21 Movies That Don't Have Cinematic Universes, But 100% Should

Recently in a thread on the r/movies subreddit, redditor u/kek2015 asked, "Which movie do you believe deserves a sequel or to be a franchise?" And movie lovers came through with some A+ answers!

Universal Pictures

My pick is, obviously, Van Helsing (2004), and no, I will not be taking further questions at this time.

So with that in mind, here are just a few of the most popular responses shared:

1.Cabin in the Woods (2012)

"I will die on this hill. It should have spawned a series of prequels."

—u/Ferris8061

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

2.Small Soldiers (1998)

"Apparently it was going to get a reboot, but when the Disney acquisition happened it was one of the many cut movies."

—u/Geonightman

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

3.Rat Race (2001)

"I'd love to see John Cleese's hotelier character and his fellow gambling addicts plan a different human chase with more at stake, but this time, determined to keep it more secretive — but the contestants still get involved with those two brothers."

—u/spacyzuma

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

4.Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

"It deserved one sequel. Anything more would have cheapened it, but I do think there was enough to have one more quality movie."

—u/Chelsea75

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

5.National Treasure (2004)

"Give me corny, treasure-hunting Nicolas Cage any day of the week."

—u/schudermcgavin

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

6.I Am Number Four (2011)

"I was re-watching this today, and I just don't understand why they didn't make that into a franchise. I thought it had a great soundtrack and it was a cool story. I'm not really clear on why there was only one movie since I know there were several books with different numbers."

—u/kek2015

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

7.The Nice Guys (2016)

"It was a Shane Black gem similar to that of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that didn't get a lot of attention in the theaters. Shane wanted to do a sequel, but couldn't get the go-ahead, which sucks. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe were a phenomenal pairing."

—u/CliffyClif

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

8.Tron: Legacy (2010)

"It's already a franchise, but it was clearly setting up sequels that we never got, and I would love to see those."

—u/enderandrew42

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

9.The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

"But replace Armie Hammer with Michael Fassbender. The onscreen chemistry between Fassbender and Vikander is already handled, so it's a no-brainer!"

—u/cavedan12

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

10.Push (2009)

"It could have used a second film, I think. It had a great story and great world it built for itself."

—u/mrbrick

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

11.Megamind (2010)

"It would be cool to see a sequel where he has to mentor another former villain-turned-hero, or a sequel where he joins an Avengers-like team and has to prove himself among natural-born heroes."

—u/Clownmug

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

12.Bullet Train (2022)

"Lemon and Tangerine need their own franchise."

—u/JohnnyJayce

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

13.The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

"The remake. I was beyond excited for that trilogy, and they totally abandoned it."

—u/cmacpapi

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

14.Face/Off (1997)

"Face/Off should be remade every few years with different pairs of actors: Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, Daniel Radcliffe and Elijah Wood, Chris Evans and Henry Cavill, etc. I can't believe nobody's gotten on this yet."

—u/RebeccaReySolo

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

15.Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

"I'm not going to pretend like the first film was not very flawed, but it was incredibly charming, as well. Incredible special effects and 3D that served the film, it wasn't a gimmick. A unique and fascinating world with characters I would like to spend more time with. With the world-building out of the way, and a setup to a more focused story (with no romance), I think the sequel could have been a lot better."

—u/U_S_E_R_T_A_K_E_N

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

16.Dredd (2012)

"It absolutely needs a sequel. And a prequel. And perhaps more."

—u/knobber_jobbler

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

17.Waterworld (1995)

"Some badass designs and tons of opportunities for Mad Max-esque storytelling."

—u/BlerghTheBlergh

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

18.Zootopia (2016)

"What a fun bit of world-building that movie was. Why Disney didn't make 50 movies and TV shows in that universe is beyond me. I know they're doing one now, but c'mon, why wait so long."

—u/IamTheShrikeAMA

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

19.Black Dynamite (2009)

"Sure, it got the animated series, but that wasn’t the same. While it feels like they skewered every blacksploitation trope there was in the first movie, there is still plenty of room for some serious misadventures. Rudy Ray Moore made like four Dolemite movies — we should very well have more than one Black Dynamite movie."

—u/PancakeProfessor

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

20.World War Z (2013)

"While the movie was nowhere near as good as the book, it was enjoyable enough. What really gets me though is they were planning on a sequel with Brad Pitt returning and David Fincher directing. A zombie movie with that actor/director combo would have been amazing!"

—u/afellowchucker

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

And finally:

21.The Mummy (1999)

"It needs to pull a Halloween 2018 and make a sequel bringing back Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser."

—u/Farbauti492

You can watch a trailer for the movie here:

You've read their picks, but now it's your turn! What's a movie that you think deserves a sequel and/or the franchise treatment? Share your pick(s) in the comments below!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. H/T Reddit.