Ask JKM a Question: Which Movie Franchise Should be Resurrected Next?

A reader named Ellen writes:

“With the return of Mad Max, Poltergeist and Jurassic Park this past summer, what movie franchise would you like most to see resurrected and why?”

Ellen, that’s a great question, but in a way also a difficult one to answer too. As your words suggest, everything old is indeed new again. 

Star Wars is back. Star Trek is back. Terminator is back too.

Planet of the Apes is ongoing, and in the last five or six years, such sturdy horror franchises as Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Friday the 13^th (2009) and Child’s Play have all had entries made as well. 

A new Phantasm is in the offing, a new Alien is coming soon, and The Evil Dead and The X-Files are landing on TV soon.

It is a time of absolute plenty for long-time franchise fans, and I’m not complaining at all. I’m eagerly looking forward to the return of classic movie series and TV shows in these various formats.

But accordingly, it is difficult to think of a movie franchise that hasn’t returned to life of late. Of course, I would love to see Millennium (1996 – 1999) revived as either a movie or TV series, but it isn’t technically a movie franchise, so that doesn’t answer your question, specifically.

Reaching back into my own youth, I suppose one possibility is Logan’s Run.

I was a fan of both the 1976 movie starring Michael York and the short-run TV series, as well as all the books.  There’s plenty of material to mine in a Logan’s Run update, and there have been discussions about remaking that film for at least fifteen years, with no apparent progress.  I would love to see a new Logan’s Run, perhaps one based very closely on the book (making 21 the age of Last Day instead of 30), in part because our culture is so youth-centric.  I feel a strong work of art could be made if it focuses on the idea of what is lost in a civilization obsessed with youth.

Also, I would love to see sequels to Big Trouble in Little China (1986), and John Carter (2012).  On the former front, Kurt Russell still looks fantastic, and he could easily spearhead another Jack Burton film or two.  And John Carter has a rich literary legacy upon which to craft many sequels. 

Others may quibble with my next choice, but I can’t help but long for a Back to the Future IV, as well.  It could feature an older Marty McFly taking one last time travel trip with the Doc to save the future.  I know some see the BTTF trilogy as a perfect franchise in no need of a new chapter.  But Zemeckis is such a strong filmmaker in terms of how he deploys new and developing technologies, and it would be fascinating to watch how a Back to the Future IV weaves in and out of the existing trilogy as it stands today.

Otherwise, I can’t think of many classic movie franchises that are dormant at the moment.

How does Jaws V: The Next Generation (Like Father Like Son…) grab you?

Nah, I didn’t think so...

Don't forget to ask me your questions at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com