Sony took a write down, lost $25 million (they claim) and basically pulled the plug on that direction. It lost money, studio changed directions and decided to do something that made them money.
I get some fans wanting to say it wasn’t as bad. But all 3 factors listed show Sony didn’t want to keep losing money that way.
And if toy sales merchandise wise was so huge , then yes it could have saved the day and gotten the film a sequel. It did not.