13 Movie Franchises That Will Likely Never Be Rebooted

Nowadays, Hollywood has seen a plethora of reboots, remakes, and sequels take over theaters. Some, like "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" or "Spider-Man: No Way Home," pay homage to the history of their franchises, while others, like Disney's "The Little Mermaid" or Hulu's "White Men Can't Jump" remake, try to recapture the magic of classic films for newer audiences to varying degrees of success.

While reboot culture has led to a lot of beloved tributes to cinema history, it's also exhausted some audiences who want more original creations. On top of that, many franchises that would normally be ripe for remaking are unable to see the light of day due to controversy surrounding their creators or cast, or legal disputes over licensing rights.

The following 13 franchises at one point helped to define movie culture and inspired generations of filmmakers, but, sadly, they may not have much of a future at this point in time. For some, it's for the best, given that not many audiences want to see their favorite franchises hit rock bottom because of a studio's desperate quest for profits. For others, it'll be a sad development if these iconic franchises never hit the big screen again.

Few films capture the mid-1980s better than "Back to the Future," a time travel comedy in which Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, accidentally travels to the 1950s, where he must make his parents fall in love with each other to secure his existence with the help of Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd. The film was followed by two direct sequels, released in 1989 and 1990, and has become one of the most iconic movie franchises of all time.

Although this film series seems like an easy target for a modern-day Hollywood reboot, Robert Zemeckis, the franchise's co-creator and director, told The Telegraph in 2015 that he wouldn't authorize a reboot "until both [co-writer Bob Gale] and I are dead." (via Vanity Fair). When approached about a potential reboot, actor Tom Holland shut down the suggestion that he could play Marty McFly, believing it to be a perfect film that doesn't need to be remade.

Thankfully for "Back to the Future" fans, there's plenty of content out there that continues the story. Christopher Lloyd reprised his role in a series of video games developed by Telltale, while Lloyd and Fox have also donned their iconic outfits for various special occasions, including a celebratory appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in 2015.

"Porky's" is one of many 1980s comedies that, frankly, hasn't aged well. Directed by Bob Clark, the movie centers on a group of teenage boys attempting to lose their virginity, including an infamous moment where the boys spy on a group of teenage girls showering at their high school. The film was a box office hit, spawning two sequels, "Porky's II: The Next Day" in 1983 and "Porky's Revenge!" in 1985, which were both poorly received.

Since the 1980s, the potential for a "Porky's" reboot has been unlikely. The film is looked at differently nowadays due to its content, with Kirk Miller of InsideHook retrospectively pointing out, "The real issue with 'Porky's' isn't the dated gags or aggressive titillation; it's that the film was not funny back in the day and certainly not funny now." Additionally, "Porky's" was the subject of a dispute over licensing rights, stalling plans Howard Stern once had to remake it.

During this dispute, an ashcan "reboot" of "Porky's" was released in 2009 in an effort by Mola Entertainment to retain the rights before they expired. A settlement was reached in 2013, with no update on whether Stern's version would ever move forward, but given that there's been no "Porky's" remake news since, it's safe to assume the franchise is dead.

Whether or not it's actually a Christmas story, no one can argue that "Die Hard" isn't one of the best action movies ever made. The 1988 film turned Bruce Willis from a television lead to a blockbuster movie star, spawning a franchise that continued into the 2010s with four sequels, each starring Willis as the reluctant hero cop John McClane.

The fifth film of the franchise, "A Good Day to Die Hard," left things on a sour note, with The Los Angeles Times' review stating, "the sense of exhilaration and fun that marked the best of the series has gone unaccountably AWOL." Nevertheless, Willis wanted to formally retire the character of John McClane with one final film, titled "McClane," though production was stalled numerous times due to rewrites and scheduling conflicts.

The final blow to the film's chances came when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, axing the film from the production lineup. In 2022, Willis formally announced his retirement from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, which progressed into dementia in 2023. Considering accounts that the conditions had been affecting his on-set performance as early as 2020, Willis will never be able to reprise his role as McClane again.

"Charlie's Angels" originated in the late 1970s as an ABC television series about a trio of female secret agents, and it gained popularity with a new generation with 2000's film adaptation starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu. After spawning one sequel, future films never made it far into development. Eventually, ABC tried but failed to revive it on TV in 2011, and Elizabeth Banks helmed a reboot of the film franchise with 2019's "Charlie's Angels," starring Ella Balinska, Naomi Scott, and Kristen Stewart.

Sadly, the 2019 film wasn't received well enough to spark a full-on franchise revival. Despite praise for the performances, particularly Stewart's, publications like TIME said the reboot spent "so much time advertising how glitzy and sparkly it thinks it is that it comes to resemble a migraine aura." In hindsight, Banks came to regret the angle of the film's marketing, lamenting the way the movie had been sold to audiences as being primarily for girls rather than everyone.

Because of the reboot's poor box office performance, a sequel was scrapped by Columbia Pictures, disappointing its stars. Though there could still be hope for a future return to "Charlie's Angels," it would be the fourth time trying to revive the franchise, which may be a sign that it's unfortunately not meant to be.

"Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," released in 1989, tells the tale of two high schoolers who travel through time recruiting historical figures to pass their history exam and secure their future as saviors of the universe. Stars Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves returned in 1991 with "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," before the franchise went dormant due to a lackluster performance at the box office.

After spending years in development hell, the long-awaited third movie finally arrived in 2020. In "Bill & Ted Face the Music," the older duo teams up with their oddly similar teenage daughters to save the universe yet again. Unlike other entries on this list, "Face the Music" debuted to positive reviews due to the sequel successfully replicating the charm of the original two movies.

Despite the positive response, a fourth "Bill & Ted" movie starring Winter and Reeves is likely off the table. Co-writer Ed Solomon explained to Den of Geek, "If we could come up with something that's worth doing, I think we'd all be up for doing it, but it really depends." While he expressed some interest in a sequel following the two daughters played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine, there probably isn't a future for the franchise without its original leads.

Released in 2012, "Pitch Perfect" was an unexpected box office hit, launching or elevating the careers of several cast members, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, and Skylar Astin. Even more unexpected than its success was the franchise it launched; two sequels, released in 2015 and 2017, reassembled the ensemble of college students-turned-acapella stars for further adventures.

While the sequels didn't receive reviews as glowing as the original, they were both profitable at the box office. However, the film franchise has remained in limbo since the release of "Pitch Perfect 3." Director Trish Sie has suggested that if a sequel were to happen, it would likely focus on a new group of girls, telling The Hollywood Reporter, "If you were to do a reboot, you'd have to spend a lot of time making the chemistry right."

Nevertheless, the franchise has continued on with the Peacock series "Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin," centered on Adam DeVine's character from the films, and was renewed for a second season in 2023. Other than that, it doesn't seem like another chapter following the Bellas will be likely without the same cast. In an interview with MTV, Kendrick claimed she was down for a sequel but isn't interested in seeing a reboot where they "do the Spider-Man thing and bring in a whole new cast and be like, 'And now this girl's Beca!'"