These movies deserve a sequel
These movies deserve a sequel
These days it seems like almost every movie is expected to launch a franchise, but even some of the most popular and profitable films of the past have never had a sequel. Some we want to experience again because they were so amazing, while others left us with the feeling that the story just wasn’t complete. From box-office hits to cult favourites, here are 20 movies that deserve a sequel.
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True Lies
When True Lies was released in 1994 , it seemed poised to be the start of a new, fun and thrilling spy series. The great cast including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis and Tom Arnold, and huge box-office sales of more than $370 million, seemed to set the movie up for one if not more sequels. Director James Cameron started work on his next project, Titanic , and despite its huge success, still had plans to work on a True Lies sequel. But after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, he felt the mood wasn’t right for a spy action flick.
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Ratatouille
Of all the animated heroes cinema has introduced, Remy the rat might be the most surprising, and the most endearing. Pixar’s delightful film follows Remy as he rises to secret culinary stardom in a posh Parisian restaurant with the help of garbage-boy-turned-chef Linguini. Director Brad Bird has said he doesn’t plan to make a sequel, but the charming cast of human and rodent characters deserve another shot at the big screen.
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Almost Famous
The 2000 film, based on writer/director Cameron Crowe’s real-life experiences working as a teen journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, won over critics and audiences and helped launch the careers of stars Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit and Billy Crudup. While the story of a young writer chronicling the successes, setbacks and romantic entanglements of fictional rock band Stillwater is a great one, a sequel that revisits the characters 20 or 30 years into their future could make for an interesting movie. Crowe nabbed the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, so it’s easy to assume he’d be able to pen an impressive follow-up.
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Inception
Director Christopher Nolan has said that he’s open to the idea of making a sequel to his 2010 star-studded and visually stunning sci-fi film about a group of thieves who have the power to enter into the dreams of others. The dream concept means there is a ton of potential content to mine for a sequel, or even a franchise, like his Dark Knight trilogy. The relatively open ending also left some fans craving more, but Nolan has said he also sees the Inception world continuing in video game format rather than film.
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Grosse Point Blank
The 1997 action comedy about a hit man named Martin Blank who is sent on a mission to his hometown on the same weekend that his high school reunion takes place, got mixed reviews from critics, but developed a devoted fan following. Stars John Cusack, Joan Cusack and Dan Aykroyd reunited in 2008 for the political satire War, Inc., which has been called the unofficial sequel to Grosse Pointe Blank . But Grosse Pointe Blank writer Steve Pink said it’s more like a “cousin” to his film, and that he and John Cusack have talked about doing a sequel to continue Blank’s story.
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Serenity
The 2005 movie is already a sequel of sorts, providing the big-screen wrap-up to the beloved sci-fi TV series Firefly that was cancelled before its first season finished. The film provided a more satisfying ending than fans got with the cancelled series, but after series creator Joss Whedon went on to write and direct The Avengers films, a Serenity sequel seemed unlikely. Fox studios hinted in 2017 that they’d be willing to revisit the Firefly universe, if Whedon and stars like Nathan Fillion were also on board.
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Napoleon Dynamite
Fans are so excited about the possibility of a sequel to the 2004 offbeat comedy starring Jon Heder that they’ve been duped by several online hoaxes and fake movie posters proclaiming that a sequel’s in the works. The movie cost only $400,000 to make and grossed over $46 million worldwide, which usually translates into lucrative Part 2 material. Mining the quirky characters for another story seems like it would pay off, but the quick cancellation of a 2012 animated Napoleon Dynamite TV series makes a film sequel less likely, no matter how much fans want it.
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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
It was the highest-grossing film of the ’80s, and became a heartwarming, pop culture phenomenon about a boy’s love and compassion for a gentle alien. A potential dark sequel, titled E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears, thankfully never saw the light of day. Director Steven Spielberg once said that a sequel “ would do nothing but rob the original of its virginity.” However, now that the charming child actors Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore are adults, perhaps it’s time for E.T. to make a return visit.
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Mean Girls
Technically there’s already been a Mean Girls 2 . However, the 2011 made-for-TV film was a standalone that had nothing to do with the memorable characters created by Tina Fey in the original 2004 comedy. A Broadway adaptation of the movie opened in spring of 2018, and with its success comes even more thirst for a big-screen catch-up with The Plastics. Star Lindsay Lohan has said she’s on board, so hopefully the rest of the cast will also warm up to the idea.
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World War Z
Loosely adapted from a novel by Max Brooks, the 2013 horror stars Brad Pitt as a UN employee racing to stop a global zombie pandemic, and keep his own family safe. The action-packed thriller was well-received by critics and moviegoers, but with plenty of remaining questions about how the survivors would adapt, it also seemed due for a sequel. Director David Fincher signed on for Part 2 years ago, but because both he and Pitt are in demand for other projects, filming for the sequel has been shelved until at least 2020.
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Galaxy Quest
It may have premiered almost 20 years ago, but fans of the comedy about actors from an old sci-fi series being beamed up by real aliens to help stop an invasion from hostile enemies are still hungry for more. Tim Allen, who starred in the movie, said that there’s a “sequel somewhere,” written and ready to go, and screenwriter Robert Gordon has admitted he has ideas about a second chapter for the film. Stars Sigourney Weaver, Sam Rockwell and Justin Long have all expressed interest in returning for a sequel, but with the death of co-star Alan Rickman in 2016, plans were shelved.
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Eastern Promises
At the end of David Cronenberg’s psychological crime story starring Viggo Mortensen, juicy questions remained about the fates of those embroiled in a Russian crime family, and whether they knew there was a spy in their midst. In 2017, Vulture reported that a sequel titled Body Cross is in the works to help further the story. Screenwriter Steven Knight has said he’s on board, and since Mortensen earned an Oscar nomination for his role in the film, there’s a good chance he’ll be back as Nikolai.
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The Goonies
Steven Spielberg’s adventure comedy about a group of misfit kids searching for buried treasure and trying to stay clear of a group of criminals is beloved by almost everyone who grew up in the ’80s. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, but adult fans have been hankering for a sequel for years, and so have some of the movie’s cast members. Sean Astin, who played Mikey in the film, said he’d love to be part of a sequel and said Spielberg, who produced and co-wrote the original, has always wanted it to happen.
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The Fifth Element
The action-packed, visually stimulating space film from French director Luc Besson didn’t smash any box-office records when it premiered in 1997, but it did earn a devoted fan base. Starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich, and featuring a ton of cool special effects, the movie may have been too expensive, and not profitable enough, to follow with a sequel. When asked recently if he would grant fans’ wishes and consider a sequel, Besson replied with a blunt “No.”
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Clueless
Not every teen movie earns cult classic status, but Clueless certainly did. Along with the catchphrase “As if!”, the movie launched the careers of Alicia Silverstone—who played Cher—and Paul Rudd, as well as Brittany Murphy, who died in 2009. Since the movie first premiered in 1995, fans have been hopeful that Cher and her gang would return. In a recent interview, Silverstone said director Amy Heckerling is not interested in doing a sequel or a reboot, and has instead launched a stage production of Clueless on Broadway .
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Inside Out
Entertaining for kids, smart for adults, and full of both humour and humanity, the 2015 animated film Inside Out was a crowd pleaser from the start. Featuring pitch-perfect voice performances from Amy Poehler as Joy and Phyllis Smith as Sadness, the comedy-adventure explores what goes on inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley. The inner thoughts of new characters, or the aging emotions of Riley would make for a great Part 2, but Pixar president Jim Morris has said that because of the length of time and cost of making animated films, a director has to have a really solid idea for a sequel for it to be approved.
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Drag Me to Hell
Lesser horror movies than Sam Raimi’s 2009 flick Drag Me to Hell have had one, and sometimes several sequels. Raimi’s own Evil Dead franchise has just grown more popular over the years, so why not shoot for the same success with Drag Me to Hell ? The film stars Alison Lohman as a woman who falls victim to an evil curse after evicting an old woman from her house. Fans loved the movie’s gore and humour, so taking another entertaining trip to Hell, or afflicting a new character with the curse, would surely please fans and make money for the studio.
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