You pretty much nailed the reasons for never-ending-sequels and remakes (BTW, a remake of The Never-Ending Story is in the works, appropriately.) In a word, hat tip to Ross Douthat, it's decadence. The creative exhaustion isn't total (think Andor) but the sickness is deep and may be fatal until and unless the system can renew itself, if allowed.
Another exhausted franchise is the James Bond property. What I once called The Knight of the Sexual Revolution, the progenitor of modern franchises was plenty profitable while remaining increasingly flat as reliable entertainment (I don't think "creative" is a word that applies here.) The Craig era was distinguished by decreasing sexiness, mirroring the societal erotic exhaustion that has led to less coupling and declining birthrates. Bond and we got the world handed to us, liberated from antiquated social, er, bonds, but the World was not Enough, as Hollywood and its audiences risk losing our souls.
Again, your list of various reasons have nailed it--among them, the one true Faith must be spread, insinuated in content. And, on one hand, changes keep the property from becoming stale, but to change them ideologically for the sake of "progress" often backfires. Some have IP they must exploit, perhaps rights that must be used within a certain time or lose them to the rights owner. But so many studios are leveraged in so much debt, maintaining streamers they can't sustain that a lot of junk, just good enough, gets released. Part of the age-ending sense we feel elsewhere. And wait till AI starts fueling franchises.
You pretty much nailed the reasons for never-ending-sequels and remakes (BTW, a remake of The Never-Ending Story is in the works, appropriately.) In a word, hat tip to Ross Douthat, it's decadence. The creative exhaustion isn't total (think Andor) but the sickness is deep and may be fatal until and unless the system can renew itself, if allowed.
Another exhausted franchise is the James Bond property. What I once called The Knight of the Sexual Revolution, the progenitor of modern franchises was plenty profitable while remaining increasingly flat as reliable entertainment (I don't think "creative" is a word that applies here.) The Craig era was distinguished by decreasing sexiness, mirroring the societal erotic exhaustion that has led to less coupling and declining birthrates. Bond and we got the world handed to us, liberated from antiquated social, er, bonds, but the World was not Enough, as Hollywood and its audiences risk losing our souls.
What do you see as the motive for CHANGES in the content of remakes and reboots?
Again, your list of various reasons have nailed it--among them, the one true Faith must be spread, insinuated in content. And, on one hand, changes keep the property from becoming stale, but to change them ideologically for the sake of "progress" often backfires. Some have IP they must exploit, perhaps rights that must be used within a certain time or lose them to the rights owner. But so many studios are leveraged in so much debt, maintaining streamers they can't sustain that a lot of junk, just good enough, gets released. Part of the age-ending sense we feel elsewhere. And wait till AI starts fueling franchises.