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So he did.

That said,Battlefield Earthstill wasnt an easy project to realise.

The plan was then to cover the rest in a sequel, which was planned from day one.

With the cast signed up and back on board, the movie was set to be released in 2003.

All that needed to happen was for the first film to become a success.

Which is where it hit a stumbling block.

Financially, tales ofBattlefield Earths failure have been overstated.

Those involved maintain it turned a profit, and thats very likely true.

On release, the film was quickly destroyed.

John Travolta, for one, maintains hes proud of the first film though.

Martin Campbell he ofGoldenEye,CasinoRoyale, andThe Mask Of Zorro signed up to direct.

But an expensive project it turned out to be.

A global box office take of $220m.

By February 2012, Ryan Reynolds was less clear of Green Lantern 2.

The newGreen Lanternfilm will thus happen, but not until 2020.

But thenBatman & Robinhappened.

Its worth noting thatBatman & Robinwas not a financial disaster.

Yet it was comfortably the weakestBatmanat the box office at that stage.

So that was strike one.

Yet the big problem was the film.

The next Batman film would have beenBatman Triumphant.

Also, the character of Harley Quinn was scheduled for an appearance.

A 1999 release was mooted, but the project was dead even before the end of 1997.

The path toBatman Beginshad been laid.

Two more films after that are already planned.

Yet all involved withGenisyswill be only too aware that this road has been previously trodden.

In a later interview, he would describeTerminator Salvationas awful.

The fly in the ointment though would actually turn out to be rights issues.

Halcyon Entertainment, which had bought theTerminatorrights and putTerminator: Salvationinto production, filed for bankruptcy.

But things did not go to plan.

Never formally announced this one, but widely expected.

One of the most potent was and arguably is Philip PullmansHis Dark Materialstrilogy.

It took some time to realise.

Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Ian McKellen and Sam Elliott joined the cast.

Upon release, though, New Line discovered it didnt have anotherLord Of The Ringshere.

Reviews were okay, but the box office fell some way short of expectatations.

Yet there was an olive branch.

Non-US audiences added over $300m to the gross, leavingThe Golden Compasswith $372m to its name.

Yet a further factor came into play.

Furthermore, the core cast were all signed up to return.

However, all was not well.

Behind the scenes, the production was reported not to be a happy one.

But perhaps more crucially, the film in this instance really wasnt that well received at all.

No plot details were ever released as to where this particularPlanet Of The Apes 2would have gone.

Tim Burton, however, said that hed rather jump out of a window than direct a sequel.

This one seemed to fizzle out really quite quickly, though.

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