By Mark Edlitz
As a longtime reader of Cinema Retro myself, it's a
privilege to share with my fellow readers some insights into my book, Movies
Go Fourth: 4th Films in Fantastic Franchises. As the title suggests, the
book focuses on the fourth film in the most beloved film series of all time. As
such, I cover superhero films (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace and Batman
& Robin), sci-films (Star Wars 4 and Star Trek IV), horror (Halloween, A
Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Jaws 4, Psycho 4), comedy (Meatballs
4, Police Academy 4), and action (Die Hard 4, the fourth Dirty Harry film, Sudden Impact). I also write
about re-edited fourth films (Rocky 4) and unmade fourths (Godfather IV and Sam
Raimi’s Spider-Man 4).
Why write a book about fourth movies in popular
franchises? It’s a question that comes up quite a bit. Granted, it’s a strange
topic for a book and even the premise requires a little explanation. Even my
interview subjects would gently tease me about the subject. When I asked my
youngest child if anyone was going to be interested enough to buy the book,
they jibed, “What are you thinking? It’s not even about trilogies.” Point
taken. There’s something about a fourth film that screams “cash grab” or, even
worse, “bad movie.”
Trilogies used to signal that the franchise had entered
popular culture and that it was deserving of three installments. Trilogies can
also be considered the ideal form of storytelling, with a beginning, middle,
and end. Each film represents one part of a three-act structure. The original Star
Wars trilogy best exemplifies my point.
Given that, what happens when the trilogy is over and
either the filmmakers or the studio wants to continue the series? What are the
artistic and practical challenges they face? What happens when art and commerce
come into conflict? What happens when the characters or stories lend themselves
to additional entries? To find out the answer to these questions and many
others, I decided to interview the filmmakers themselves.
Among other things, I learned that certain professions of
the heroes naturally lend themselves to multiple movies. A homicide detective
or private investigator can always catch another case. A spy can always be sent
on another mission. Thus, the multiple Dirty Harry, Sherlock Holmes, and James
Bond movies. There are decidedly fewer sequels about lawyers; thus no Verdict
2: Overruled.
Sometimes the nature of a character changes by their
appearance in sequels. For instance, in the first Alien and Die Hard films,
both Ellen Ripley and John McClane were set up as Average Joes who encounter an
outsized adversary. But in subsequent features, they metaphorize into something
closer to superhuman. In the fourth Alien flick, Ellen Ripley has now been
cloned and possesses super strength. By the fourth Die Hard film, McClane is
jumping off harrier jets. Before filming on the fourth Die Hard commenced,
Bruce Willis saw that the characters’ core was drifting, and he enlisted his
Hostage screenwriter, Doug Richardson, to bring the
series back to basics. Richardson had bold ideas on how to improve the film and
make it much tougher. In one proposed scene, McClane would have been stuck
under a crashed helicopter. To get out, Bruce would have used a knife to hack
off his own hand. This would have a much more intense film than the PG-13 Live
Free or Die Hard.
Other times, the fourth film is intended to “pass the
torch” and change the lead character. The fourth Jason Bourne tried
unsuccessfully to change leads, with Jeremy Renner taking over duties for Matt
Damon, albeit with a newly created character. The fourth-Damonless film was not
a success, and the actor was brought back for the next installment. Renner also
figured in another example of a “passing the torch” attempt in include Jeremy
Renner's efforts to succeed Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.
However, Renner did not reprise his role in either series’ fifth installment,
both of which starred Cruise. After starring in three Karate Kid films, Ralph
Macchio seemingly had his last karate kick, and future Oscar winner Hillary
Swank was brought in as the titular Next Karate Kid. (Swank lasted only one
film and Macchio returns to the film franchise in 2025’s Karate Kid: Legends).
Similarly, the fourth Highlander film saw the demise of the immortal played by
Christopher Lambert so that another lead- Adrian Paul- could lop off the heads
of adversaries to the strains of the Queen soundtrack.
An ill-conceived fourth film can put a series on ice.
After Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin was criticized for being too campy,
it seemed that he “killed the franchise.” As such, the billion-dollar franchise
laid dormant from 1997 to 2005 until Christopher Nolan wiped the slate clean
and started a new series beginning with Batman Begins. The Jaws franchise has
fared worse. Jaws: The Revenge proved to be the last Jaws film. Steven
Spielberg, who was not involved in any official capacity in Jaws 2, 3, or 4, seemed
to learn his lesson and applied it to the Jurassic Park series. Even though he
only directed the first two films, Spielberg remained on for its many sequels
as an executive producer.
When it comes to the titles of fourth films, sometimes
there’s truth in advertising and sometimes not. The fourth Friday the 13th and Lake
Placid were subtitled The Final Chapter. It goes without saying that the
hatchet-wielding killer is still at large, and David E Kelly’s killer crocodile
still has the munches. The fourth in the original Planet of the Apes film
series was intended to conclude the series. But Conquest for Planet of the Apes,
the fourth film in the original series proved so popular that a fifth film was
put into production. Tim Burton’s remake followed in 2001 and even today
audiences are going ape for a reboot series with photo-realistic primates.
2024’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth film in the reboot series,
earned nearly $400 million at the box office and an Academy Award nomination
for visual effects.
There are times when the fourth film becomes the most
financially successful of the series. For instance, John Wick: Chapter 4, Mad
Max: Fury Road, and Rocky IV, have out-earned all the earlier installments. Rocky
IV was so popular that the 1985 film spawned a direct sequel in the form of
2018’s Creed II. Despite the fourth film’s outsized success, Sylvester Stallone
wasn’t quite satisfied with the theatrical cut. So he tinkered with the movie,
changed the tone, added about 40 minutes of “unseen” footage, and re-released
it in 2021 as Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago – The Ultimate Director’s Cut. Stallone
might have been happy with his 35th-anniversary re-cut, but fans of the “Rocky
robot” were disheartened to see the lovable robot axed from the flick. I
tracked down the robot’s creator and interviewed him for the book. Needless to
say, he prefers the original cut.
The filmmakers I interviewed for Movies Go Fourth shared
the highs and lows of franchise filmmaking. For instance, Joel Schumacher
directed both Batman 3 (Batman Forever) and Batman 4 (Batman & Robin).
Notably, both films feature many of the same creative team—the same director,
writer, producer, production designer, director of photography, and composer.
The filmmaker gives an open and revealing account of why one film worked and
the other did not.
Mark Rosenthal spoke to me about his screenplay for Superman
IV. The decision to re-hire Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor was meant to be a return
to form for the flagging series. However, Cannon Films didn’t have the finances
to realize his ambitious vision. As a result, set pieces were discarded or
unconvincingly brought to life. Superman IV never really took flight.
There are some surprising stories about fourth entries.
Joseph Stinson, writer of Sudden Impact, swoons as he describes Clint
Eastwood’s fidelity to his script. He also described the uncanny feeling when
then-President Reagan quoted his line, “Go ahead, make my day.”
The fourth Meatballs movie wasn’t even part of the
franchise until after filming commenced. Instead, the movie started as an indie
film titled Happy Campers and it starred Corey Feldman. Partway through
filming, the producer informed the cast and crew that they were now making a Meatballs
film. The filmmakers were not happy campers when they found out. The fourth Porky’s
film was quickly made just to retain the rights. So it was shot in just 15
days, and the producers quietly released the cheapie film under the title Pimpin’
Pee Wee. Incidentally, when a film is made for the sole purpose of protecting
copyright, it is dubiously dubbed an “ashcan copy.”
There are scores of commercial and artistic reasons for
creating fourth installments in popular series. Fourth films can allow
moviegoers to see their favorite characters in all new adventures. They are
also a way for studio heads and executives to hedge their bets by delivering
the familiar. For better or for worse, the fourth film can be the turning point
in a franchise. The fourth Bond film, Thunderball, took the series to new (and,
for some, unmatched) heights. The fourth film can also rejuvenate a flagging franchise
or show a filmmaker in command of their craft. Alternatively, a fourth film can
be when the wheels go off the wagon.
Not all the movies covered in Movies Go Fourth are
staggering works of heartbreaking genius. But they were all made by a group of
filmmakers who were doing their best to create the best movie they could, given
the circumstances in which the films were made. In that context, sometimes the
fourth time is the charm.
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