20 Major Unresolved Movie Cliffhangers
Some movies end with everything neatly wrapped up. Others cut to black right as the stakes hit their peak. Those endings stick because they leave a clear situation in play with no on screen resolution, often pointing to a sequel that never arrived or to a final beat the audience never actually sees.
This list rounds up twenty cliffhangers that leave concrete plot threads hanging. Each entry lays out exactly what the final scenes establish and what key questions the film leaves open, from literal buses on the edge to heroes frozen in limbo to sequel hooks that never paid off.
‘Inception’ (2010)
The final shot shows Cobb returning home and spinning his totem on the table. The top keeps spinning as his children turn toward him and the image cuts before the result is shown. The film establishes that the totem confirms whether the user is in a dream, so the outcome of the spin decides if Cobb is awake.
The scene provides no confirmation of the top falling or continuing, and no later film reveals the result. The state of Cobb’s reality and whether he escaped layered dreams remains unconfirmed on screen.
‘The Italian Job’ (1969)
The last scene leaves a coach full of gold balanced on a mountain road with the crew at one end and the loot at the other. The leader tells the team he has a plan to get the gold and the men back, and the camera pulls away before any attempt begins.
No follow up film shows the outcome of the proposed plan or the fate of the gold. The situation remains a literal cliff edge with no canonical resolution provided.
‘The Thing’ (1982)
The base is destroyed and two survivors sit in the snow with no means to warm up or verify trust. The alien life form can perfectly imitate a person, and the film ends with MacReady and Childs sharing a bottle as the fire dies.
No subsequent movie reveals whether either survivor was infected or if rescue arrived. The status of the organism and the future of the two men remains unknown.
‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)
Han Solo is frozen and taken away by Boba Fett, and the heroes are split as the fleet regroups. Luke’s training is unfinished and the family revelation stands without any on screen resolution in the film itself.
The closing images show the characters looking out from the medical frigate while the search for Han is only just beginning. The fate of Han and the next step for the group are not settled within this movie.
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
The final sequence shows half of life turning to dust, including many heroes who vanish in front of their allies. The surviving team is scattered across planets with no way to reverse what happened within the film’s runtime.
A post credit scene shows a signal sent for help, but the movie does not present a fix for the catastrophe. The status of those who disappeared and the path to undo the event are left unresolved by this entry alone.
‘Back to the Future’ (1985)
Doc arrives and insists Marty and Jennifer come with him because something is wrong with their kids. The DeLorean lifts off and rockets toward the future, and the film ends as the car vanishes into time.
This ending sets a new mission in motion without depicting any of it. The problem involving the family and what must be done to fix it are not addressed within the movie itself.
‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012)
John Blake receives coordinates and finds the hidden entrance to the Batcave. His full legal name is revealed moments earlier, and the scene positions him as the person who can continue the work.
The film does not show what he does next or how Gotham responds to a new guardian. The future of the mantle and whether Blake acts on this discovery remains unshown on screen.
‘Kill Bill: Vol. 2’ (2004)
Beatrix leaves with her daughter after the confrontation with Bill. Earlier in the story she told a young girl that vengeance would be understandable when the child is older, and the film ends without returning to that promise.
No later movie depicts the grown child seeking out Beatrix or choosing another path. The potential for a future reckoning is left as an unresolved thread.
‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ (2014)
Harry Osborn begins assembling special gear for a new team and a mystery fixer walks past suits in a lab. Spider Man swings into a face off with Rhino and the image cuts right as the fight begins.
The teased group never appears in a follow up within this continuity, and the confrontation shown at the end is never continued on screen. The planned direction for the villains and the immediate battle remain unfinished.
‘Super Mario Bros.’ (1993)
Daisy bursts into the apartment in combat gear and asks the plumbers to return because there is a new emergency. The final shot shows the trio ready to run back out the door.
No direct sequel continues that story and no movie follows up on the crisis Daisy brings. The nature of the new threat and what the characters do next is left unresolved.
‘The Golden Compass’ (2007)
The adventure stops with the group taking to the air toward a rescue mission. The story has established a larger conflict with powerful authorities and other worlds, and the ending points directly at the next leg of that journey.
Planned continuations did not arrive in this film series. The rescue, the broader rebellion, and the fate of key characters are not completed on screen.
‘Alita: Battle Angel’ (2019)
Alita becomes a motorball star and raises her blade toward the city in the sky while Nova watches from above. The film sets up a direct confrontation with Nova and a path that leads upward.
No subsequent movie shows Alita’s ascent or the showdown with the figure who controls events from the city. The promised conflict and Alita’s next steps remain open.
’28 Weeks Later’ (2007)
A radio voice and a final series of shots reveal that the infection has reached a major European capital. The film shows an aircraft used earlier and implies that the outbreak has crossed borders.
There is no follow up film that depicts a response to the new spread in that setting. The scope of the renewed outbreak and the fate of the continent remain unresolved within the series.
‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ (2008)
The team resigns from the Bureau and Liz tells Hellboy she is pregnant with twins. The movie ends with the group driving away and no plan in place for what comes next.
A continuation with these characters did not arrive in this storyline. The future of the family and the Bureau, as well as how the team would handle the coming changes, is not shown.
‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’ (2018)
Jake Pentecost announces that humans will take the fight to the enemy’s home. The film establishes new technology and a renewed resolve to carry the war beyond Earth.
No next movie follows that mission into the enemy’s realm. The proposed counterattack and the consequences of the new strategy remain unvisited on screen.
‘Eternals’ (2021)
Arishem arrives over Earth and removes several Eternals to judge their actions, then departs with them into space. Another scene shows Dane Whitman opening a case that holds a blade tied to his lineage and a voice warns him off.
There is no film to date that depicts the judgment or shows Dane’s first steps with the blade in a movie storyline. The fate of the taken Eternals and the direction of the characters left behind remain unresolved.
‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ (2016)
A sphere intelligence invites humanity to lead an organized counterstrike against the harvesters. The closing moments show characters embracing the idea of taking the fight off world.
No third film continues that interstellar campaign. The formation of a united force and the first move against the enemy are left hanging.
‘Green Lantern’ (2011)
In a mid credits scene, Sinestro removes his ring and places a yellow one on his finger, which changes his appearance and power. The story sets up a turn that aligns with the rise of a major foe.
A direct sequel with this version of the characters did not follow. The new ring’s impact on the Corps and the battles that would result are not shown in a subsequent film.
‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (2016)
A cleanup crew collects samples from a secret facility and places them in a briefcase labeled with a corporate name that signals a familiar antagonist. The sequence sets a path toward advanced genetic experiments and a new threat.
Later films in this continuity do not depict that organization’s plan playing out on screen. The teased storyline and the arrival of the associated villain remain unresolved within the movie series.
‘The Incredible Hulk’ (2008)
Dr. Samuel Sterns is exposed to gamma infused blood and begins to transform while grinning as the camera cuts away. The scene sets up a character known for intellect enhanced by mutation and hints at a future adversary.
No solo continuation shows the result of that lab accident within a movie. The transformation and any confrontation that would follow are left off screen in this film continuity.
Share the unresolved endings you still think about in the comments.