Renewed Top 10 - Legacyquels

Time for another regular Renewed Top 10!

This time, I will be highlighting what I think are the BEST Legacyquels in cinema history.

For those that never saw the original post for the Term, a Legacyquel is a sequel that came out YEARS after the last installment. There are 2 types: A Minor Legacyquel is one that came out 10-19 years after the last entry and a Major Legacyquel is one that cane out 20+ years after. Those that DID read the original, I did adjust the range by 1, as to include 10 years in the Minor, and so 20 became a Major. The main difference between a Minor and a Major is reason. The Minor could just be delayed. But a Major is usually just for Nostalgia purposes.

You'll get it, if you don't already.

So let's do it...

Top 10 Legacyquels

Here we go...

Honorable Mention 1: Clerks 2(12 years): Clerks launched Kevin Smith's career, and the View Askewniverse took off. It was nice to see Dante and Randall come back in a great follow up.

Honorable Mention 2: The Odd Couple 2(30 years): The original Odd Couple, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthieu. After doing two Grumpy Old Men movies, they finally did a sequel to their movie that spawned a TV series. Sadly, this was the last movie they shared screen time on.

Honorable Mention 3: Scream(11 years): Scream returning to form(no, I didn't do a review... gonna watch it again before I decide to). It was great to see a passing of the torch for the franchise. Wes Craven would be proud.

Honorable Mention 4: The Godfather Part 3(16 years): The original Godfather got Marlon Brando an Oscar. Part 2 got Robert DeNiro an Oscar. Part 3 rounds out the story. And rounds out the best Mafia trilogy in fill history.

10. Blade Runner 2049(35 years): The Original Blade Runner was legendary. Never did I think they would make a proper sequel. It answered some questions from the original, but it also opened up new ones. I need another, it set up for another. I hope it doesn't take another 35 years.

9. Finding Dory(13 years): Finding Nemo was a classic. So why not a sequel based on a supporting character? The Disney thing to do... right? Dory was one of the fan favorite characters in Nemo. So it made sense. And we got Ed O'Neill as a voice too.

8. Split(16 years) or Glass(19 years): I am listing both as Legacyquels to Unbreakable. Why? Unbreakable was M. Night Shyamalan's Superhero movie. And Split was a thriller about a killer with multiple personalities. You didn't know it was a "sequel" until the end, and it felt like an after thought. But Glass is a sequel to both. So... this entry counts them both based on whether you think Split is a sequel or not. And...... I don't. Split feels like a spinoff.

7. Mad Max: Fury Road(30 years): Mad Max Fury Road was the latest installment from a series that helped make Mel Gibson famous... without Mel Gibson. Why? Well Max is still around the same-ish age. And... Mel Gibson is not. But Tom Hardy carried this into the modern era, and I hope they can do more somehow.

6. Bill & Ted Face The Music(29 years): Bill & Ted. The movies that put Keanu Reeves on the map... and then turned Alex Winter into a director/producer. Poor guy. Excellent!!! Well, decades later, we finally got the 3rd movie, and they passed the torch to their kids.

5. The Matrix Resurrections(18 years): Bill & Ted put Keanu Reeves on the map. The Matrix was the franchise that turned him into a Mega Star. Innovative. So... going back into the Matrix and using the original trilogy as a backdrop. Can't reveal too much. Because that makes The Matrix series awesome.

4. Halloween(40 years): Michael Myers stalking Jamie Lee Curtis. Again. This one is the LONGEST stretch in between on this list, and while it doesn't feel like it because the original had so many sequels... but... it is because this Legacyquel was ALSO an Erasequel. This was a direct sequel to the original, ignoring ALL of the others. Also making Halloween the only Erasequel on this list!!

3. Superman Returns(19 years): I know what you are thinking... How? Superman Returns is a sequel to Superman IV The Quest For Peace. How? Kevin Spacey was easily the Gene Hackman Lex Luthor. Kate Bosworth was easily the Margot Kidder Lois Lane. And Brandon Routh... he LOOKS like a young Christopher Reeve... this was on PURPOSE to be the unacknowledged Superman 5!

2. Doctor Sleep(39 years): Sequel one my favorite horror films of all time, The Shining. And... yes there is a Stephen King book. This was as much an adaptation of the book as it was a sequel to the Stanley Kubrick film. All the way down to Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall lookalikes. A wonderful film!!!

And the Number 1 Legacyquel is...

1. Ghostbusters Afterlife(32 years): Answer the Call isn't a sequel. It is a parallel universe movie. Because of that, Afterlife is the sequel to Ghostbuster 2(yes, the Ghostbusters game is the unofficial 3rd movie... as it was based off the original 3rd script... but it wasn't a movie). Captured the imagination of the first 2 movies, and treated the passing of Egon with dignity and respect. It felt like a kid again watching this movie. And ANY Ghostbusters fan should be proud of this film. Ivan Reitman was proud of enough of it that he passed known it was good enough to BE a Ghostbusters movie.

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Some big gaps in some of those Legacyquels!!!

What did you all think? Any Legacyquel or Legacy Sequel did you think was awesome and did the previous entry justice?

Drop it in the comments.

And share this post!!!

Until next time...

Don't forget...

Terms of Entertainment Endearment - Legacyquel & Erasequel

Welcome to a new occasional segment, "Terms of Entertainment Endearment". These segment will feature some new terms I've come up with(or had assistance with) to call certain things in film and television that don't have official terms or SHOULD have official terms. Anything you see in these posts ARE unofficial, but with some help from The Audience, we can get them out there(unlikely, but I can hope).

So... we are going to start with something that has been happening quite a bit lately. Originally had a different name, but thanks to Bob(credit for Bob), a fitting name has been given: Legacy Sequel or Legacyquel for short. We have Minor Legacyquels and Major Legacyquels. In this post, we will go over why there are two types, examples of each, and why some work and some don't. And then we will tackle the other term, because it ties in so well.

So... let's get into it. What is a Legacyquel? It is a sequel that comes out MUCH later than the last entry in the series. And we will start there, the difference between a Minor and a Major is the number of years. Minor will be between. 10-20 years. Major will be over 20 years. Pretty simple.

Minor Legacyquel. A sequel that releases 10-20 years after the previous entry. There are other reasons that I fell Minor fits. For example... a Spin off Sequel or a Sequel whose development got pushed back for various reasons and it originally wasn't supposed to take that long. Here are some examples:

~Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines(12 years after T2: Judgment Day): Terminator 2 had a teenager John Connor... Terminator 3 has an adult John after Sarah's death. Leading to Judgment Day. Movie wasn't the best. Took some liberties it just couldn't pull off.

~Blues Brothers 2000(18 years after the original): Hard to beat the original, and didn't capture the same magic without John Belushi. But John Goodman is always a great addition to anything!

~Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles(13 years after Dundee 2): Fish out of water story, a classic Paul Hogan role... but this sequel was just random, almost like a fan film.

~Clerks 2(12 years after Clerks): the usual nerddom jokes, but hurts that it wasn't all black and white like the original was. Overboard with some jokes. But Rosario Dawson was a nice addition.

~Rocky Balboa(16 years after Rocky V): Not only was this a great movie, it also led to a highly successful spinoff series called Creed.

~Live Free or Die Hard(12 years after Die Hard with a Vengeance): Rumors that this one might not have been an Legacyquel, but 9/11 pushed it all back. So 12 years... good enough to get another sequel AND soon to have a Pre-Sequel.

~Independence Day: Resurgence(20 years after the original): Missing magic dur to missing out on star Will Smith. Just doesn't live up to it.

~Superman Returns(19 years after Superman IV): This is under the radar. But this was a sequel. Brandon Routh resembles Christopher Reeve. They did that for a reason. And it was a decent movie(at least better than Superman III and IV).

~Split(16 years after Unbreakable): Example of a surprise sequel. M Night had a rough patch of terrible movies... and he made it back with Devil. So... let's make a sequel to one of your best.

Hopefully that give you an idea for some Minor Legacyquels. There are many more. But take these and consider some of your favorites.

Let's get into Major Legacyquels. These are the ones where the assholes will whine about "why doesn't Hollywood come up with new ideas?" Sometimes... you need closure... or to pass a torch. There will be a few surprises or ones people don't really think about. Examples:

~Tron: Legacy(28 years after the original): Great idea. New age tech. New age graphics. And an early adopter for de-aging to make Jeff Bridges look like he did back then.

~Blade Runner 2049(35 years after the original): Answers some questions from the original... gives us new questions. And some amazing performances/set pieces. To make Ridley Scott proud.

~Bill & Ted Face The Music(29 years after Bogus Journey): A sequel a LONG time in the making, but it's stars had different trajectory(Keanu Reeves is Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter... well... is Alex Winter). Released during a pandemic, but should've gotten more support(go watch it).

~Psycho II(23 years after the original classic): one of overlooked sequels that to this day, I'm not sure why it exists. But it does.

~The Color of Money(25 years after The Hustler): Paul Newman reprises his role from The Hustler, paired with Tom Cruise. And... while he was nominated for an Oscar for the role in the Hustler, he WON an Oscar for the same role in this Legacyquel.

~The Odd Couple II(30 years after the original): The original spawned a TV series without the original duo of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. After coming back together for the Grumpy Old Men movies, they decided to do this, and it was a nice nostalgic piece.

~Star Wars Episode VII(32 years after Episode VI): Technically, this is true. Granted, there is a prequel trilogy between them. And Technically... George Lucas didn't want it to happen. But it happened. And um... it happened.

~Ghostbusters: Afterlife(32 years after Ghostbusters 2): It isn't out yet... and no, I'm not ignoring the all female Ghostbusters(I consider it alternate universe). After having a sequel in development hell for decades(that became the video game)... we are finally getting a sequel, that REALLY drives home the Legacy in Legacyquel.

Note: Disney has LONGER Legacyquels, but they are usually direct to home video releases. Example... Bambi to Bambi 2... there is a 62 year gap.

You get the idea of Legacyquel? Good.

Now... Erasequel. An Erasequel is a sequel that eliminates movies from canon. Maybe a sequel came out that no one liked. So the studio comes along and undoes it. Examples:

~X-Men Days of Future Past(erases X-Men The Last Stand): This movie has two halves. The future and the past. The past is the sequel to First Class, the Future is the sequel to Last Stand. With the ending, it undid what happened in The Last Stand. Because of this, Logan went from being a Minor Legacyquel to just being a sequel(Logan is in the original trilogy timeline...).

~Terminator: Dark Fate(erases T3, Salvation, and Genisys): So because Dark Fate is James Cameron doing a direct sequel to T2, Dark Fate IS a Major Legacyquel. And it erased two terrible movies, it also Technically erases a really good one too, in Salvation. This is up for debate since it takes place entirely in the future(after Judgment Day). But this movie wasn't that good. A great concept for a new Terminator(like in T3), but poor execution of the movie altogether.

~Unnamed Robocop sequel(erases Robocop 3): Robocop 3 wasn't that good, and no Peter Weller. Recently Peter Weller reprised his role as a voice in Mortal Kombat 11. Talk has been for awhile that we are getting this Erasequel. But Covid throw everything in disarray. We will see what happens. Hopefully it doesn't suck.

~Halloween(2018)(erases almost the entire franchise): 40 Years after the original. Jamie Lee Curtis is back. The Shape is back. And this one is a DIRECT Legacyquel to that original.(The Best Example of an Erasequel)

Enough examples of an Erasequel?

Do you have any examples of an Erasequel? What about a Legacyquel? Leave them in the comments. Let's get this going. Share it... comment on it... share it again.

Thank you for joining me on this. Have any ideas for Terms? Let's get on that, and if I like it, it'll be featured in a post with credit where it is supposed to go.

Until next time...

Don't forget...