Fan-films and the Franchise

"This is what we laughingly refer to as a plan, right?" - Lenny Nero from "Strange Days"


These are strange days in the film industry.

Franchises long forgotten don't seem to die (hard enough), while newer ones are slaughtered in the box office. The recent Dredd film, a vigorous and faithful adaptation of the eponymous anti-hero, offered a glimpse of what could have been. The film's producer confirmed that there won't be a Dredd sequel, but an officiallly-unofficial-non-profit-fan-film (like the Thomas Jane-Punisher short, #DIRTYLAUNDRY) is eventually going to happen.


The Dredd fan-film has actually happened a while ago, in the form of Judge Minty:

And blogging about franchises and pipe dreams, the Games Workshop properties (that is Warhammer & Warhammer 40K) have been a fan's wet dream for a long time. Or ever since Peter Jackson proved that he could make his come true. 

"Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie" had the same fate with Dredd, if not worse, due to its nonexistent cinematic release. 

Two Warhammer 40K fan-films (both, still in production) have surfaced:

"The Lord Inquisitor"

and "Exterminatus"

And while some franchises are about to release their Nth º sequel, others seem to be in the state of Fight Club, where we shall "not talk about" them...