Sequels are important parts of Hollywood today. While it is true that people always ask for original ideas to be made, those are always a gamble, and there is always something so satisfying watching characters that you already know go on new adventures, rather than meeting someone new. With almost every movie nowadays getting sequels it is always interesting when an older franchise gets a second wind. While the hype train never dies down, for the longest time it always seemed that some of these movies will never see another entry. So join me as I list 5 long-awaited modern sequels that came out of nowhere.
Now for this list, I won’t be naming the actual record holders, which is the years between Bambi and Bambi 2 with a gap of 64 years. However, I will be looking at more modern examples with a gap of at least 5 plus years. Quality will also play an important part, this isn’t only a numbers games, but the real question is did the movie deliver? I will also exclude straight to DVD sequels which is why I excluded Bambi II, along with sequels that come of as more like reboots such as Mad Max Fury Road.
5. Star Wars The Force Awakens
Let us get this one out of the way early, Star Wars was always a tricky one to consider since there were multiple different comics, and books that told stories past the first three films. However, for a larger audience the hope that they will get a chance to re-visit a galaxy far far away always seemed like a pipe dream. Without taking the prequels into consideration this creates a gap 32 years of build-up hype, and even with the sequels, there is still a 10-year gap that fans had to wait for any form of continuation on the series.
Finally, in 2015, we got Star Wars: The Force Awakens despite featuring new characters and a new story storyline, that arguably took too much from the original. Star Wars: The Force Awakens felt like a love letter to the original trilogy, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens was so successful that for better or worse we got a Star Wars movie almost every year, with another one scheduled to come out this year with Star Wars Rise of Skywalker. The wait was well worth it and long-time Star Wars fans finally got their wish.
4. Men in Black 3
Will Smith has had a career resurgence as of late with Aladin breaking a billion dollars, and now after years of waiting, we are also getting Bad Boys for Life. However, I want to go back to the last time we waited for a Will Smith movie to get a sequel. No not Independence Day Reinsurance which killed Will Smith before the movie started, no I am talking about Men in Black 3. Men in Black 2 came out in 2002, and that felt like that was the end of the franchise. However, with such an interesting premise, and world-building there was always that feeling like there is more the franchise could ofter.
Jump 10 years later, and in 2012 we were given Men in Black 3, which puts Will Smith’s Agent J in a time-traveling adventure in order to save the world. Will Smith played the role without missing a step, and newcomer to the serious Josh Brolin fit perfectly as a young Agent K. The two had instant chemistry that I wish they found a way to make them permanent partners. The movie was panned by the critics, and looking back despite a force origins story, Men in Black 3 felt in line with the quality of the other films and satisfying for long-time fans.
3. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol barely makes the list with a 5-year gap between Mission Impossible 3 and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. However, when looking strictly in the quality of movies it is insane to believe how much the franchise has changed. The Mission Impossible movies have always been seen as clones of the James Bond series, and that could not be further from the truth. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol takes place after a terrorist attack, Tom Cruise’s team turn fugitive with the mission to clear their names and save the world. While not the most original premise it is the action and old school spy tropes that still hold up.
The Mission Impossible movies are some of the best actions films to come out each year, each one-upping each other in scale and action. Ghost Protocol might not be best of the modern films, but when the franchise always outdoes itself then not being the best it is still an excellent compliment.
2. Toy Story 3
Toy Story was a revolutionary film, creating some of the most memorable characters in film history. Toy Story 2 did the impossible and was better than the first. With 2 amazing films under their belts, all eyes were on Pixar to deliver on the third film. And the anticipation lasted for 10 years, during that time Pixar delivered more amazing films, that cemented the studio as one of the best movie companies of all time. However, fans always wondered what about Toy Story 3? How could Pixar bring back the same magic that they brought for the last two films?
Unlike the other films on this list, Toy Story 3 didn’t feel like the best of Toy Story, instead, it felt like a true final chapter. Having Andy go to college and leaving his toys to wonder what to do next was an unexpected and welcomed story. The climax at the dumpsters with the toys thinking that they were about to melt is always heart-wrenching. And of course the final goodbye between Woody and Andy. Toy Story 3 was such a satisfying movie it easily made the 10 years of waiting was worth it.
1. Blade Runner 2049
The original Blade Runner is one of the most influential movies ever made, constantly reference as the standard for dystopian literature, and films. The story of Rick Deckard’s trying to find out the truth about a few runaway replicants, and the reveal that has him question his own humanity is as impactful today as it was when the movie premiered in 1982. Blade Runner always remained in the cultural mindset, with parodies, reference, and of course the number of internet theories debating whether or not Deckard was a replicant himself. This long debate could only be solved one way, with a sequel.
Despite numerous interviews, and promises it never felt that fans were any closer to a sequel. Finally, in 2017 a gap of 35 years, Blade Runner 2049 debut. The movie followed Ryan Gosling’s Agent K, a replica hunter who starts to investigate the death of an old replicant after it is revealed that the replicant might have been pregnant. While the original Blade Runner had us question what it meant to be human, Blade Runner 2049 made us question our role in the world. The movie also has us wonder whether Agent K is Decker’s long lost son, even giving the two characters an amazing father and son bonding moment. However, all this results in one of saddest character arcs I’ve ever seen. Blade Runner 2049 might not have answered all the question that the last filmed raised. However, what it did was give fans a film that stands alongside the original, if not besting it as one of the best sci-fi films of all time. Replacing the old Decker replicant debate, with the which Blade Runner is better.