This 2024 seems like a curious year to give us sequels of beloved films after so many years. After all, we just had the premiere of Tornadoesa sequel to the disaster film Twister from 1996. In addition to the fact that they are already on the way Gladiator 2 and Beetlejuice 2.
Tornadoes has already managed to capture the magic of the original, while the others are still to be seen. Because of this, we decided to remember some sequels that took a good few years to arrive but still gave us continuations that were just as good as the original.
The sequels that took a long time to arrive
Top Gun: Maverick is a very recent example that sequels can work many years later
Let’s start this memory with Top Gun: Maverick one of the most pleasant surprises of 2022 and one of the best sequels in cinema. This sequel came 36 years after the previous one just to prove that when you have a great idea, any wait is worth it.
It quickly became one of the highest-grossing films of that year and even earned Tom Cruise several awards. Even Steven Spielberg himself thanked him for his work and for keeping movie theaters alive after we were hit by the pandemic. All thanks to its very well-done action scenes that fill you with a lot of emotion.
If you haven’t given it a chance, you can currently find it on Netflix and Paramount Plus. Although it honestly doesn’t beat the feeling of seeing it in the cinema, it remains an unmissable action film.. It is also one of those sequels that you can enjoy without seeing the previous one, so go for it without fear.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Since we are talking about sequels of eighties hits we cannot miss Mad Max: Fury Road. This came out no more and no less than 30 years after the last adventure of the road warrior in a post-apocalyptic world. Its director made good use of that time and technological advances.
George Miller gave us one of the most memorable and influential action films of recent times. Furthermore, although it did take advantage of technology, it did not leave the past behind by using practical effects and real sets that give the film much more weight. Not to mention an impressive achievement in terms of vehicular combat scenes.
If you want to see it, you can do so through the streaming service, Max, which also has the previous ones.
Blade Runner 2049 another of the schools that arrived just in time
The Blade Runner The original is considered a must-see gem of science fiction cinema. Its aesthetics and several of its themes are still repeated in various productions of the genre. However, more than 35 years passed without a continuation of his story.
That changed in 2017 with the release of Blade Runner 2049 by director Denis Villeneuve. It was immediately apparent that the wait was worth it, as it gave us a film that was very faithful to the previous one and that feels like a perfect continuation of everything that was left open in the original.
Unfortunately, although it is one of the best sequels out there, it did not attract much attention from the public. In fact, it was one of the worst box office failures of the year. Still, its arrival on home and streaming formats gave it a boost in popularity.
Even in that respect it was quite faithful to the original, as it didn’t do very well at the box office at the time. However, both are already considered cult and their universe continues with an anime as well as a new series in production. Here we must evaluate the meaning of success.
Tron: Legacy
Here we could also open a debate about what makes a film successful. After all, both Tron and its sequel received a mixed reception in terms of critics. However, they generated millions at the box office. Especially Tron: Legacy which earned Disney $400 million.
Personally, we think it is a movie with some flaws, but it is still worth watching at least once. Its visual effects still hold up pretty well 14 years later and it features some very good performances from its main cast.In fact, a third part is already on the way for 2025, so we can easily include it in the ‘sequels that revitalized a franchise’ category.
Rocky Balboa made sequels popular to say goodbye to great icons
While previous entries focused on giving audiences more spectacle, Sylvester Stallone went in a different direction. 16 years after his last fight, he decided to give Rocky Balboa a proper farewell with the film of the same name.
As a sequel, it retains much of what we loved about the previous films and a very similar structure. However, Stallone knew that he was no longer a young man and took advantage of the opportunity to introduce a few themes such as giving meaning to life and how to feel joy again when there is practically nothing left.
This resonated with audiences making it one of the most successful in the franchise. While audiences consider it a worthy farewell for the character and a film that goes beyond simple boxing fightsIt undoubtedly belongs to the sequels of the gods and that took years to arrive.
Not to mention that it became popular to give sequels to nineties or eighties heroes to let them say goodbye with great fanfare. In fact, we saw it in other movies like Rambo: Back to Hell and even recently in Indiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyWe’ll see in the future what other heroes receive a farewell ribbon.
These examples show that just because it takes years doesn’t necessarily mean a film is a bad idea. Maybe with some franchises it’s just a matter of letting them simmer for them to come back with all their potential. Now it’s the turn of Alien: Rommulus, Gladiator 2 and Beetlejuice 2. Will they make it onto the list?
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