Movie lovers often complain that Hollywood has an unhealthy obsession with sequels and spinoffs, and there are plenty of unnecessary spinoffs which support this idea. Although there are some worthwhile spinoff movies, these seem to be the esception to the rule. Mostly, news of an upcoming spinoff is met with skepticism that studios are merely looking for ways to milk a popular franchise.

A good spinoff should be an interesting continuation of a story, either focusing on a character who deserves more attention or providing more backstory that can enhance the original movie. When neither of these criteria are being met, it’s likely that the spinoff is driven by financial motivations rather than anything else. An unwanted spinoff can still be a success if it’s a good enough movie, but this is rarely the case, as fans probably won’t be interested to begin with.

10

Evan Almighty (2007)

Spinoff of Bruce Almighty (2003)

Bruce Almighty is the ideal Jim Carrey vehicle, showing his expressive comedic appeal as well as his surprising emotionality. He plays an everyman who is briefly gifted with the powers of God, but he soon realizes that this dream has its drawbacks. Evan Almighty is the spinoff nobody asked for, focusing on a minor character from the original movie, and giving him the role of Noah rather than God.

Evan Almighty starts from an inherently inferior premise, since the idea of a modern-day man becoming Noah doesn’t have the stakes or the broad appeal of Bruce Almighty. It’s also proof that Jim Carrey movies should remain untouched, because sequels or spinoffs without him are never as popular. Ace Ventura, Jr.: Pet Detective and Son of the Mask are two more duds that never should have been made.

9

The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim (2024)

Spinoff of the Lord of the Rings franchise

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was a landmark for the fantasy genre, and it has gone down in film history as one of the finest trilogies ever made. Since J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth novels have far more stories to tell and characters to explore, it always seemed likely that there would be spinoffs and sequels. The Hobbit movies were relatively successful, even if they didn’t scale the heights of Jackson’s earlier work, but War of the Rohirrim was a misstep.

While there could be more movies set in Middle Earth, an animated spinoff loses the grand spectacle that makes The Lord of the Rings so immersive. It’s a completely different style that doesn’t capture the same appeal, and the story isn’t strongly linked to the saga of the Fellowship either. War of the Rohirrim‘s disappointing commercial performance proves that it didn’t interest most fans of the franchise, but The Hunt for Gollum will aim to get The Lord of the Rings back to the top of the box office.

8

The Jesus Rolls (2019)

Spinoff of The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski is one of the best Coen brothers movies, following a slacker who gets caught up in a tangled crime story after a case of mistaken idenтιтy. John Turturro plays a flamboyant bowler named Jesus, in one of many collaborations with the Coens. It’s a minor role that barely affects the plot, but Turturro’s performance makes Jesus impossible to forget. Still, he isn’t the kind of character who ever needed a spinoff movie of his own.

Turturro has only directed a handful of movies over the span of his career, but he takes the reins for the spinoff of his own character from The Big Lebowski. The Jesus Rolls also serves as a remake of the 1974 French comedy-drama Going Places, but it’s barely linked to The Big Lebowski at all. Without either of the Coen brothers involved in the project, it feels like a random and unwarranted spinoff.

7

Ocean’s 8 (2018)

Spinoff of the Ocean’s franchise

The Ocean‘s franchise set the tone for plenty of stylish heist movies in the 2000s and 2010s, but the genre often lacked strong female characters. In this context, Ocean’s Eight should have been a welcome breath of fresh air, but it seems like a cheap rehash of old ideas instead. Even the тιтle makes it sound like a lesser version of Ocean’s Eleven. An all-female heist movie might have been more radical if it hadn’t been tenuously linked to a pre-existing franchise.

Ocean’s Eight is almost entirely removed from the Ocean’s trilogy, with a completely new cast. The only link is that Sandra Bullock plays Debbie Ocean, the sister of George Clooney’s character in the other movies. Of course, he never mentions her, so she clearly isn’t that important. With recent rumors of Ocean’s 14, it’s possible that the characters from the spinoff could find themselves teaming up with Danny and Rusty’s gang, although this seems unlikely.

6

Lightyear (2022)

Spinoff of the Toy Story franchise

Pixar’s sequel movies have been a mixed bag so far, with movies like Incredibles 2 and Monsters University failing to live up to the high standards of the movies that preceded them. However, the Toy Story franchise has often been an exception, with each of the sequels earning positive reviews. Still, the idea of Lightyear was too far removed from the concept of Toy Story to ride the same wave.

Lightyear is the in-universe movie that the Buzz Lightyear toy comes from, the same movie that Andy loves in his childhood. Since Buzz Lightyear the toy and Buzz Lightyear the space ranger are completely different characters, there isn’t much to link Lightyear to the Toy Story franchise. The movie doesn’t even have Tim Allen voicing Buzz, with Chris Evans taking on the role instead. Pixar could easily have made a sci-fi movie without trying to tie it to their biggest franchise.

5

The Scorpion King (2002)

Spinoff of the Mummy franchise

The Mummy is a cult classic, benefiting from the charms of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, as well as a grand sense of adventure. The franchise that it created was a mixed bag overall, especially the Scorpion King spinoff movies. The character from The Mummy Returns never needed his own origin story, set 5000 years before The Mummy. However, The Scorpion King is notable as Dwayne Johnson’s first starring role.

When Johnson was trying to transition from the wrestling ring to Hollywood, The Scorpion King gave him a platform within an already popular franchise. Ultimately, the spinoff wasn’t as popular with critics, and its underwhelming box office returns prove that fans weren’t too keen on the idea either. Still, there were several more Scorpion King movies in the series, and there are recent reports that Johnson will be a producer on a franchise reboot coming soon.

4

Hannibal Rising (2007)

Spinoff of the Hannibal Lecter franchise

The Hannibal Lecter franchise sprung from Thomas Harris’ novels. After Michael Mann’s 1986 thriller Manhunter, with Brian Cox as the serial killer, Anthony Hopkins famously took on the role in 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs. This was the true start of the franchise, as two sequels came in 2001 and 2002, both with Hopkins returning to his Oscar-winning role. The trilogy should have been the end of it, as the declining reviews suggested that the franchise had run its course.

A few years after wrapping things up, the franchise returned with a prequel spinoff, Hannibal Rising. The spinoff features Gaspard Ulliel, and it focuses on a younger Hannibal as he starts his life as a cannibalistic serial killer. Seeing a young Hannibal robs the character of his mysterious allure. The TV series Hannibal is a much more interesting take on a similar idea, showing Hannibal before his capture but still very much in his element.

3

Men In Black: International (2019)

Spinoff of the Men in Black franchise

The first Men in Black movie is one of the best sci-fi comedies ever made, but the franchise soon dropped off in quality. Men in Black: International was an attempt to freshen things up, with a new cast and a new location, but it ended up scoring the worst reviews of the franchise. Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson were chosen as the two leads, replacing the brilliant duo of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

Although Men in Black seems like the kind of franchise that could sustain a spinoff fairly easily, it turns out that Smith and Jones’ dynamic isn’t easy to replace. Without them, Men in Black: International loses sight of what makes the original movie so popular. There are still aliens and sci-fi weapons, but the relationship between the agents isn’t nearly as relatable or unique. A Men in Black spinoff might have been a good idea after the first movie, but by the time that International came out, it was clear that the franchise had run its course.

2

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Spinoff of the Star Wars franchise

Han Solo is one of the best characters in the entire Star Wars franchise, rising from an opportunistic smuggler to a true hero of the rebellion and a loyal friend. His life before he meets Luke on Tattooine isn’t all that important to his story, but this is what Solo: A Star Wars Story focuses on. Han Solo is more interesting with a mysterious and dangerous past, and seeing him before his heroic turn in the original trilogy is unnecessary.

Solo: A Star Wars Story was a rare financial failure for the Star Wars franchise, and Disney had to reᴀssess all ongoing projects. Several movies were turned into TV shows and released on Disney+, while others were shelved indefinitely or canceled. Only now is the franchise set to return to theaters, with several upcoming Star Wars movies hoping to be more Rogue One than Solo.

1

U.S. Marshals (1998)

Spinoff of The Fugitive (1993)

The Fugitive is one of Tommy Lee Jones’ best movies, as the role of a gruff U.S. Marshal chasing an escaped prisoner makes good use of his penchant for playing intimidating authority figures. However, Samuel Gerard is merely a supporting character, and the movie spends much more time with Harrison Ford’s falsely-imprisoned surgeon character. Without him, U.S. Marshals lacks the compelling dynamic between the hunter and the hunted.

U.S. Marshals’ greatest quality is Jones’ second performance as Samuel Gerard, and he is joined by some of the actors who played his team of marshals in The Fugitive. However, it loses far too much of what makes The Fugitive so interesting. It also switches perspective, focusing more on the marshals and less on the story of the fugitive in question. This makes it a more generic detective movie.