Every Movie Franchise Ending In 2024 (Confirmed & Rumored)
The last two decades have seen an explosion in popularity for building complex and expansive movie franchises with their own universe of stories, but some are now nearing their end in 2024. From the superhero-filled MCU and DCU to the action-packed Mission Impossible, these franchises have been growing and expanding for decades. But all good movie franchises must come to an end eventually. Here are the franchises expected to have their last movie in 2024.
Venom: The End of Eddie Brock's Journey
Venom was first released in 2018, before the sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage came out in 2021. Now, it appears that the third entry will be the final solo outing for Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his symbiotic companion, Venom. Despite the as-yet-untitled Venom 3 likely ending Venom's trilogy, he will likely turn up in other parts of the Sony Villain Universe, or SVU. Both Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web will be released in 2024, expanding the SVU beyond Venom and Morbius.
Venom Movie Tom Hardy
While the trilogy has had a decent financial return, with Venom earning $856 million and the sequel earning $506 million (via Box Office Mojo), the drop from the first to the second as well as increasingly negative reviews doesn't look promising for the series. Venom is certainly the best entry in the SVU at present, but when the only other competition is Morbius, that feat isn't all that impressive. The story for Venom is much more likely to be continued in other films or concluded definitively in Venom 3.
Venom baring his teeth as seen in Spider-Man 3 next to the poster for 2018's Venom starring Tom Hardy
Joker: The Future of Harley Quinn
Todd Phillips wrote and directed 2019's Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck. While both Phillips and Phoenix initially rejected the idea of a sequel, the film's overwhelming success and fans crying out for the story to be continued won out. In June 2022, after years of waiting, a sequel was confirmed and since then, further details have trickled through. The sequel, titled Joker: Folie \/ Deux, will be released in 2024 and will see Lady Gaga take on the role of Harley Quinn opposite Phoenix's Joker.
Split Image: Venom stands with bared teeth; Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) looks sad
While Joker: Folie \/ Deux has not officially been confirmed as the last film, it's difficult to imagine a future for the story when Matt Reeves' TheBatman series is being made and the new DCU attempts to secure a monopoly of all future DC content in live action and animation. Add to that the fact that Phillips and Phoenix were not intending to create a universe, instead choosing to develop an incredible singular project, and it wouldn't make sense to keep stretching that idea until it becomes too thin and snaps.
Tom Hardy As Venom
Beverly Hills Cop: The Return of Axel Foley
Beverly Hills Cop had three entries between 1984 and 1994. While a fourth film was in development for 30 years, it's hard to imagine that the comedy cop film starring Eddie Murphy will continue past the latest sequel in 2024. The long-awaited sequel is being produced and released by Netflix, but it may end up being a final goodbye to the character of Axel Foley rather than a revival.
Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley speaking with Paul Reiser as Jeffrey in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
The previous films featured a brand of comedy that was popular during its time, with the first two films earning $300 million each at the box office. However, the third movie saw a dramatic drop to earning just $119 million and that was just 10 years after the first movie was released. The fact that the fourth film has been stuck in development hell for almost the entirety of the last 30 years with studios going back and forth, writers coming on board, and then leaving the project, and more, doesn't present high hopes for what will come after the latest movie drops.
Bad Boys: The End of an Era
Bad Boys was a beloved franchise with two films that were released in 1995 and 2003. After that, the franchise then had a long pause before releasing the third installment, Bad Boys For Life, in 2020. Owing to the incredible success of the third entry, which managed to gross $426 million, outperforming both of the original films combined, it was confirmed that the franchise would continue with at least one more entry by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, the stars of the series.
Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in Bad Boys for Life
However, Smith has had a tumultuous couple of years since the last film, and enthusiasm around the franchise may have been satisfied with the last entry. Considering the series was dormant for the better part of 20 years, it's very possible that audience interest peaked with Bad Boys For Life, and any further sequels feel unnecessary for the aging buddy cops to get back behind the wheel. It may be possible for the series to continue after Bad Boys 4 is released in 2024, but it seems increasingly unlikely.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence sitting in a car looking out the window as their characters from Bad Boys
Twister: A New Chapter
Twisters is set to be a brand-new chapter in the series that began in 1996 with Twister. Twisters was initially touted to be a sequel that could feature cameos from the original cast, it has since been rebranded as a new story, with an all-new cast following a similar narrative around storm chasers. The new film will star Daisy Edgar Jones, Glen Powell, Kiernan Shipka, and more as the story is updated, and this latest entry builds on the foundations of the franchise.
Helen Hunt in Twister and a tornado
While the movie is technically only the second entry in the series and the nature of the film is ambiguous with possible loose connections to the original, but not fully being labeled as a remake, it appears likely that this will be a standalone film and the only sequel to the 1996 original. It remains to be seen what the specifics of the plot will be and how it will connect to the original movie, but an updated movie is exciting nonetheless.
