History OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight / Film

** This was a common sentiment when Creator/JamesGunn was suspended from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3''. Gunn's irreverent {{bathos}}-flavored directorial style was responsible for turning the Z-list Guardians into household names. Internally, a number of Marvel directors like Creator/TaikaWaititi were so supportive of Gunn that they refused to take over the film as director. Subsequently, Gunn was rehired as the executives at Marvel and Disney couldn't find a replacement director who could do the franchise justice.

* Creator/ZackSnyder's [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague version]] of ''Justice League'' is considered much better than the ExecutiveMeddling-[=plagued=] 2017 theatrical film with Creator/JossWhedon-[=helmed=] reshoots.

* The planned new ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' ContinuityReboot film without Creator/JossWhedon is starting to receive this. Ironically, the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer TV show]] embraced this trope, as it was much, ''much'' better than the movie, which messily chopped up Whedon's original script.

* Until the release of [[Film/Scream2022 the fifth film]], fans of the ''Film/{{Scream}}'' series viewed Kevin Williamson, the writer of [[Film/Scream1996 the first]] [[Film/Scream2 two films]], as the only person who could get the characters right. ''Film/Scream3'' was written by Ehren Kruger due to Williamson having commitments to other projects, and is nowadays seen as the worst film in the series, and while ''Film/Scream4'' saw Williamson come back to the series, Kruger was also credited for rewrites, and many fans blame the film's weaker moments on him. Worst of all was [[Series/ScreamTVSeries the TV adaptation]], which neither Williamson, Kruger, nor the films' director Creator/WesCraven had any creative involvement in (barring a producer credit for Craven), and which was lambasted by fans. As noted above, however, this started to die down with the fifth film, which had an all-new creative team (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett of the filmmaking collective Radio Silence) due to Craven's passing in 2015 with Williamson credited only as executive producer, yet was well-received as a return to form after a long SequelGap and which quickly earned [[Film/ScreamVI a sequel]].

* The first ''Film/DieHard'' film is directed by Creator/JohnMcTiernan. All of the sequels [[ContestedSequel are contested]], to some extent. ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance'', again directed by [=McTiernan=], is the least contested.

* ''Film/TheBourneSeries'': ZigZagged with MyRealDaddy, as one may argue that the Bourne series [[HasTwoMommies has two daddies]] with directors Creator/DougLiman and Creator/PaulGreengrass. With ''Film/TheBourneIdentity'', Liman gave the film a unique style, but it was Greengrass who would flesh it out in its sequels ''Film/TheBourneSupremacy'' and ''Film/TheBourneUltimatum'', with Liman still involved as executive producer, garnering even greater acclaim. But when Greengrass turned down the offer to direct ''Film/TheBourneLegacy'', Creator/MattDamon left with him, saying he wouldn't do any more movies without him, and Liman left too. This is part of why ''Legacy'' hasn't been as well-received as its predecessors. Though it should be noted that Tony Gilroy wrote all four films (and directed ''Legacy''). Damon and Greengrass finally reunited to make ''Film/JasonBourne'', which received mixed reviews, as well.

** Zig-zagged with the ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' franchise. [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy The original trilogy]] predates the MCU, and the first two films are well-regarded, while the third is divisive. [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries The following reboot duology]] suffered from being a FranchiseZombie, and ''both'' cases had ExecutiveMeddling to blame for most of their problems. Sony then struck a deal to reboot Spider-Man again with Marvel co-producing, integrating the character into the MCU. Although the new take was well-received, Marvel has stated they can't take all the credit, as some of the praised elements in ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' came from Sony's side of the collaboration; plus ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' was a highly-praised crossover with both previous Sony continuities. On the other hand, [[Film/SonysSpiderManUniverse Sony's attempts to take Spider-verse characters and put them in]] {{Divorced Installment}}s has been all over the board, with ''Film/{{Venom|2018}}'' getting a mixed-to-negative response for its SoBadItsGood nature (''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'' is considered an improvement on that), ''Film/{{Morbius|2022}}'' being almost universally panned but gaining a [[WatchItForTheMeme meme-driven]] [[FanworkOnlyFans ironic]] fandom, and ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' receiving unanimous praise.

** Averted by ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}''. Not only was it successful without Marvel's involvement, but there were fears that Deadpool being part of the MCU would require a tonal shift away from what helped ''make'' his movie a success - it's filled to the brim with profanity, gore, sex jokes, and BlackComedy; having too much adult content for a family-friendly franchise and being too wacky for the MCU's serious, mature-audiences Netflix arm. Marvel has since claimed the ''Deadpool'' rights thanks to the Disney/Fox merger and started work on a new film, but what form it will take (sequel or reboot? In the MCU or standalone? etc.) remains to be seen.

** There are mixed opinions regarding this when it comes to the ''X-Men'' films. On the one hand, Marvel has done well with the MCU and having the X-Men film rights would open them up to crossovers that both sides could benefit from. On the other hand, some feel that Fox (or at least the directors listed above) hasn't done badly with their X-Men films, and that the franchise's "oppressed minority" metaphor works better when there aren't a bunch of other superhumans running around. Fox also eventually made some darker entries in the series such as ''Film/{{Logan}}'', which have been critically acclaimed but just wouldn't tonally fit within the MCU. Following the acquisition of Fox by Disney, debates have sprung up about how much creative involvement should be given to the people who worked on the X-Men films at Fox. Of course, the MCU has numbers on its side since the most successful "[=FoX-Men=]" movies (''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' in the US, ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' worldwide) are in the middle of the pack compared to the MCU films. With that in mind, [[Film/DarkPhoenix Fox's final film before the acquisition]], which became the worst reviewed film of the franchise ''and'' the worst box-office performer, may have ended the debate in favor of Disney/Marvel permanently. But even so, relations between the franchises were at least good enough for the MCU to have two Fox-based actors returning, [[spoiler:''Series/WandaVision'' had a Quicksilver imposter played by the character's Fox-series actor and Creator/PatrickStewart reprised his role as Professor Xavier in ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'']].

* Fans of the ''Film/{{Scream}}'' series view Kevin Williamson, the writer of [[Film/{{Scream 1996}} the first]] [[Film/{{Scream 2}} two films]], as the only person who can get the characters right. ''Film/{{Scream 3}}'' was written by Ehren Kruger due to Williamson having commitments to other projects, and is nowadays seen as the worst film in the series, and while ''Film/{{Scream 4}}'' saw Williamson come back to the series, Kruger was also credited for rewrites, and many fans blame the film's weaker moments on him. Worst of all was [[Series/ScreamTVSeries the TV adaptation]], which neither Williamson, Kruger, nor the films' director Creator/WesCraven had any creative involvement in (barring a producer credit for Craven), and which has been lambasted by fans. Averted by ''Film/Scream2022'', where Williamson is only an executive producer but had a well-received script.

* Zigzagged with the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' franchise. Fans were overjoyed with Creator/JohnCarpenter's return for ''Film/Halloween2018'' (as executive producer and co-composer), which ignores every film in the franchise except the original. Indeed, the film was largely seen by critics and fans as a return to form for a franchise that had seen numerous questionable sequels and a polarizing reboot. However, many forgot that Carpenter was also involved in ''Film/HalloweenII1981'' (as co-writer, producer, and composer) and the notorious ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'' (as producer and composer), both of which also involved Debra Hill, who co-wrote and co-produced the original film with Carpenter. Despite even this, ''Halloween II'' is often seen as one of the better original sequels, and ''Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' is slowly gaining a cult following among fans of 80s horror, who view it as underrated. Although the 2018 film’s two sequels, ''Film/HalloweenKills'' and ''Film/HalloweenEnds'', retained Carpenter but wound up very divisive affairs.

* ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' is a good example, since the best-regarded installments have Creator/WesCraven's involvement ([[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 the original]] and ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'' are written/directed by Craven, while ''[[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet3DreamWarriors Dream Warriors]]'' was co-written by him).

* The only one of the sequels to ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation'' to be written by Creator/JohnHughes was ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', which is widely considered to be the best of the them.

** This was a common sentiment when Creator/JamesGunn was suspended from ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3''. Gunn's irreverent {{bathos}}-flavored directorial style was responsible for turning the Z-list Guardians into household names. Internally, a number of Marvel directors like Creator/TaikaWaititi were so supportive of Gunn that they refused to take over the film as director. Subsequently, Gunn was rehired as the executives at Marvel and Disney couldn't find a replacement director who could do the franchise justice.

* Fans of the ''Film/{{Scream}}'' series view Kevin Williamson, the writer of [[Film/{{Scream 1996}} the first]] [[Film/{{Scream 2}} two films]], as the only person who can get the characters right. ''Film/{{Scream 3}}'' was written by Ehren Kruger due to Williamson having commitments to other projects, and is nowadays seen as the worst film in the series, and while ''Film/{{Scream 4}}'' saw Williamson come back to the series, Kruger was also credited for rewrites, and many fans blame the film's weaker moments on him. Worst of all was [[Series/ScreamTVSeries the TV adaptation]], which neither Williamson, Kruger, nor the films' director Creator/WesCraven had any creative involvement in (barring a producer credit for Craven), and which has been lambasted by fans.

* The only one of the sequels to ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation'' to be written by Creator/JohnHughes was ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', which is widely conisdered to be the best of the them.

* Zigzagged with the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' franchise. Fans were overjoyed with Creator/JohnCarpenter's return for ''Film/Halloween2018'' (as executive producer and co-composer), which ignores every film in the franchise except the original. Indeed, the film was largely seen by critics and fans as a return to form for a franchise that had seen numerous questionable sequels and a polarizing reboot. However, many forgot that Carpenter was also involved in ''Film/HalloweenII1981'' (as co-writer, producer, and composer) and the notorious ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'' (as producer and composer), both of which also involved Debra Hill, who co-wrote and co-produced the original film with Carpenter. Despite even this, ''Halloween II'' is often seen as one of the better original sequels, and ''Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' is slowly gaining a cult following among fans of 80s horror, who view it as underrated. Although 2018's ''Film/HalloweenKills'' retained Carpenter but wound up a very divisive affair.

** Zig-zagged with the ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' franchise. [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy The original trilogy]] predates the MCU, and the first two films are well-regarded, while the third is divisive. [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries The following reboot duology]] suffered from being a FranchiseZombie, and ''both'' cases had ExecutiveMeddling to blame for most of their problems. Sony then struck a deal to [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming reboot Spider-Man again with Marvel co-producing]], integrating the character into the MCU. Although the new take was well-received, Marvel has stated they can't take all the credit, as some of the praised elements came from Sony's side of the collaboration. On the other hand, [[Film/SonysSpiderManUniverse Sony's attempts to take Spider-verse characters and put them in]] {{Divorced Installment}}s has been all over the board, with ''Film/{{Venom|2018}}'' getting a mixed-to-negative response for its SoBadItsGood nature (''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'' is considered an improvement on that), ''Film/{{Morbius|2022}}'' being almost universally panned and ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' receiving unanimous praise.

** With the Fantastic Four's film history consisting of an [[Film/TheFantasticFour unreleased]] AshcanCopy, a below-average [[Film/FantasticFour2005 2005 film]] and [[Film/FantasticFourRiseOfTheSilverSurfer its sequel]] and a [[Film/FantasticFour2015 2015 reboot]] that [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed outright]], fans are naturally excited for a reboot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that was announced in 2019. [[spoiler:Tellingly, when ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' introduced Reed Richards as a member of TheIlluminati of Earth-838, none of the previous actors would reprise the role (unlike Patrick Stewart as Professor X or Creator/AnsonMount as [[Series/{{Inhumans}} Black Bolt]]), and he was instead portrayed by Creator/JohnKrasinski.]]

** With the Fantastic Four's film history consisting of an [[Film/TheFantasticFour unreleased]] AshcanCopy, a below-average [[Film/FantasticFour2005 2005 film]] and [[Film/FantasticFourRiseOfTheSilverSurfer its sequel]] and a [[Film/FantasticFour2015 2015 reboot]] that [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed outright]], fans are naturally excited for a reboot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that was announced in 2019.

** There are mixed opinions regarding this when it comes to the ''X-Men'' films. On the one hand, Marvel has done well with the MCU and having the X-Men film rights would open them up to crossovers that both sides could benefit from. On the other hand, some feel that Fox (or at least the directors listed above) hasn't done badly with their X-Men films, and that the franchise's "oppressed minority" metaphor works better when there aren't a bunch of other superhumans running around. Fox also eventually made some darker entries in the series such as ''Film/{{Logan}}'', which have been critically acclaimed but just wouldn't tonally fit within the MCU. Following the acquisition of Fox by Disney, debates have sprung up about how much creative involvement should be given to the people who worked on the X-Men films at Fox. Of course, the MCU has numbers on its side since the most successful "[=FoX-Men=]" movies (''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' in the US, ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' worldwide) are in the middle of the pack compared to the MCU films. With that in mind, [[Film/DarkPhoenix Fox's final film before the acquisition]], which became the worst reviewed film of the franchise ''and'' the worst box-office performer, may have ended the debate in favor of Disney/Marvel permanently. But even so, relations between the franchises were at least good enough for the MCU to have an Fox-based CastingGag: [[spoiler:''Series/WandaVision'' had a Quicksilver imposter played by the character's Fox-series actor]].

** Zig-zagged with the ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' franchise. [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy The original trilogy]] predates the MCU, and the first two films are well-regarded, while the third is divisive. [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries The following reboot duology]] suffered from being a FranchiseZombie, and ''both'' cases had ExecutiveMeddling to blame for most of their problems. Sony then struck a deal to [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming reboot Spider-Man again with Marvel co-producing]], integrating the character into the MCU. Although the new take was well-received, Marvel has stated they can't take all the credit, as some of the praised elements came from Sony's side of the collaboration. On the other hand, [[Film/SonysSpiderManUniverse Sony's attempts to take Spider-verse characters and put them in]] {{Divorced Installment}}s has been all over the board, with ''Film/{{Venom|2018}}'' getting a mixed-to-negative response for its SoBadItsGood nature (''Film/VenomLetThereBeCarnage'' is considered an improvement on that) and ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' receiving unanimous praise.

** With the Fantastic Four's film history consisting of an [[Film/TheFantasticFour unreleased]] AshcanCopy, a below-average [[Film/FantasticFour2005 2005 film and its sequel]] and a [[Film/FantasticFour2015 2015 reboot]] that [[BoxOfficeBomb bombed outright]], fans are naturally excited for a reboot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that was announced in 2019.

* The ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' movies released after the departure of creators Leigh Whannell and Creator/JamesWan as writers are highly regarded as significantly inferior to the [[Film/SawI first]] [[Film/SawII three]] [[Film/SawIII movies]], with the [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel frequent exception]] of ''Film/SawVI''.

* The ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' movies released after the departure of creators Leigh Whannell and Creator/JamesWan are highly regarded as significantly inferior to the [[Film/SawI first]] [[Film/SawII three]] [[Film/SawIII movies]], with the [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel frequent exception]] of ''Film/SawVI''.

** Whilst the ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' is the lowest-grossing film in the MCU, as well as one of the least acclaimed, most people agreed that it was still superior to the [[Film/{{Hulk}} 2003 film]] directed by Creator/AngLee. When Creator/EdwardNorton was [[TheOtherDarrin replaced]] by Creator/MarkRuffalo, this sentiment only increased, though the [[ScrewedByTheLawyers complicated licensing]] employed by Universal combined with two underperforming films means that a solo film with Ruffalo is unlikely.