Some movies havebenefitted greatly from a change in directorsin the middle of their franchise . theater director are the exhaust heart of any movie . take together every element that goes into the production and align the teams to create a meaningful merchandise . And when the director is on a roll with a franchise , it makes good sense to stay with them to the end .

However , there have been franchises that struggled to get off to a good start , started to peter out , or just need a fresh dyad of eyes to take it to the next level . Forfranchises likeHarry Potter , with its third entry , andStar Warswith both the fifth and eighth films , interchange the director for a new entry result in a far stronger sequel than the preceding films . switch music director is a bold strategyand often leads to a weaker and less coherent project , but in the cases outlined here , it made the overall franchise stronger .

10Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

Alfonso Cuarón

The first twoHarry Potterfilms were directed by Chris Columbus . Both entries were undeniably strong , as evidenced by the fact that they launch one of the most successful young grownup franchise to ever seem in cinema , and kept fans of the books interested , while still drawing in raw consultation . However , the popularity and critical reception to the third movie far outshone that of the earlier ledger entry . Cuarón managed to add to the magical humanity , bring out the emotions of young gifted thespian still honing their craft , and produce something special withHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban .

9Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Taika Waititi

Taika Waititi can be a controversial characterin Hollywood , but what he managed to deliver inThor : Ragnarokis nothing short of brilliant . For a part of the MCU that felt up detached with its first motion picture , and musing , darker , and all - around worse inThor : The Dark World , Waititi gave the enfranchisement new life . The first two entries were directed by Kenneth Branagh , and then Alan Taylor , but neither was able to commit off the sluttish chemical element andbalance the fictional character the way that Waititi didinRagnarok .

Related : Thor 5 : Chris Hemsworth Already Named The Perfect Replacement For Taika Waititi

8Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Christopher McQuarrie

Christopher McQuarrie start up work on theMission : Impossiblefranchise with the quaternary entrance , Ghost Protocolas a screenwriter . Subsequently , he lead on to directMission : Impossible - Rogue Nation , and has been employed as thewriter and director on every flick since . BothGhost Protocoland the subsequent films managed to turn a franchise that was passably well - care into something salient , and McQuarrie ’s share to that shimmy can not be overstated . From elevating the stunts , to flesh out the character , theMission Impossiblemovies have gone from strength to strength with his direction .

7Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)

Matt Reeves

boost of the Planet of the Apesrevived thePlanet of the Apesfranchise and provided a solid prequel story to the big narrative . That being said , whenMatt Reeves read over theApesfranchisefrom Rupert Wyatt , the series ill-use up to the next level . The action and the post of the story feel higher , with a greater focus on the news report of the apes as they establish their new world . Reeves was kept on to direct the next sequel , War of the Planet of the Apeswhich do likewise , outshine the earlier entry and expanding the franchise for next project .

6Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Joe & Anthony Russo

The Russo sidekick joined the MCU ab initio to directCaptain America : The Winter Soldier . They managed to raise the continuation to new heights and construct on the early winner before conk on to direct the first major crossover celluloid outside anAvengersmovie , Captain America : Civil War , which was wide successful . Having essay their ability toexecute ensemble films to a high level of succeeder , they were given the reigns for the crowning events of the MCU , Avengers : Infinity War , andAvengers : Endgame .

The grade of precision and ability to give the huge cast meaningful moments was outstanding . get by to well overhaul the earlierAvengersfilms in every fashion , from critical response to box post figures and beyond , theRusso ’s drive home multiple brilliant entriestoconclude the Infinity Saga . However , it is potential they did their Book of Job too well , lead in the following films struggling to regain the degree of success the MCU previously delight .

Related : What Happened To The Russo Bros ? Why They ’ve Struggled After Avengers Endgame

A collage image of Luke Skywalker in A New Hope

5Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)

Nicholas Meyer

While the first film , Star Trek : The Motion Picture , contend to translate the series into a meaningful and worthwhile feature - length film , the 2nd accounting entry point by Nicholas Meyer still manages to earn the top situation in many rankings of the dealership to this solar day ( viaEmpire).The Wrath of Khanmay not have enjoyed monumental commercial-grade succeeder at the box office , but sports fan and critics alike frequentlyrecognize this movie as the best of the entire serial publication . With a superimposed villain and a floor that is capture from start to finish , Wrath of Khanis a masterstroke forStar Trek .

4The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Paul Greengrass

The Bourne Identityintroduced the human beings to a compelling spy news report star Matt Damon as the titular Jason Bourne . While Doug Liman was the director for the first entranceway , he was put back by Paul Greengrass for the 2d , The Bourne Supremacy , and Greengrass hit his stride with the third film , The Bourne Ultimatum . The net part of the original trilogy provided anexcellent end for a thrilling story , bringing together all the loose remainder and give the submarine sandwich the send - off he deserves .

3X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014

Bryan Singer

2Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Irvin Kershner

While George Lucas continued to write for all ofStar war : Episodes IthroughVI , he stepped back from direct episodesV , andVI.A New Hopeset up the elaborate universe and a level to play out the blank opera that isStar Wars , butThe Empire Strikes Backis arguably the best entry in the entire series . Characters like Yoda , and Lando Calrissian made their debut inEpisode V , along with the scandalous reveal that Darth Vader is Luke ’s father . This celluloid completelychanged the flight for all future filmsin the dealership and forge the foundation of whatStar Warsbecame , and part of that should be assign to the wonderful direction of Irvin Kershner .

relate : Star Wars Is entirely Abandoning George Lucas ' Most Controversial Prequel Idea

1Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

Rian Johnson

The continuation trilogy kicks off with the story of new Rey , hungry for adventure on a world beyond her desert major planet , Jakku . The first film does a great job ofestablishing the story for the trilogy , but in many mode , it feels like a copy ofEpisode IVandEpisode Iwith only minor variation . A untried power - tender individual stranded on a desert major planet longs for a living in the stars with expectant signification . They meet someone or something from a distant reality and settle to take the leap and travel out into the sky . They hail boldness to face with the latest evil organization in the form of the Empire , the First Order , or the Federation .

They then get a line about significant threats that will continue to chevy them in the follow moving picture . However , whenRian Johnson took theStar WarsreignsforThe Last Jedi , the story come to living and the continuation trilogy appeared to be leading to a thrilling conclusion . Having both written and directed the story , Johnson created an unbelievable second entry for the sequels , but due to multiple delays and changes behind the scenes , he did not fall for the final Episode to reason out the story he started inThe Last Jedi .

Keanu Reeves looking over one shoulder as John Wick in Ballerina

How Rachel Zegler’s

movie-sequels-changed-director-beat-original

Thor Missing an eye with asgard in the background

Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner with guns in Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

Caesar in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Khan and Chekov in Star Trek Wrath of Khan

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne on a motorcycle in The Bourne Ultimatum

James McAvoy as Professor X in X-Men: Days of Future Past

Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi.