18 unnecessary movie sequels, remakes, and reboots nobody asked for

Negative reaction aside, Tim Burton's 2010 update of "Alice in Wonderland" nevertheless grossed over $1 billion worldwide, which was enough to merit a sequel.

The resulting sequel, from a different director, was instantly forgettable and universally reviled. It turned out to be one of the biggest duds of summer 2016.

Despite a powerhouse cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, and Margot Robbie, the film barely resonated, raking in $356.4 million worldwide. It's a bland reboot that also happened to fall in the shadow of the far superior "The Jungle Book," which came out in April. Stick to the 1999 animated Disney version of "Tarzan" instead.

The 1959 version of "Ben-Hur," already a remake of a 1925 silent movie of the same name, won a record number of Oscars and is most famous for its epic chariot race. The 2016 reboot earned some praise for recreating the famous race, but found itself in a world that is less and less interested in sword-and-sandal epics. It was also the biggest flop of the summer.

It's been 11 years since the last "Ring" movie. We'll have to wait until October 28 to see if audiences are still interested in the haunted videotape franchise. This time the premise has been updated for the viral internet age.

Despite diminishing interest in the United States, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise continues to be popular overseas. "On Stranger Tides," the most recent "Pirates" entry, grossed $1.05 billion worldwide. Yet, it still feels like this franchise is on its last sea legs.

"Shanghai Noon" was a western comedy that worked, not to mention Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson made a fun duo. The sequel, "Shanghai Knights," which came out in 2003, was entertaining. And yet, news that Chan and Wilson were working on yet another entry in their franchise, titled "Shanghai Dawn," feels both too late and unwelcome.

About four years ago, Lionsgate announced it was planning to remake "American Psycho," the Wall Street serial killer psychological thriller that boasted a star-making turn by Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman. The last news development three years ago said that it would be a "sequel series" on FX set in the present day. It's still in development with no release date in sight.

The idea is wrongheaded for several reasons. First off, "American Psycho," which came out in 2000, is barely old enough to render a remake. Secondly, setting a new installment in the modern day is wrong. The original, which was set in the 1980s, is a dark satire of Reagan era bankers. The fact that it feels like it could be set in the present, without actually being set in the present, is part of the magic of it. Plus, nobody can dance to Huey Lewis and the News quite like Christian Bale can.

Disney decided to reboot the animated classic earlier in 2016. Thanks to eye-popping visual effects, the film was a runaway success. However, this isn't the last we'll hear from Mowgli and Baloo, as Warner Brothers is planning its own version of the story for an October 19, 2018 release.

While this one promises innovative use of stop-motion technology and a cast that includes Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, and Andy Serkis (who will also be directing), it doesn't seem like there's many new places for Rudyard Kipling's fable to go.

The original Indiana Jones trilogy, which includes "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "The Temple of Doom," and "The Last Crusade," are among the greatest movie adventures of all time. Then, everyone's favorite archaeologist came back in 2008 in "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Between a fridge that services a nuclear bomb and a temple that turns into a flying saucer, the film received much ridicule. It even received the "South Park" treatment.

Instead of letting it go, Steven Spielberg has instead promised us a fifth "Indiana Jones" movie in 2019. While we wish we could just live with the original three movies, Harrison Ford did prove he could get his acting mojo back in "The Force Awakens." We can only hope there's one more solid Indiana Jones movie left in Spielberg and Ford.

Jason Bourne is one of Matt Damon's most famous film roles. The series took a bit of a tumble when it replaced Damon with Jeremy Renner as the lead in "The Bourne Legacy." "Jason Bourne" reunited Damon with Paul Greengrass (director of "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum"). However, "Jason Bourne" wasn't a runaway hit with lackluster reviews, showing that even great franchises have expiration dates.

Turning the Disney classic into a warrior tale seemed strange for "Snow White and the Huntsman." Yet, there was still enough interest to make this sequel, which came in on little fanfare and without the star of the first film, Kristen Stewart. It was mostly ignored by audiences.

Maybe Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will make a "continuation" of "Jumanji" great, but it's tough to imagine anything better than the 1995 classic with Robin Williams.

Johnson has promised fans the film will honor the late actor. We'll see.

"You have my word, we will honor his name and the character of “Alan Parrish” will stand alone and be forever immortalized in the world of Jumanji in an earnest and cool way," Johnson wrote in an Instagram post. "I have an idea of what to do and I think his family will be proud. I also think Robin is somewhere lookin’ down and laughing, remembering the first time we met backstage and I (for the first time ever) was a star struck bumbling idiot that couldn’t even get my words out."

One of the biggest letdowns of the summer was Fox's big "Independence Day" sequel. While "Jurassic Park" was able to sucessfully pull off a sequel 20 years later with Chris Pratt, "Independence Day" couldn't do the same without a big star and its former leading man Will Smith.

Sure, the film had Chris Hemsworth, but we all know Jennifer Lawrence was the real star of "The Hunger Games." And though "Resurgence" reunited some of the original cast, like Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, but it wasn't enough to deliver an exciting thriller like the 1994 film.

"Independence Day" wasn't the only sequel which came over a decade later. 12 years after "Barbershop 2: Back in Business," Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer reunited for a third film in the series but not even Nicki Minaj's presence could help the sequel.

"Next Cut" ended up performing worse at the box office than the first two in the franchise.

Fox's animated franchise has been chugging along for years. But it may be the end of the line.

The latest adventure about the clumsy sloth, snarky sabertooth tiger, and family of mammoths made significantly less than all of the "Ice Age" sequels. Though there may be ideas for a sixth film, the series may quickly become the new "Land Before Time," and see its future head to video on demand.

You probably didn't even realize this movie came out in March. "London has Fallen" is the sequel to 2013's successful "Olympus Has Fallen." The film didn't perform much better than the original about a US Secret Service agent (Gerard Butler) who had save the president's life after a terrorist attack. The sequel set Butler up to do much of the same along with Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman, but in London this time.

Waiting three years may not have helped the film, which ended up receiving tepid reviews.

Stephen King's scary clown novel was adapted into a successful 1990 TV miniseries. Now, it's coming back as a feature-length film set to be released on September 8, 2017. It's easy to already feel skeptical given that director Cary Fukunaga ("True Detective") quit the project due to creative differences. Not to mention, the new clown just isn't that scary.