Franchisography

After the runaway success of The Muppets, Disney quickly greenlit a sequel. While Jason Segal opted to not return, Nicholas Stoller instead co-wrote the next Muppet adventure with director James Bobin. This time, Kermit would take center stage for the … Continue reading →

Twelve years after the failure of Muppets From Space, Disney had purchased the rights to The Muppets but was letting them languish in TV specials, commercials, and music videos. The idea of another feature film starring Kermit and the gang … Continue reading →

After the failure of Muppet Treasure Island, Disney had no interest in continuing their relationship with Jim Henson Productions. Instead, the company signed a three-picture deal for The Muppets with Sony Pictures that would include another adaptation from classic literature … Continue reading →

The modest theatrical success of The Muppet Chrismas Carol lead Brian Henson and the rest of the Henson company to decide on a new literary classic to adapt with the Muppets. This time, though, they wanted to focus on comedy … Continue reading →

Jim Henson was dead: to begin with. But that wasn’t the only thing that had changed for the Henson company in the eight years since the Muppets took Manhattan: Frank Oz had become a successful film director; the company had … Continue reading →

After the back-to-back productions of Muppet Caper and Dark Crystal, Jim Henson was ready for a break from directing. So when the studio wanted a third Muppet Movie, he turned to his creative partner Frank Oz to take over the … Continue reading →

After the box office success of The Muppet Movie and The Muppet Show’s time on the air coming to an end after 5 seasons, Jim Henson was ready to take on his next challenge: film director. But it wasn’t a … Continue reading →

It’s time to play the music… it’s time to light the lights… our coverage of The Muppets franchise begins TONIGHT! While he had earned huge success with the creation of Sesame Street, Jim Henson wanted to break out of children’s … Continue reading →

It’s a Betweenisode! Join Nick & Scott as they discuss the conclusion of the Mummy mini-series, rank each movie, speculate about the future of the franchise, and announce our final mini-series of Franchisography Season Two! Next week: Our final franchise … Continue reading →

Welcome to a new world of gods and monsters. After Tomb of the Dragon Emperor failed to win over fans, Universal Pictures would bury their beloved franchise for another nine years before raising it from the dead yet again as … Continue reading →

Seven years after The Mummy Returns, Universal Pictures was finally able to resurrect the franchise with a third adventure, but they would do so with some key members absent: Writer/director Stephen Sommers would be replaced by The Fast & The … Continue reading →

Get ready for a wild ride as Nick, Scott, and guest Andrew Darowski find themselves on opposite sides of the river when discussing the sequel to the 1999 smash hit with 2001’s THE MUMMY RETURNS. Director Stephen Sommers was already … Continue reading →

BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT Nick and Scott finally begin their dive into the winner of this year’s Listener Pick Tournament with 1999’s generation-defining favorite, THE MUMMY. Go beyond the memes as FRANCHISOGRAPHY uncovers the long and forgotten history behind this … Continue reading →

We interrupt our regularly scheduled mini-series with a BONUS FEATURE as we return to the Spy Kids franchise for a look at the latest family film from the imagination of Robert Rodriguez, 2023’s SPY KIDS: ARMAGEDDON. It’s been 12 years … Continue reading →

It’s a Betweenisode! Join Nick & Scott as they discuss the conclusion of the Spider-Man mini-series and get deep, ranking every Spider-Man movie! Next Week: THE MUMMY (1999) FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Morbius (2022) episode now available on PATREON! Join the Dueling … Continue reading →

Into the Spider-Verse was Sony Animation’s biggest hit, with a box office lifespan that lasted six months, so, of course, they greenlit a sequel. The first of two planned sequels developed simultaneously and planned for release nine months apart, SPIDER-MAN: … Continue reading →

Three months after the release of Far From Home, Sony and Marvel Studios entered into contract negotiations that ended abruptly with Sony announcing that the next Spider-Man movie would be made without the help of Kevin Feige and the MCU. … Continue reading →

The success of Spider-Man: Homecoming led to the immediate greenlight for a sequel, but this time it would be the epilogue to the entire Infinity Saga, releasing just two months after the universe-shaking Avengers: Endgame. What does a post-blip world … Continue reading →

With the live-action Spider-Man in the capable hands of Marvel Studios, Sony and producers Amy Pascal and Avi Arad looked to animation as a way of continuing to tell Spider-Man stories on their own. To accomplish this, they turned to … Continue reading →

After the creative and financial disappointment of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Amy Pascal was ready to roll right into another sequel. But before she did, she decided to take a lunch meeting with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to discuss … Continue reading →

After the response to the Amazing reboot wasn’t what Sony had hoped for, the studio decided to correct the direction of the series with a new tone, a new costume, and new writers, but also a new series of creative … Continue reading →

After Spider-Man 3, Sam Raimi attempted to develop a fourth film but after 3 years and an ultimatum by Sony to either make the movie or move along, Raimi left Spider-Man behind and gave his blessing for a reboot. To … Continue reading →

After the success of Spider-Man 2, a sequel was immediately greenlit, featuring the Sandman and the Vulture teaming up to take on the friendly neighborhood webhead this time around. But the development of the next Spider-Man would be complicated by … Continue reading →

What happens when you greenlight a sequel without a proper script or star? Somehow, you get the best superhero movie ever made. Two years after the mega-success of the first Spider-Man feature film, Sam Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN 2 was released in … Continue reading →

With Great Podcast, Comes Great Responsibility… and so FRANCHISOGRAPHY returns with a new mini-series focused on everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. It’s difficult to understate the impact that SPIDER-MAN had on pop culture when it hit theaters in 2002. Filled … Continue reading →