These 10 Major Movie & TV Franchises Wiped Out Entire Chunks Of Canon & I Still Can’t Fully Forgive Them

We all know that we are living in the era of the mega franchise, but sometimes, the roadmap falls apart, and things get rewritten, sometimes erasing incredible storylines and characters. While movies and TV shows have been made in sequence and series since moving pictures were first invented, it’s only been the last couple of decades that have seen franchises explode in size and ambition.

In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, horror franchises began to scale, with sequel after sequel, but at that point, most stories didn’t exceed three movies. Then, the 2000s saw an explosion in expanded universal storytelling, and popular IPs began to be mined for all of their potential. But, throughout all of this time, moviemakers and studios have had to make adjustments and change course, resulting in some major pieces of stories being erased.

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10

Star Wars

Star Wars is one of the earliest examples of a sprawling franchise, and it’s fitting that the series should take place within the depths of deep space, across numerous planets and over the course of decades. However, from the time that the original movie was released in 1977, down to the latest sequel trilogy and the spin-off shows on Disney+, the galaxy far, far away has seen a lot of changes. Initially, the original trilogy established the foundational story, with Luke Skywalker, his sister Leia, and their fight against the Galactic Empire.

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However, the story expanded beyond the movies with comics, novels, games, and animated shows that helped to shine light on the darker corners of the galaxy. But when Disney acquired the Star Wars brand, changes began to be implemented with the new round of Star Wars TV shows on offer on Disney+. Now, much of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, also known as Star Wars Legends, lives on as a fictitious part of the history, with the canon coming from the modern studios under the supervision of people like Dave Filoni, with assistance from creative geniuses like Jon Favreau.

9

Halloween

As mentioned above, horror was one of the first genres to really cash in on franchise entertainment. In the 1970s and 1980s, creativity in this space was at an all-time high, and some of the most popular monsters in the genre originated in this period. Among them is the incredible shape of evil, Mike Myers, a brutal killer who wreaks havoc in the town of Haddonfield.

From 1978 to 1995, the franchise followed a single timeline, with five movies. However, in 1998, the franchise rewrote history, and decided to only retain the first two films as canon. But then, the timeline got further complicated with remakes by Rob Zombie which completely rewrote the story. And then, to complicate things further, in 2018, the series decided to erase everything but the original, and follow a new track with three new sequels.

8

28 Years Later

In 2002, Danny Boyle took an ambitious script by Alex Garland, and turned it into an immersive, deeply disturbing horror film about a survivor in the middle of a zombie virus apocalypse. 28 Days Later did a phenomenal job of creating a vast world, and despite the fantasy element, it made it all feel incredibly real and authentic. Then, five years later, the concept was taken and given a sequel with a new director, writer, and cast in 28 Weeks Later.

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Now, 28 Years Later sees the return of Boyle and Garland to expand the universe even further, though it appears there is no real regard given to the events of 28 Weeks Later. Comicbook confirmed that the creatives had no real conflict with 28 Weeks Later, though they were not intent on letting that film’s direction influence or dictate what would come in the latest sequel. Instead of following the spread of the virus which can be seen at the end of 28 Weeks Later, 28 Years Later will be squarely focused on the UK, and how the virus has changed life there.

7

The MCU

The MCU is one of the most ambitious franchises to ever get made, and it’s all the more impressive, because nothing exactly like it existed before, or indeed since. From 2008, the MCU began taking shape, introducing heroes, and bringing these characters together in clashes and crossovers in spectacular ways. Now, the MCU is nearing the end of its second era, the Multiverse Saga, and by that point, it will include 40 separate movies.

But that’s not even including the Marvel Studios TV and animated shows. However, while WandaVision broke new ground as the first show under the studios’ official banner, it wasn’t actually the first show intended to crossover. That honor goes to Agents of SHIELD, which was spearheaded by Avengers director Joss Whedon, and included characters from the MCU, such as Phil Coulson, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill. But despite the connections, the studio ignored its spin-off, and both went down very different paths.

6

Terminator

The Terminator massively pushed the envelope in terms of what CGI made possible in films back in 1984. Then, seven years later, even larger strides were made with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. But unfortunately, the franchise couldn’t really agree on what should come next after that. In addition to TV shows exploring new and old characters, the series has been fractured into four distinct timelines so far.

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However, as of the latest two theatrical releases, the timeline is a total mess. Now, the latest talks about where the franchise could go next indicate there could be a complete creative overhaul, with original director and writer James Cameron returning to reboot the franchise with a whole new story and cast. Until then, the disjointed timelines and odd revisions are all that make up the legacy of this once great series.

5

X-Men

While some franchises decide to retroactively overwrite other films, or sometimes they tend to ignore spin-offs that don’t align with a new direction, the 2000s X-Men franchise from Fox did something entirely different. When Fox rebooted the X-Men franchise in 2011, it seemed as though the original heroes may be lost to time. But in 2014, Days of Future Past, it brought the two timelines together in an incredible way that resolved both.

However, there are other entries, like the Wolverine trilogy, which have a less solid standing in the timeline. And with Deadpool’s antics in Deadpool 2, the timeline is completely in freefall. Thankfully, with some creative maneuvering and a union between the Fox franchise under the MCU, the timelines appear to matter less, but things were touch and go for a while.

4

Friday The 13th

Returning to the classic horror franchises of the 1970s and 1980s, Friday the 13th debuted at the turn of the decade in 1980. Jason, the ax murderer with a hockey mask, quickly became an icon of the horror genre, and it quickly evolved to become a sprawling franchise. Now, while the timeline remained consistent for a lot longer than some other horror franchises, Jason eventually suffered a similar fate to his horror alum peers.

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With remakes, reboots, and timeline shifts across the board, the character went from one enduring mystery, to a series of overlapping ideals. However, it can partially be forgiven, because Jason also became a hit in the crossover space, starring in movies alongside other horror legends, and continually exploring new challenges.

3

Highlander

Now, here’s where things get complicated. Highlander is already a film series that takes place across an expansive timeline, with the main characters being immortals. In addition, there is also some time travel, and all of this is used in order to serve the story about competing immortals. However, despite being a broad franchise that covers films, TV shows, games, comics, and more, the timeline has been rewritten a few times.

One of the earliest edits occurred in 1994, when the third movie delivered a story that served as a direct sequel to the original, instead of continuing the narrative further. Since then, things have only continued to grow increasingly messy, until now, when there is a Highlander reboot starring Henry Cavill as the hero, Connor MacLeod, set to release in 2026.

2

Transformers

Transformers began its life as an animated cartoon that was made to sell more toys. However, the show was such a hit that the franchise exploded in popularity, and the lore had to quickly catch up to the various ranges of toys.

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Then, in 2007, Michael Bay got involved with the franchise and made a live-action film starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. The pair starred in the first two movies, before various circumstances meant Fox parted ways ahead of the third movie, and LaBeouf ahead of the fourth. Since then, the franchise has scrambled to follow new leads, and continue digging into the story, but with films like Bumblebee, it gave in to simply changing the timeline in favor of exploring interesting stories.

1

James Bond

Image via MGM

Now, James Bond is a carefully protected franchise that has spent decades avoiding oversaturation. This means that between the first film’s release in 1962, and the latest in 2021, there have only been 27 James Bond movies. And while this helps to craft the narrative, and explore unique missions the agent with a license to kill may have experienced, the movies don’t stick to a strict timeline. Otherwise, the character played by Sean Connery, who had access to then-high-tech gadgets, would make no sense when compared with the modern Daniel Craig version, who has infinitely more advanced tech.

Despite depicting one character, and often featuring the same core villain, the movies have shifted the plot each time a new actor takes over as the lead. With this in mind, each version of Bond is new, and may have an entirely different personality, history, and even die at the end of their film. Despite this, sequels can freely alter the narrative, and position the hero in any timeline, with vaguely familiar traits, surroundings, and the team at MI6 behind him.

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Category: Entertainment