was it perhaps too

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01:11:13

Episode Seventy-Nine - Steel (1997)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/09/26

When is a Superman movie not a Superman movie? Heck, when is a superhero movie barely a superhero movie? And, just because a superstar athlete is charismatic both on and off the court, does that mean they're ready for movie stardom? We ponder all these questions and more, as our look into the "DC-PU" continues with 1997's Steel, starring Shaquille O'Neal. With a mega-producer shepherding the project and one of the world's most beloved cultural icons in the lead, this might have seemed like a

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01:26:52

Episode Seventy-Eight - Supergirl (1984)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/09/12

You've heard of the DCEU, but for the next three months, we're examining the "DC..P-U." That's right - we're looking at nearly 40 years' worth of failed DC superhero franchise starters. Kicking things off is 1984's Supergirl, a spin-off of the popular Christopher Reeve Superman series, but one so troubled and misguided that DC Comics parent company Warner Bros. washed their hands of it after financing it, and let another company altogether release it. Starring an unknown-at-the-time Helen Slater as

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01:27:01

Episode Seventy-Seven - Artemis Fowl (2020)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/08/29

"Summer Surprise" concludes with what is, in some ways, our most unexpected episode yet. The randomizer has decided to send us back to a movie we both already watched together during COVID-19 quarantine, a movie neither of us were eager to visit again. It defeated us then...will it somehow defeat us again?? You'll have to listen to find out, as the discussion takes a turn, resulting in one of our most unique episodes yet. But hey, maybe that's appropriate for a Disney family movie where Josh Gad

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01:21:58

Episode Seventy-Six - The Haunted Mansion (2003)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/08/15

"Summer Surprise" continues, with an unexpectedly relevant movie selection from the online randomizer! As Disney's recent Haunted Mansion reboot is currently bombing in theaters (most likely on its way to be covered on this show someday), we take a look back at the original cinematic take on the popular ride, from 2003. Released the same year as Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, this was meant to seal the deal that theme-park-rides-turned-movies would be Disney's next big movie

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01:16:28

Episode Seventy-Five - Surf Ninjas (1993)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/08/01

And now, back to our regularly scheduled "Summer Surprise" programming. Travel back with us to the early nineties, a time when the world was still ninja-crazy, Leslie Nielsen's star-power was so on the rise that even a few minutes of screen-time seemed like it might boost a movie, and when Hollywood was ready to see if this Rob Schneider guy from SNL could maybe cross over into movies. Clearly designed by New Line Cinema to capitalize on their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles success, and meant as a

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01:23:36

Episode Seventy-Four - Source Code (2011)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/07/18

"Jake JULYenhaal" concludes with a look at 2011's time-travel thriller, Source Code. But wait - was this legit hit actually meant to launch a franchise? We discuss the film's journey from spec script to movie to potential series starter, as well as diving into the movie itself. Do the story's logical and ethical hiccups hamper the film? Does it play fair by its own time travel rules? Is the man of the hour, Jake Gyllenhaal, better served here than he was in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time? And

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01:34:05

Episode Seventy-Three - Prince of Persia: The Sands...

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/07/04

We interrupt your regularly scheduled "Summer Surprise" programming to instead bring you "Jake JULYenhaal," a month dedicated to the failed franchise starters of Jake Gyllenhaal. First up, the 2010 video-game adaptation Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, a rare example of Gyllenhaal trying his hand at "action blockbuster leading man." Despite a poor track record for previous video game movies, Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer were confident this would be the next Pirates of the Caribbean

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01:20:30

Episode Seventy-Two - Maximum Ride (2016)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/06/20

"Summer Surprise" continues with another YA lit adaptation, this time from one of the world's most successful authors. We're looking at Maximum Ride, the story of lab-created, winged teenagers on the run, based on the popular series by James Patterson. But this one has us in a new, confusing situation, as we're forced to question whether this even counts as a "movie." How does a bestselling series from a widely beloved author become something like...this? That's what we're here to try to figure out,

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01:24:22

Episode Seventy-One - The Seeker: The Dark is Rising...

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/06/06

June is here, so you (maybe) know what that means! That's right, it's time for the start of our annual "Summer Surprise," where we let an online randomizer choose which movies from our oh-so-long F2F list we'll be covering next. First up, it's back to the land of misguided YA adaptations trying to cash in on the Harry Potter phenomenon. But this time, the source material actually pre-dates JK Rowling's works, as we examine The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, the 2007 feature adaptation of Susan Cooper's

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01:16:37

Episode Seventy - The Love Guru (2008)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/05/23

"Mike MAY-ers" concludes with our look at 2008's The Love Guru, Mike Myers' ill-fated attempt to kick-start another character-based franchise in the vein of Austin Powers. Instead, this movie essentially ended his days as a leading man. So just what the heck happened? Is the film's heart in the right place, or is it an insensitive, offensive trainwreck that everyone involved with should have known better than to participate in? We discuss all this, plus, we discover the randomly chosen films we'll

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01:20:33

Episode Sixty-Nine - The Cat in the Hat (2003)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/05/09

We're kicking off "Mike May-ers," a month devoted to Canadian comic icon Mike Myers, with a look at his ill-fated Dr. Seuss adaptation, The Cat in the Hat. One of the more..., let's say, perplexing movies we've looked at, this one begs a lot of questions. Do adult jokes have a place in Seuss adaptations? Is the Cat in the Hat an inherently sinister character? What's the logic of the Cat's powers? And should Seuss's short, verse-focused books even be adapted to feature length in the first place? We

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01:27:29

Episode Sixty-Eight - The Phantom (1996)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/04/25

We're closing out two month's of "Pulp Frustration" with a look at 1996's ill-fated adaptation of Lee Falk's classic comic-strip hero, The Phantom. Intended as a star vehicle for Billy Zane, The Phantom was shepherded by two mega-producers, and came complete with a script co-written by beloved genre icon Joe Dante. But when the writers aren't on the same page as, well, nearly everyone else involved, it can spell disaster. How does The Phantom stack up against the other pulp heroes we've seen so far

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01:27:04

Episode Sixty-Seven - The Shadow (1994)

Failure to Franchise ·

2023/04/11

"Pulp Frustration" continues, as we look at the movie based on arguably one of the greatest pulp heroes of them all, The Shadow! The Alec Baldwin star vehicle asks an intriguing question: When a character has a complicated, decades-long history, with various origins and abilities established across his different permutations in print, radio, and film, is it easy to make a definitive version of him onscreen? Well...nope! Still, in 1994, they gave it a try anyway. Join us as we discuss the film's odd

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