10 Worst Sequel Baiting Moments In Movies
Morbius' post-credits scenes still hurt.
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00:00When Iron Man concluded with a post-credits scene of Nick Fury teasing the Avengers, it
00:05was regarded as a very risky move. At the time, the biggest comic fans didn't honestly
00:10believe they would see Earth's mightiest heroes on the big screen within a couple of
00:14years. And boy were we wrong. But ever since the MCU became the most dominant franchise
00:20in cinema, it would seem that every other film is jumping on the bandwagon, teasing
00:24the prospect of sequels, prequels and crossovers.
00:28So, with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture, here with the 10 worst sequel-baiting
00:33moments in recent movies.
00:3610. Artemis Fowl
00:38After the success of Harry Potter, Hollywood scrambled to adapt every book series they
00:43could find into a motion picture, hoping to strike gold. But even the greatest story can
00:50fall apart when it transitions to cinema. The Chronicles of Narnia flopped, the Divergent
00:55series remains unfinished, and Percy Jackson taps out after only two movies. But few film
01:01adaptations have failed as spectacularly as Artemis Fowl. With visionary director Kenneth
01:07Branagh taking the reins of the production, it felt like he would do justice to this classic
01:12story. I mean, this is the guy who adapted obscure superhero Thor for the big screen,
01:16turning him into an icon. Surely adapting a story about a sinister kid genius battling
01:21fairies would be right up his street, right? Wrong. Artemis Fowl was ripped apart for its
01:27childish jokes, its weak dialogue, and the pointless changes to the source material.
01:33I mean, the fact that the titular character was changed to be more likeable, despite being
01:37the main villain, just goes to show that the filmmakers clearly didn't understand the premise.
01:43But considering the failed franchise concludes with Artemis and the gang flying off in a
01:46helicopter for their next mission, it was obvious the studio genuinely believed that
01:51they had a hit on their hands.
01:53Number 9, Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City. At its core, Resident Evil is a survivor
01:59horror game. And even though that's blatantly obvious, Paul W.S. Anderson never got the
02:05memo, since the questionable director's adaptation of Capcom's cherished series were dumb action
02:10flicks with less brains than the zombies. So, when it was announced that the reboot
02:15of Resident Evil Welcome to Raccoon City was set to be an outright horror set in the mansion
02:21from the game, fans felt that the franchise might be redeemed.
02:25But, somehow, Welcome to Raccoon City ruined Resident Evil's name more than Resident
02:30Evil 6. Every character acts like an idiot, the dialogue is worse than the source material
02:36somehow, the scares never work, and the fan service is forced. Except the itchy tasty
02:41bit. Kudos for that.
02:42This reboot is so badly put together that you might actually find yourself defending
02:47Paul W.S. Anderson's version after all. But, judging by the end credits scene, it would
02:52seem that the studio had high hopes for it.
02:55In the scene, we see Albert Wesker, the game's big bad, don his iconic sunglasses as he teams
03:01up with fan favourite Ada Wong. Even though this moment hints that there's more to come,
03:05viewers could tell within minutes of watching Welcome to Raccoon City that it never stood
03:10a chance at creating a franchise.
03:128. Jem and the Holograms Being a Hasbro-based property, the animated
03:18series Jem was clearly made to sell toys. But then again, what cartoon made in the 80s
03:23wasn't?
03:24Jem centres around a musician and her band going on adventures across the globe while
03:28battling rival music gangs. Even though the show could have been a soulless cash grab,
03:33Jem had a lot of heart, catchy tunes and wonderful animation.
03:38So, when a film adaptation called Jem and the Holograms was announced, fans were beyond
03:43excited.
03:44But not only was the movie obliterated by critics, it only made a measly $2 million
03:49worldwide. Nevertheless, somebody overseeing the project was so certain Jem and the Holograms
03:54would be a success, a teaser for a follow-up was inserted in the mid-credits.
03:59In the scene, the evil music producer Erica, fresh from losing her job, stumbles into an
04:04alleyway where she meets the band leader of the Misfits. Because the Misfits served
04:09as the recurring villain of the original show, this scene implied the band would be the main
04:13antagonist for the sequel.
04:15But considering that most Jem fans didn't even know that this abomination existed, the
04:20likeliness of a sequel seeing the light of day is basically non-existent.
04:247. Robin Hood There are few tales told more than that of
04:30Robin Hood. And because practically everyone is familiar with the story of the vigilante
04:35from Loxley who steals from the rich to give to the poor, it's actually quite surprising
04:40that a big-time studio hasn't swooped in and tried to make this into a franchise sooner.
04:44But in 2018, Hollywood gave it a shot. Hot off the success of Kingsman, which we'll get
04:50to later in this list, Taron Egerton was cast as the fabled archer in Otto Barthurst's Robin
04:56Hood.
04:57Even though the action-packed blockbuster concluded with Robin defeating the Sheriff
05:00of Nottingham, the final scene shows the bombastic bowman challenging the new sheriff,
05:05teasing their rivalry in a future storyline.
05:08Sadly, or thankfully, depending on how you want to look at it, the sequel never came
05:12into fruition due to the film's lack of creative personality or visual distinction, and therefore
05:18it kind of just came across as derivative schlock.
05:21Because it tries to put a modern spin on a medieval folktale, it feels like a clone of
05:252017's King Arthur Legend of the Sword, which also attempted and failed to create a franchise.
05:33Number 6. Elita Battle Angel. Elita Battle Angel centres around a recently
05:39reactivated android who wakes up in the distant future.
05:43After she learns a mysterious sky city called Zalem has caused the world to fall into ruin,
05:48our enormously eyed heroine does all she can to bring peace to society.
05:52Now, being 16 years in the making, you would have expected this manga adaptation to have
05:57been a masterpiece, but unfortunately Elita failed to win over critics and barely made
06:03a profit.
06:04Although Elita has its defenders, we can all agree that the last scene was a bit cringe.
06:10As the titular robot points her sword defiantly towards Zalem in the closing moments, we see
06:14the city's founder, Nova, gazing down at the city.
06:18At first, you can't see Nova's face properly due to the goofy visor he's wearing, but as
06:23he pulls his spectacles off, it's revealed that Nova is played by Edward Norton.
06:28Despite the fact this is supposed to be a profound moment, this glorified cameo doesn't
06:32add anything to the story and feels like it was inserted just so viewers could go,
06:36oh, it's Edward Norton!
06:38Now at this moment in time, the jury is still out as to whether a sequel is in the works,
06:43but whatever the verdict, it was a dumb idea to end the film with a three-time Oscar-nominated
06:49actor sneering into the camera while wearing a silly wig.
06:53Number 5, The Predator.
06:55How do you get the guy behind Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys and Iron Man 3 to make
07:01a Predator sequel and still screw it up?
07:04I mean, it sounds impossible and yet the powers that be found a way.
07:08Make no mistake, Shane Black, who played Hawkins in the first Predator, has a gift for witty
07:13banter, creative action and subverting expectations.
07:17As a result, it seemed like 2018's Predator could recapture what made the original so
07:22special.
07:23But instead, we got the worst entry in the franchise.
07:26Not including the alien crossovers, of course, but those films are in a league of their own.
07:31Even though The Predator boasts a strong cast, it's not enough when the script is this abominable.
07:36Who thought a Predator sequel needed a magical kid in the plot and a message about climate
07:41change?
07:42And because this film was re-shot at the last minute due to a poor screen test, it does
07:47make one wonder how awful the first cut must have been.
07:50But since the final scene shows our hero donning the alien suit to fight the Predators, it
07:55was obvious the filmmakers hoped a sequel would be greenlit.
07:59Fortunately, the studio had enough sense to scrap the follow-up.
08:03Number 4, Moonfall.
08:04Roland Emmerich recently affirmed that he won't be fanboying over Marvel any time soon.
08:10Which is ironic, considering he can't stop imitating the MCU's habit of hinting at sequels.
08:16He had Godzilla conclude with a to-be-continued.
08:19Independence Day Resurgence ended with such unsubtle sequel bait, the cast might as well
08:24have just stared at the camera shouting, there's gonna be another one!
08:28Even though there wasn't.
08:29And sadly, Emmerich doesn't seem to have learned from his mistakes, as he did intend for his
08:33most recent work, Moonfall, to launch a franchise.
08:37In the climax, conspiracy theorist Houseman destroys whatever the hell the villain is,
08:42sacrificing himself in the process.
08:44But in the final scene, we learn the Moon created a copy of Houseman.
08:48I know, it doesn't really make sense, just go with it.
08:51The Moon's creator looks at Houseman eagerly, telling him they must get to work to prepare
08:56for a greater threat looming on the horizon.
08:59Although Emmerich did intend to shoot two sequels back-to-back, this idea was quickly
09:04dashed when it made a pitiful $57 million in the box office.
09:09And considering that this is the least successful mainstream movie Emmerich has ever directed,
09:14I think it's safe to say that Moonfall 2 isn't happening.
09:18Number 3, The King's Man.
09:20The third entry into Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman series takes place during World War I, and
09:26focuses on the creation of Britain's biggest spy agency.
09:31Despite some great action and Reese Ifan's scene-shooing performance as Rasputin, there's
09:35nothing in The King's Man that blew audiences away like the original.
09:40The prequel also feels so disconnected from the overarching plot of the franchise, it
09:45would have worked better if it was a standalone.
09:47Nevertheless, Vaughn seemed confident in its success, which is why The King's Man concludes
09:52with a big, fat sequel tease.
09:54Although the British spies seemingly destroyed the flock in the climax, the mid-credits scene
09:59reveals that one survivor, Hanneson, has taken charge of the organisation.
10:04Preparing to destroy the Kingsman, Hanneson meets his new ally, a young Austrian soldier
10:09called Adolf Hitler.
10:11Now, although the filmmakers clearly expected this reveal to leave jaws on the floor, it
10:17kind of just felt really forced, and seemed a little bit like it was put in just for a
10:21laugh.
10:22Whether you enjoyed this mid-credits sequence or not, it doesn't seem to have any lasting
10:26effects, considering that the film barely broke even, and as a result, it's highly
10:31likely that Vaughn will probably abandon the prequel series and probably put more focus
10:36back into the modern franchise.
10:392.
10:40Morbius
10:41Sony's most recent attempts to continue their Spider-Man-less cinematic universe was such
10:47a bomb, both financially and critically, it's not even funny.
10:52Well, okay, maybe it is a little bit funny, especially some of the memes that Morbius
10:55has inspired.
10:56Thanks to Morbius's underwhelming effects, incoherent plot and rote performances, this
11:01vampire anti-hero flick didn't win anyone over.
11:05Also, why did Morbius have a dance number?
11:08Did Sony learn anything from Spider-Man 3?
11:11But the one element of Morbius that received the most scrutiny is the post-credits scene.
11:16In the scene in question, Michael Keaton's character Adrian Toomes is transported to
11:20Morbius's universe due to the events which occurred in Spider-Man No Way Home.
11:25After Toomes inexplicably acquires his vulture outfit, he meets Morbius, unsubtly name-drops
11:30Spider-Man and teases the Sinister Six showing up in a future project.
11:35Even though the producers thought that this would get viewers psyched, all it really did
11:39was confirm how unstructured this cinematic universe really is.
11:44And it also feels a little bit like Sony are so unconfident in their own work that they're
11:49just clinging to their connections to the MCU in order to keep viewers interested.
11:54Although Jared Leto would like to see Morbius turning up in Blade, I wouldn't hold my breath.
12:001.
12:01Zack Snyder's Justice League
12:02Snyder fans hyped Zack's Justice League up so much that it seemed almost inconceivable
12:08that this director's cut could live up to the expectations.
12:12But for the most part, the second version of Justice League, which is technically the
12:16first, knocked it out of the park.
12:19The characterisation of Cyborg and Flash were significantly better, Steppenwolf was
12:24reshaped into a compelling villain, and Superman's CGI lip was nowhere to be seen.
12:30So when one of the closing scenes depicts Supes pulling off his shirt to reveal the
12:34S-symbol on his suit, it felt like the perfect moment to end the movie.
12:39Although that is how Justice League was meant to conclude, there was a change of plan in
12:43the 11th hour.
12:44Even though the film that Zack envisioned was done back in 2017, the acclaimed director
12:49decided to tack on three scenes at the end, which tease Ben Affleck's Batman film Darkside
12:55and Martian Manhunter.
12:56But since the Batman film was axed and the other characters appeared earlier, these three
13:01scenes added absolutely nothing to the story.
13:04When Zack Snyder's Justice League was released in 2021, Warner Bros made it crystal clear
13:10that they had no intention of creating a sequel to this story.
13:14So it does make you question why Snyder decided to include these extra scenes when there was
13:19going to be no payoff for them.
13:21And that concludes our list.
13:23If you can think of any that we missed, then do let us know in the comments below.
13:26And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
13:30Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there.
13:33And I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
13:37I've been Ellie with What Culture, I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real
13:42soon.