A couple of recent franchise non-starters lead us to discuss the Hollywood franchise machine and why it mostly doesn’t work (except for Marvel). We dive into Robin Hood and The Girl in the Spider’s Web to look at why it’s so hard to launch a franchise and all the ways these movies demonstrate the dangers of franchise filmmaking. Hint: You can’t launch a franchise if your movie sucks. Also, why Robin Hood doesn’t work as a modern parable, and the variable appeal of Scandi Noir and whether or not Lisbeth Salander can be saved from Hollywood’s clutches.

Here is Sarah’s review of The Girl in the Spider’s Web, and here is Kayleigh opining on Ben Mendelsohn’s gig as Hollywood’s favorite evil bureaucrat.

One correction: Your Highness is not a Seth Rogen movie, it’s by David Gordon Green.