Some film and television franchises seem to be just on the edge of failure when one particularly popular installment changes everything--reinvigorating interest in the formerly lacking story. A breath of new life may then enter these franchises, bringing them back into the limelight that they had once drifted away from.
The people of Reddit have spoken out about their personal favorite examples of media franchises that were saved by a single installment, either in film or television form. While some of these movies and series have laid dormant for a long time, all have returned in a big way.
Stargate SG-1
Reddit user bookant compares the original Stargate film with the more popular follow-up series Stargate SG-1, writing: "the original movie was OK, but a bit on the slow and boring side and SG-1 was one of the best [science-fiction] TV Shows ever made."
Stargate SG-1 ran for ten seasons between 1997 and 2007, to rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Not only did the series get an additional two straight-to-DVD movies on top of its already stellar run, but it also lead to several spinoff series. Since the show's end, it has retained a passionate fanbase, one that the original film struggled to attain.
Cobra Kai
"Cobra Kai brought back the Karate Kid franchise big-time," writes Redditor danimation88, "Karate Kid was always iconic but it's been dormant for a while." Cobra Kai premiered on YouTube Red in 2018 to fan praise and has since migrated to Netflix, where it just aired its fourth season.
Cobra Kai arrived eight years after the previous Karate Kid film, which had been the mostly panned reboot starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. When sequels fell through for the rebooted property, it appeared that the franchise had seen its last days. Cobra Kai's success changed that completely, airing four acclaimed seasons. Even now, fans are still left with burning questions following Cobra Kai's fourth season as they anxiously await next year's Season 5.
The Wrath Of Khan
SashaTower has strong words regarding the original Star Trek films, writing: "Star Trek: The Motion Picture was mediocre on every level and there was some doubt whether there would be a sequel. Then they made Wrath of Khan. And almost everything worked. It's called the Citizen Kane of Star Trek movies."
The original Star Trek film was certainly not the success that the filmmakers had hoped it would be, with many calling the film overly long and rather boring. The 1982 sequel, however, changed things forever for the space-faring franchise and is still regarded as the best Star Trek film ever made. Some could even attribute the existence of the following eleven Star Trek films to Khan's success.
Fast Five
Reddit user ForceFive_Podcast suggests that Fast Five reinvigorated the Fast and Furious franchise in a way that would change the series's future forever: "That was the film that threw logistics to the wind and just made them superheroes, and for better or worse, it's never been the same since."
Though they initially started out the franchise as illegal street racers and criminals, the characters of the Fast Saga have become heroes in their own right over the course of several movies. Regardless of one's opinions on the groundedness of the saga, none can argue with its success, as each film continues to garner significant box office returns.
Thor: Ragnarok
Even the largest franchise in the history of cinema is not immune to feeling stale at times. The MCU has had a number of hits and misses over the years, a relationship that might be best summed up in the Thor franchise. Redditor GobbleGoblinGobble puts it in their own words, writing that "Thor 2 was super meh, but Thor: Ragnarok is rad."
After middling to negative reviews for Thor: The Dark World, Marvel decided to shake up the thunder god's solo franchise, hiring the extremely non-traditional filmmaker Taika Waititi to helm the next installment. The final product is quite possibly the funniest film of the MCU, and earned the franchise a fourth installment, becoming the first solo MCU property to do so.
Exorcist 3/Television Series
HardSteelRain suggests that The Exorcist 3 saved the franchise "after the regrettable [second installment]." They also throw some love toward the first season of the 2016 television series of the same name, which, according to them "topped them both."
The first sequel to the horror classic The Exorcist was indeed met with a critical and commercial failure upon its release, something that the third installment managed to repair when it premiered thirteen years later. Since then, more films have joined the franchise, despite a long gap between The Exorcist 3 and the 2010 prequel.
Mission Impossible 3
Redditor truckturner5164 notes that the third Mission Impossible film was where the franchise really hit its stride, saying that they "didn't think much of the first [film], loathed the second, but MI: III was rock-solid and Ghost Protocol was even better."
The Mission Impossible franchise today is almost unrecognizable to the original film from 1996. Beginning with the third installment, each film has pushed the boundaries of modern filmmaking, all the while producing a cohesive and enjoyable story along the way. Currently, the franchise has six films, with a seventh and eighth set to premiere in the next few years, despite rampant production delays due to COVID-19.
Casino Royale
FuriouSherman takes a hard look at the 007 franchise, attributing its survival to its 2006 reboot in Casino Royale, which served as Daniel Craig's first outing as James Bond. They believe that "Casino Royale basically saved the 007 franchise after the old, campy approach finally ran out of steam."
Fans have seen Craig's Bond change and grow since Casino Royale, with his story ultimately coming to an end with No Time to Die late last year. The grittier, more grounded take on Bond has served the franchise well and helped the long-running staple of the action genre survive the death of campy action thrillers in the mid-2000s.
The Bourne Supremacy
Redditor staedtler2018 has an opinion that may be controversial to some spy film fans, indicating that "The Bourne Identity was critically and commercially successful, but nothing too special. The sequel, directed by Paul Greengrass, is what really 'developed' the style of the series and turned it into a franchise."
This Reddit user may have a point, considering just how iconic the Bourne movies became following the second film in the franchise. Since then, the franchise has spawned three more films, including one where Matt Damon's titular character was played by Jeremy Renner. With Damon's return to the role in 2016, the franchise is expected to return once more in the near future.
Jurassic World
WillingnessBasic6615 comments on Jurassic World, stating that it "made the series profitable again and was an alright movie in its own right." The film was a soft reboot of the classic Jurassic Park franchise, which was made fourteen years after the previous installment.
While critical reviews of Jurassic World and its 2018 sequel have been mixed, both were massive box office successes, truly breathing new life into the franchise that had grown stale after the iconic original film's lesser followups. Both Jurassic World films garnered over $1 billion each, with the third film set to release later this year expected to produce similar numbers.