Cobra Kai may just be the beginning. Several lost franchises could make their way and be revived in the 21st Century. Here are some lost franchises we want to return.
Highlander
The Highlander franchise is one of the 80s most closely guarded secrets. Not many millennials know about Highlander. Not many will ever know it exists. Like Karate Kid’s Cobra Kai, Highlander is as corny and cheesy as they come. But corny and cheesy are good combos. That’s something Cobra Kai has proved beyond doubt. If you have a good tory arc that plays well on the nostalgia factor, then you got a solid premise for a show. Lost franchises like Highlander deserve a second shot because it was huge during its day. There will be a few hiccups since many original actors have already aged a bit. But it will not be totally impossible. All Highlander needs is some clever storytelling to work around that problem.
Red Sonja
Another 80s secret that is being slept on, Red Sonja could become a mega hit if done right. Hollywood is on a rampage to find more female led shows. Red Sonja is one of Hollywood’s greatest lost franchises. A Red Sonja reboot was in the works but is still stuck in development hell. The only way out seems like a streaming platform revival of some sort. If not Netflix, some other platform like Hulu or Amazon Prime could take over. Our suggestion would be to bring back Brigitte Nielsen who will mentor the next female warrior goddess. Just like Johnny did with Miguel in Cobra Kai.
The Goonies
Why should every Lost Franchises revival be about martial arts and fighters? One can also be about adventure and fantasy. The Goonies was one of the 80s sleeper hits. It still enjoys a good fan base today. Since the movie was pretty fictional and had elements of fantasy in it, recasting the original characters with younger counterparts will not be that big of an issue. The Goonies could be the next big thing in television. Steven Spielberg was developing a story for a Goonies sequel back in 2014. That did not pan out but the story could be used and stretched out to give us a full-fledged series.
Bloodsport
if there is one movie that could give The Karate Kid franchise a run for its money, its Jean-Claude Van Damme‘s Bloodsport. Another one of those corny 80s lost franchises, Bloodsport would make for the perfect martial arts tale for a revival series. Jean-Claude Van Damme is still in his fighting prime. We say he returns to the world of Bloodsport and becomes the mentor to his son or daughter. JCVD’s character’s child could be the next Bloodsport dark horse. Sounds pretty sun and intriguing if you ask us!!!
WarGames
The movie may seem dated now. But even the Gen Z will love it once they watch this techno thriller. The premise of WarGames sounded ridiculous back then but is all too real now. The fear of an all powerful AI taking over and destroying the world is as real as it gets in 2022. The world is already going through a global pandemic. WarGames could stoke that fear with a new kind of planetary level threat. WarGames has the potential to be the next Stranger Things. And since it is technically one of the lost franchises of a bygone era, it could join Cobra Kai very soon.
Gremlins
There have been talks of a Gremlins 3 film. But the threequel has no such news of coming soon yet. Gremlins 3 may never happen, pushing the franchise into the lost franchises category. This is one movie series we would like to save. There is still so much potential in Gremlins. A Netflix series on these creepy critters would make huge waves.
