Summary

• Many movie franchises have ended on cliffhangers, leaving audiences without a satisfying conclusion, but some of these franchises find resolution in their original source material.
• Examples include "Divergent," "The Chronicles of Narnia," "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," "Eragon," "Ender's Game," "Percy Jackson," "The Golden Com," "John Carter," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and "I Am Number Four."
• In these cases, the books provide a more extended and complete ending, giving closure to the storylines and characters that were left unresolved in the film adaptations.

Though movie franchises are the bread and butter of Hollywood, and many just can't seem to end, there are others that barely started, and as a result, left major cliffhangers that were never resolved in their original franchise. Oftentimes, these films presented just the first part of a much longer and more epic story, however in one way or another, the franchise was cut before reaching its ultimate conclusion. Luckily, this situation isn't always as dire as it seems. Some movie franchises based on books, though they never saw a satisfying movie conclusion, do have their perfect endings in their original source material.

The following list compiles several unfinished movie franchises that ended on a cliffhanger, yet have a true ending in book form. For the most part, these franchises were adapted from extended book series whose first book was adapted, but unfortunately, never received an adaptation for the remainder of the series' novels. In this case, the franchise ended without a real, satisfying conclusion, and instead, offered the threads of a new story that audiences never got the chance to see. For those who are truly curious about these stunted film franchises, the source material will certainly offer the ending you desire.

10 Divergent

During the young adult dystopian movie craze of the 2010s, Veronica Roth's "Divergent" trilogy was adapted into three movies. The story followed Tris, a teenager living in a futuristic society where people are divided into factions. Though the franchise received three films, the third book was intended to be split into two parts, the second of which never happened. 2016's Allegiant ends with Tris revealing to her city that they are a science experiment controlled by an advanced society called the Bureau, and essentially calling them to arms.

However, the ending to the Allegiant novel is much different. While Tris and her friends do reveal the Bureau's actions to Chicago, the story continues on, showing the uneasy relationships between the Bureau, the factions, and the factionless. At the end of the novel, Tris successfully takes down the Bureau but is shot and killed before being able to escape. The book ends two years after, as her city sees a brighter future and her loved ones come to with her sacrifice.

9 The Chronicles Of Narnia

Despite including seven books, C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" received three movie adaptations, leading to an unsatisfying end. The third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, brought Lucy and Edmund Pevensie back to Narnia only for the film to conclude with Aslan ushering them back to the real world, revealing they were too old to return. While this does occur in Lewis' books, the real end to the series is a much more extended affair. In reality, "The Chronicles of Narnia" book ending includes a massive battle that ultimately destroys Narnia until Aslan leads the characters to the "true" Narnia.

8 The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones

Another long series that received one single movie adaptation is Cassandra Clare's "The Mortal Instruments."The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones follows teenager Clary as she unlocks a world of demon-fighting, half-angel warriors. The end of the film closely aligns with its source material: Clary and Jace defeat the evil Valentine, but not before discovering they may be siblings. This is a serious cliffhanger to end on, but luckily, the books sort it out. In the end, Clary and Jace are not siblings, and the two, along with their Shadowhunter friends, go on to fight Valentine for five more books until a final battle ultimately defeats him.

7 Eragon

A fantasy series that also ended with just one film was Christopher Paolini's "The Inheritance Cycle." The tetraology follows a young man named Eragon and his dragon's fight against an evil king. The film ends with Eragon defeating the king's spy, though a bigger war is clearly on the horizon. Unlike the film franchise, the Inheritance Cycle continues past Eragon, as the protagonist begins his Dragon Rider training. Ultimately, the series ends with Eragon and his friends defeating the king. Eragon provides the gift of dragon riding to the world before traveling away to become a trainer.

6 Ender's Game

Yet another one-film franchise is Ender's Game, based on the vast science fiction book series by Orson Scott Card. The first book and film follow Ender, a young man recruited into Battle School to take down an alien race called the Formics. In a shocking conclusion, Ender discovers that what he thought were simulated battles were real, and he actually demolished the entire Formic race besides the queen. Remorseful, Ender travels into deep space to start a new colony of Formics.

The Ender's Game series extends far beyond this initial story. In later books, Ender does attempt to preserve the legacy of the Formics, but he runs into trouble with other alien species, who believe him to be a monster. While the first book has a heavy emphasis on space warfare, Card's later novels focus on relationships between alien species and philosophy. By the end of the five book series, Ender has died and new characters' stories take precedence.

5 Percy Jackson

Although the Percy Jackson TV show is now on the horizon, the first on-screen adaptation of the middle grade series came in the form of two feature films. Percy Jackson tells the story of adolescent Percy who discovers he is a demigod and begins attending Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for children of the Greek gods. In of the films, Sea of Monsters ends with Percy completing his mission and resurrecting a fellow demigod, who turns out to be a rare daughter of Zeus. Though the film adaptations end there, the book series continues with Percy connecting the pieces of an important prophecy, and ultimately, defeating the god Kronos.

4 The Golden Com

In 2007, Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series received a single film adaptation in the form of The Golden Com. The story takes place in a world where human souls become animal companions, and a little girl named Lyra is pulled into an intricate kidnapping plot. The film ends with Lyra rescuing the abducted children and embarking on a new quest to find her lost uncle. In both Pullman's consequent books and HBO's His Dark Materials, the story continues with Lyra ultimately finding her uncle and becoming the center of a war that includes both her own world and another.

3 John Carter

A much older example of a book-to-film franchise that never quite finished is John Carter. The 2012 movie, following an American Civil War veteran who unwittingly travels to Mars, is based on a character that first originated in 1911 as part of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom stories. While the film ends with Carter successfully completing Shang's challenge and returning to Barsoom, Burroughs' stories go on beyond that ending. Carter becomes the hero of a much vaster story in Mars, and ends the series by saving his wife and defeating his enemies. John Carter's canceled sequels may have explored these plots, but as of now, the franchise is stagnant.

2 The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The first film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's "Millenium series," The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, had the makings of a highly successful franchise, yet the first film was also the last. The story follows the partnership between a brilliant hacker and a journalist as they uncover the mystery of a rich man's missing grandniece. Though a deeply dark story, the movie ends with the pair successfully solving the case. From there, Larsson's story only gets more twisted as the hacker and journalist continue uncovering corruption, injustice, and major secrets. The series ends with the hacker inheriting her father's estate and reconciling a friendship with the journalist.

1 I Am Number Four

Finally, a seven book series that just barely missed Hollywood success is Pitticus Lore's "Lorien Legacies" series starting with I Am Number Four. The book and film follow John Smith, an alien child that was sent to Earth with eight others to escape an invading species. Having to be killed in numerical order, one to nine, Smith finds himself to be chased by the enemy aliens because he is number four, the next child to die. Though the film ends with John on a quest to find the other alien children in order to protect Earth, the books continue, showing him successfully defeating the aliens.