10 Sequels That Should Have Been/Should Be Made

For the second week in a row, Taken 2 sits atop of the North American box office. The highly anticipated sequel to the Liam Nesson hit from 2008 has taken in a whopping $87 million at the box office, making yet another return to Bryan Mills and his specialized espionage skill set a movie studio mandate. It’s that rare combination of fan friendly film and commercial success (critics, of course, be damned), the kind of cash cow that no suit can ignore – at least, not without losing their job. Since the dawn of the artform, Hollywood has loved to revisit material. The silents were a study in repeat theatricality, while the Depression saw a glut of musicals and mindless escapism. By the ’50s, producers found a way to add continuity by building on franchises. Even though Andy Hardy, Charlie Chan, and their lot started the trend decades before, it was the prepost modern movement that argued for the viability of mining an original movie’s mojo for even more money.

Of course, for every unnecessary sequel, there have been many that never made it past the talking stage. A few, like a Hot Fuzz update, seem more like the punchline to a particular interview question than a stone cold career reality. In other cases, time has tripped by without allowing a proposal – like a Steven Spielberg produced spoof of his original blockbuster, penned by the National Lampoon gang, entitled Jaws 3, People 0 -to get beyond the pitch stage. In our humble opinion, there are a lot of great sequel ideas out there, things that rival Aliens and/or The Godfather Part 2 as matching or bypassing their seminal source. On the other hand, there are concepts that clearly weren’t thought out too well. Thus we present the 10 Sequels That Should Have Been/Should Be Made. Each one has plenty of potential. Whether audiences would respond to them now, so far removed from their original inspiration, remains to be seen. As Taken 2 argues, you need to strike while the iron is hot, not hesitant.

#10: The Se7en Sequel

This is a stretch, but an intriguing one nonetheless. The original film was rather self-contained. In the end, Mills is off to jail and/or a mental ward, Somerset is relegated to retirement, and John Doe is lying on a slab in the local morgue. So where do you go from there? One idea had Freeman’s tired detective developing psychic abilities and dealing with another mass murderer. There was also the concept of having Somerset spring Mills from his imprisonment, 48 Hours style, to solve another Bible related crime spree. Whatever the proposal, director David Fincher has made it clear that he’d rather have knives driven into his eyes than contemplate a sequel. Enough said.

 
#9: The Vega Brothers

It’s hard to call this a sequel. In actuality, it’s more of a se-prequel. You see, Quentin Tarantino loves to intertwine his various projects via small, significant cues. Red Apple Cigarettes. Various character names and connections… and in this case, the tale of how a young Vincent (John Travolta in Pulp Fiction) and Vic (Michael Madsen ala Reservoir Dogs) Vega became mob enforcers. The idea is intriguing, but it seems like the passage of time has tempered any real interest. You see, without the stars who initiated these important roles, any follow-up seems pointless. Even more concerning is the concept of how to treat their tale, since their fate is already written in future films.

 
#8: The Big Trouble in Little China Sequel

Jack Burton may have defeated Lo Pan and saved the girl(s) the first time, but he was still riding off into the sunset, big rig style, with a weird Asian monster strapped to the back of his truck cab. Where would the story go next? How would John Carpenter reinvest his take on the sensational Shaw Brothers with even more insider splash? Apparently, we’ll never know. Along with a proposed return to the world of Snake Plissken with something called Escape from Earth (which sounds suspiciously like the Luc Besson produced Lockout from this year) Carpenter abandoned these older characters, content to sit in semi-retirement and produce remakes.

 
#7: True Lies 2

When the first film ended, everything was set for a series of sequels. Tom Arnold’s gentleman spy was outed, his suspicious wife was now into espionage herself, and it seemed like sidekick Arnold had finally proven his post-Rosanne chops. All they needed was an eager James Cameron to make a surefire sequel hit happen. Of course, he decided against it, instead focusing on future Oscar bait like Titanic and current overall box office champion Avatar. While it would be nice to see where this sensational action film would go once Harry and Helen Tasker join forces, it appears that time and intent have prevented a Mr. and Mrs. Smith like return.

 
#6: The Goonies 2

When DVD started dominating the home video marketplace, films like this one became benchmarks for critical reconsideration. Even more importantly, they spawned a renewed nostalgic interest that argued for a return. Of course, by the time anyone considered a follow-up to this seminal slice of Amblin adolescent adventure, the main cast were all grown up. So the answer seemed simple — let the Goonies’ children become the new Goonies. Others offered an even better idea — get the adult Goonies to go on one last old fashioned “kiddie” quest. Alas, no one could make it happen, and thus another mythic movie fades into the realm of distant possibility.

5 – 1

#5: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash

Like The Cabin in the Woods, Freddy vs. Jason was an amazing meta experience which combined the two titanic terror franchises into one big creepshow cavalcade. It was a joy for novices as well as those in the know. So naturally, the producers started looking for a viable third party to throw into the mix, and the answer came in the form of Bruce Campbell’s bumbling, blood soaked Evil Dead hero. Problems arose, however, when Sam Raimi asked for a more active role in pre-production. Then the web reacted unkindly to the idea. Eventually, it was scrapped, though some faithful remain vigilant that it can and could happen.

 
#4: Who Framed Roger Rabbit 2: Toon Patrol

With its self-contained story and collection of colorful characters, many hoped that director Robert Zemeckis would be able to find a way back into the world of Roger, Jessica, and all their pen and ink pals. The proposed follow-up, however, was too weird for even the most experimental filmmaker to fathom. The story had our friendly Toons heading off to Europe to fight in World War II. That’s right, Baby Herman, Mickey, Bugs, and the rest of the merry maniacs would battle Nazis to save the free world. About the only thing more bizarre was/is the proposed fourth Jurassic Park installment, which offers a species of super-smart dinosaurs, armed with weapons, that fight as mercenaries. Huh?

 
#3: Sin City 2

What 300 did for the sword and sandal film, the first Sin City did for hardboiled detective noir. Interweaving three amazing stories and using a wholly digital greensreen production dynamic, the result was an astonishing bit of directing bravado. Since then, however, Robert Rodriguez has put the potential sequel (trilogy, actually) on hold. We’ve heard rumors of Johnny Depp’s involvement, the return of favorite characters, and hints at something truly extraordinary. Of course, like any planned path, there have been pitfalls. Granted, the first film was more of a critical hit than a commercial juggernaut, but recently they’ve announced a possible release date (October 2013). Here’s hoping.

 
#2: Unbreakable 2

Before he went batship and decided that he really WAS the next Steven Spielberg, M. Night Shyamalan followed up his smash hit The Sixth Sense with an amazing film about what it would be life if comic book characters, both good and bad, existed in the real world. Not as some colorful cartoon caricature of same, but as real, living, breathing, recognizable people. Bruce Willis was the hero, a man who was somehow blessed with invincibility. Samuel L. Jackson, a person whose bones are so brittle that they consistently break, became his nemesis. Thus we had a set-up for a great series. Sadly, it never happened.

 
#1: Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League

Few films have the audacity to announce their sequel intentions untried. Yet that’s exactly what happened when this creative cult fave (focusing on a neurosurgeon, particle physicist, race car driver, rock star and comic book hero and his various battles) declared that audiences be aware of the next installment in the Banzai franchise. That was 28 years ago. Since then, there have been rumors and proposed TV pilots, attempted cast reunions, and other narrative related re-imaginings But what fans really want is a return of their enigmatic icon, his trustworthy Hong Kong Cavaliers, and the Blue Blaze Irregulars who are there to help.