Earlier this week, Sam Mendes stated that the coming Bond film, Spectre, would be his last directorial involvement in the franchise ... probably. Mendes also said the same thing after Skyfall – his first Bond outing – but ultimately found himself lured back into directing its follow-up. We’ll find out how justified that decision was come the release of Spectre in October but, even if that film can replicate the remarkable success of Skyfall, the history of Hollywood teaches us that it’s usually best for a director not to cling on to a franchise for too long. Let the lesson begin.
George Lucas, Star Wars
No one encapsulates the perils of becoming too attached to a franchise more than George Lucas and Star Wars. For years he alternately angered and alienated the films’ huge fanbase by making ill-received new films and even making changes to the much-loved originals (Han shot first), before finally selling the rights to Disney in 2012.
Peter Jackson, The Hobbit
Perhaps recognising the problems of being stuck on one franchise for too long, Lord of the Rings director Jackson handed the reins to Guillermo del Toro for The Hobbit. But fans excited for how the Mexican auteur would re-envision Middle-earth were disappointed when he left the project and Jackson took over. The series then ballooned from two films to three, and all the imagination and inventive practical effects that characterised Lord of the Rings and made Jackson such a household name seemed to dry up.
Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather
“Just when I thought I was out ... they pull me back in.” Al Pacino’s quote from Godfather Part III applies not just to character Michael Corleone but also to director Francis Ford Coppola who, despite being satisfied that the crime saga had come to a satisfying conclusion after The Godfather Part II, was roped into directing a third instalment 16 years later due to personal financial problems. Though it did quite well at the box office, the film inevitably paled in comparison to the former two, especially after Coppola cast his daughter Sofia in a role originally intended for Winona Ryder.
Ridley Scott, Alien
There was a time when Ridley Scott would go from one inspired, original conception to another, but recently he’s succumbed to the temptation of indulging in former glories. Prometheus – Scott’s follow-up to his first great film Alien – was admirably ambitious but ultimately a bit of a mess, and failed to resuscitate a franchise that had been done to death. Not that Scott’s willing to throw the towel in just yet – Prometheus 2 is in pre-production.
Steven Spielberg, Indiana Jones
Despite kicking off some of the most successful franchises in movie history, Spielberg tends to steer clear of sequels: he only directed the first Jaws, and left Jurassic Park after the second instalment. But Indiana Jones has always seemed to have held sway over the director, and he made two sequels to the original in the 1980s. So far, so good; it wasn’t until the fourth film, 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, that Spielberg finally “nuked the fridge”, so to speak.
George Romero, Living Dead series
For years, “Godfather of all zombies” George Romero defied the trend of flailing franchises, with each follow-up to his low-budget classic Night of the Living Dead managing to adapt and update the zombie apocalypse narrative with a modern resonance. But recent entries have been a case of diminishing returns, culminating in 2010’s panned Survival of the Dead.
George Miller, Mad Max
The exception that proves the rule. George Miller has defied the odds by returning to his Mad Max franchise after some two decades of it lying dormant to make the best instalment yet. Fury Road was all the more satisfying for just how surprising it was – no one could have suspected that the director whose most recent works included Happy Feet and Babe: Pig in the City was still capable of conceiving something as wild, daring and downright bonkers.
