15 Reasons Movie Sequels Don’t Work

The 15 reasons movie sequels don’t work vary from person to person. But here’s our take on it.

They ruin perfect endings

Movie sequels don’t work because they continue the ‘what if’ and ‘what happened’ in ways that don’t give a satisfactory ending. Sometimes, it’s better to be left guessing.

Sequels become cash grabs

Cash grabs attempt to make as much money as possible from an idea. Unfortunately, this also means that a sequel’s quality doesn’t matter so long as it can draw viewers.

A sequel becomes a remake

Too often, the details in a sequel will seek to remake the story it belongs to. Unfortunately, this creates a very different story that doesn’t mesh with the first one.

Too much time between movies can ruin the story

This is especially true of movies that feature children as the stars. As people age, it becomes tough to tell an extension of the same story without explaining the huge time jump.

A new idea/direction for the movie can ruin the initial idea

A sequel doesn’t need to parrot the initial film. However, it does help to continue the concept rather than veer off in another direction.

To quote the Barenaked Ladies, “It’s all been done…before…”

Seriously, it’s tough to come up with new ideas that aren’t insanely predictable. It’s also challenging to tell a different tale that still extends the initial idea.

Passing the torch is a huge responsibility

The fact is that sometimes a movie must pass the torch, in other words, create a worthy hero, villain, or idea that can take on the responsibility of the initial idea. Sequels aren’t known for being great ways to make this happen.

It’s a hit-or-miss type of thing

Some people think that a sequel is inferior, to begin with, since it has to follow the first film. This creates a need for the sequel to do well, which is not guaranteed.

Gambling on a sequel to perform well has low odds

More than a few fans will point to the first film as the best since this is the one that sets the bar. It’s not unknown to gamble on the success of a sequel, but it’s not a wise move.

Even a successful sequel will rarely rate as high as the original movie

It’s not common for a sequel to do better than the movie that came before it. Fans love the first movie so much, typically, that they’ll put a higher expectation on the sequel.

It’s tough to capture the same energy twice

A good example of this would be Alien, The Terminator, and several other great movies when they came out. Trying to capture that same energy is tough and not something that happens often.

Nostalgia can stall success

Even if a first movie isn’t that great, many fans will remember it longer because they watched it when they were younger or when things were simpler. Even with a great sequel, some people will hold onto the idea of the first movie.

The original story is almost always more popular.

Typically, the original story has some quality that touches people on a hard-to-reach level. While this can happen with sequels, it’s tougher since people are often hesitant to open up to another story unless the sequel runs concurrently with the original.

Sometimes, a sequel has to build a mountain out of a molehill

There might not be enough material for a sequel to work with. In this case, sequels must build a story from scratch, which is tough to do while making it fit with the original.

Sometimes, a ‘new’ idea for a sequel is just overkill

People expect sequels to connect with the original movie. If it doesn’t, if a new idea is presented, it needs to make sense, or it will turn a lot of viewers away.