Daily Vocabulary for Better Conversation

A sequel is a work of fiction in literature, film, and other creative works that is produced after a completed work, and is set in the same universe but at a later time. It usually continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings, although this is not always the case. For example, if the main character dies at the end of the first work, a new character (such as a son or daughter) may take up the role in the sequel. A sequel is somewhat different from a series, in which the same character appears in a number of stories, although some media franchises have enough sequels to begin to resemble a series.

The popularity of sequels comes about in large part because it is less risky to build on a known success than to gamble with new and untested characters and settings. But also, audiences often beg for more stories about a certain character or setting. Sherlock Holmes was so popular in fiction that Arthur Conan Doyle was unsuccessful in his attempt to kill off the character and gave in on demands to bring him back.

Often movie sequels are criticized as artistically inferior, and accused of simply repeating the story of the original film. However, sometimes a sequel gives an opportunity to address weaknesses in the original. For instance, the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture was panned as overlong, boring and short on character play. In reaction, Paramount Pictures hired Harve Bennett to produce a sequel that addresses the criticisms; he produced Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which is considered one of the best films of the series.

Other examples of sequels which are widely considered as good as or better than the original include Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather, Part II, X2: X-Men United, Toy Story 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Aliens, Spider-Man 2, Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

There are some common plot issues regarding sequels. Often when the original movie involves a character resolving a conflict, it is difficult to arrange the plot so that the characters face a similar problem. Other series do not share this problem like the James Bond series which simply has the character assigned to a new mission in each film.

Sometimes, the original film deliberately has story developments that a sequel could develop into future stories, such as in the film Spider-Man. In that film, Peter Parker rejects Mary Jane Watson's love without explaining himself to protect her from his enemies while MJ is left with a suspicion that he is Spider-Man. If no sequels were produced, that development could have been treated as simply a tragic ending for the hero. However, with the film's success guaranteeing sequels, this ending provides the basis for a continued story arc in which the troubled relationship between the characters forms an important basis of future film plots.

With the recognition of the long-term profitability of successful film series, most major films where sequels are expected have the major talents like the director and main actors contractually obliged to participate in sequels. This increases the chance of the sequel being produced with at least the equivalent quality of the original film.

In video game media, the trend for sequels seen in other media such as film often seems to work in reverse; as increasingly sophisticated technology allows the story to be portrayed more effectively. However, despite this, there are examples of game sequels that are interpreted as inferior to the original or earlier sequels. This could be because of a change in concept or gameplay, an inability to integrate new technology effectively, or simply poor production values. Master of Orion III is one notable example that seems to suffer from all three. Another not uncommon occurrence is that a low-budget game meets critical acclaim and becomes an underground hit, but is followed up with a sequel that is simplified from the original, rather than expanding on the original's innovative qualities, in an attempt to be more accessible to the mass market. Recent notable examples include Deus Ex: Invisible War and Serious Sam II.

Main article: prequel. Main article: interquel. Main article: threequel.

A related word, prequel, is used to describe a work that portrays events which precede those of a previously completed work. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is the best-known film that has multiple prequels. A prequel can often avoid the plot problems associated with having to deal with the consequences of the original. An example of this involves the Planet of the Apes series of movies, where the entire earth was destroyed in Beneath the Planet of the Apes. The succeeding movies were technically prequels as they took place before the original two films and explained the events that led up to the original film. Prequels often have the problem of maintaining dramatic interest when the outcome is known, and often gather interest by attempting to show aspects of familiar characters that were not seen in the original.

The word interquel is used to describe a work that portrays events which happen between those of two previously completed works. The word midquel is used to describe a work that portrays events which happen in the meantime of those of a previously completed work. For example, the film The Lion King 1 was termed by Disney to be an interquel that takes place between the events of The Lion King and The Lion King II, though it was the third Lion King film to be produced.

A threequel is the third part of any series, such as Naked Gun 33 1/3 or Die Hard 3. This term can also refer to books, such as Lord of The Rings: Return of the King. Etymologically, threequel is a portmanteau of the words three and sequel. A threequel comes after the sequel, but a so-called four-quel does not exist (four does not rhyme with the see sound in sequel). Common usage for further parts of a series is simply the fourth, the fifth, etc.

The word distant in a chronological sense refers a long chronological interval between entries in a series. The term distant sequel is used to describe a work that portrays events that happen long after those of a previously completed work. The term distant prequel is the opposite of that.

Main article: media franchise.

In some cases, the characters or setting of an original film or video game become so valuable that they develop into a media franchise. Generally a whole series of sequels is made, along with merchandising and endorsements. Multiple sequels are often planned well in advance and actors and directors often sign multi-film deals to ensure their participation.

Some franchises are accidental, such as the Ma and Pa Kettle series of films (the title characters of which broke out of the 1947 film The Egg and I), and some are pre-planned, such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The most profitable film franchises include Star Wars, James Bond, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings.

Long-running franchises were common in the studio era, when Hollywood studios had actors and directors under long-term contract. Examples include Andy Hardy, Ma and Pa Kettle, Bulldog Drummond, Superman, Tarzan, and Sherlock Holmes. The longest-running modern film franchises are James Bond, Godzilla, Friday the 13th, and Star Trek. [1] In such cases, even lead actors are often replaced as they age, lose interest, or their characters are killed.

Sequels (along with prequels, interquels, and the like) are most often produced in the same medium as the previous work (that is, a film sequel is usually a sequel to another film), but this is not always the case. Author K. W. Jeter published several novels that serve as sequels to the film Blade Runner. The film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is a sequel to the video game Final Fantasy VII. The novels in the Star Wars Expanded Universe are sequels, prequels, and interquels to the films.

Whether these alternate-medium sequels are considered canonical varies. Advent Children was produced by the same company responsible for Final Fantasy VII and is therefore canonical, but other sequel or prequel films based on video games, such as Resident Evil, are not. The novels in the Star Wars Expanded Universe are considered canonical by Lucasfilm, the films' production company, though this is often debated amongst fans. Likewise, the Blade Runner sequel novels are authorized and officially considered canonical, but the issue is also a topic of debate amongst fans.

Sometimes sequels are produced without the consent of the author or studio of the original creation. These are often dubbed informal sequels, unauthorized sequels, or illegimate sequels. An example would be the film Return to Oz, which was designed to be a sequel to the MGM film The Wizard of Oz despite being produced with no connection to MGM studios.

In the early years of film, sequels were generally given titles similar to the original and usually made use of the main character's name. When the William Powell-Myrna Loy mystery The Thin Man (1934) turned out to be a hit, the studio produced several more films featuring the characters, such as The Thin Man Returns and The Thin Man Goes Home, even though the original thin man was the subject of the mystery and not the detective. After the success of A Family Affair (1937), there came a whole series of films starring Mickey Rooney reprising the Andy Hardy character in titles such as Love Finds Andy Hardy and Andy Hardy Meets Debutante. The James Bond franchise, however, stuck to the titles of Ian Fleming's novels until they ran out, then fashioned new titles with similar forms, none of which use the name James Bond or a number.

While numbered sequels are extremely rare in literature, they became very popular in films and video games in the 1970s and 80s. The Godfather, Part II (1974) was the first major motion picture to use Part II in the title. Paramount Pictures was initially opposed to Francis Ford Coppola's decision to name the movie The Godfather, Part II. According to Coppola, the studio's objection stemmed from the belief that audiences would be reluctant to see a film with such a title, as they would supposedly believe that, having already seen The Godfather, there was little reason to see an addition to the original story. The success of The Godfather, Part II began the Hollywood tradition of numbered sequels- the first sequel to designate itself as such simply by using a number in the title was French Connection II, and the trend continued with films like Rocky II, Jaws 2, Halloween II, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and many others. The habit of numbering sequels later carried over into video games.

Numbers in the titles of sequels usually indicate the order in which the sequel was produced, regardless of the chronological events in the story. For example, the video game Devil May Cry 3 was the third title in the Devil May Cry series to be produced, though it is a prequel that takes place before the events of Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 2.

However, as sequels came to be perceived as routinely inferior to the originals, the numbering of sequels became the butt of numerous jokes. Back to the Future Part II (1989) featured a movie theater in the future showing Jaws 19. Even actual movie titles began to use numbering playfully. The Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994) is simply the third in the Naked Gun comedy series. Leonard Part 6 had no predecessors. And X-Men 1.5 is a special edition DVD of the film X-Men.

Throughout this period of numbered sequels, like-named sequels remained somewhat popular, and sometimes the original film was renamed when it was released on home video to match the naming of the sequels. What was once known as Star Wars (1977), is now known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, a title that would likely have doomed it on its original theatrical release. Similarly Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) is known in its current video release as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark to better align it with its sequels.

With the rise of pre-planned film franchises such as The Lord of the Rings (2001), filmmakers turned more to long titles that include the franchise name and the title of the film separated by a colon. Examples of these include Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

• Prequel
• Interquel
• Threequel
• Midquel
• Sidequel
• Spiritual sequel
• Cliffhanger
• Trilogy
• List of movie series
• List of movie trilogies
• List of video game franchises
• List of video game trilogies
• List of sequels considered better than the original
• List of movie sequels by box-office improvement

• Sequelogue: The definitive list of upcoming movie sequels and remakes
• Slate: The Midas Formula (How to create a billion-dollar movie franchise)
• Box Office Mojo: Film franchise earning comparison

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