22 Side Characters Who Successfully Took Over Movie Franchises
Being a sidekick is a double-edged sword. Sure, you don't get the glory, but you don't have the world (or at least the franchise) on your shoulders, either. You can just sit back, do your part, and settle into a comfortable albeit sexless existence.
In fact, becoming more popular than the hero may be the last thing you want. It does happen, though, sometimes to the point of becoming the hero, period, if not always without challenge.
“I am aware the new Avengers set-up didn’t track so well with moviegoers and reportedly has been cancelled,” Redditor Liquidmurr told r/Movies, referring to Falcon being “tasked with carrying” the Captain America franchise, “and I can’t really think of a strong, even loved, sidekick that has led a franchise forward.”
They then asked, “Has a ‘sidekick’ ever successfully taken over a movie franchise?” and all of these second bananas definitely fit the bill.
The Pink Panther
The Fast and the Furious
Mission: Impossible
Police Academy
Pirates of the Caribbean
Tremors
X-Men
American Pie
Clerks
Transformers
The Hangover
The Walking Dead
Shrek
Jurassic Park
Undisputed
Popeye
Wallace and Gromit
Peter Pan
Friday the 13th
A Better Tomorrow
Despicable Me
The Righteous Gemstones
