Legacy Sequels have sucked for some time and its time for Hollywood to maneuver on from bringing again previous characters for no purpose.
What precisely is a legacy sequel? In keeping with the web, it’s “a piece that follows the continuity of the unique work(s), however takes place additional alongside the timeline, usually specializing in new characters with the unique ones nonetheless current within the plot.” And boy have they gotten standard. From The Exorcist: Believer to Halloween 2018 to even Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they’ve been churning out steadily. Hell, we bought a freaking Mutilator 2 out of it (and who would have ever anticipated that?). And it’s exhausting to not marvel why we’re getting so many.
Originality could be a exhausting factor for financiers to gamble on. That is why we discover ourselves amid development after development that takes over film theaters till most people is sick of it. As quickly as one thing hits, they go after it like rabid canines until there’s nothing extra to select from the corpse. And the cycle repeats. Superhero motion pictures had been the newest casualty. In 2015, we noticed Star Wars return with A Drive Awakens, however I’m a horror man, so I’ll use an instance from the horror world: 2018’s Halloween. This noticed the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to the function that made her well-known in Laurie Strode. They ignored the entire sequels exterior of the unique and set to inform a narrative throughout three movies. Besides, that’s not likely what occurred, they usually betrayed all the idea of a legacy sequel.
Whereas Halloween 2018 was offered as the primary of a brand new trilogy, there wasn’t a lot of a plan after this entry. David Gordon Inexperienced and Firm actually simply did issues on the fly. Which is why when Halloween Ends got here lengthy, the purpose of it being a legacy sequel appeared misplaced upon the filmmakers. The characters we all know from prior motion pictures don’t even act like themselves, character arcs are recycled or ignored and we find yourself spending extra time with a very new individual. So what was even the purpose? It might have simply been a daily sequel with none of the characters from 2018 or Kills and DGG might have performed his dumb Corey Cunningham story.
Then there was The Exorcist: Believer. I’ve come to this film’s protection a number of instances and nonetheless don’t suppose it’s the dangerous film that some declare it to be. However the stuff that IS dangerous is the whole lot associated to the unique Exorcist AKA the entire Legacy Sequel facets. Eliminate these parts, and it will be a novel possession story. After Believer one factor turned clear: Legacy Sequels have gotten to go. As a result of the extra they’ve caught across the extra filmmakers appear to utterly lose the purpose of them. We need to see these characters return and honor what got here earlier than it, not utterly flip the characters on their heads. There’s nothing extra insulting than having a personality we’ve recognized for many years, return in a Legacy Sequel, solely to die to service newer characters we care much less about.
And that’s to not say there aren’t some nice Legacy Sequels. Heck, in some ways, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare might be thought of a Legacy sequel, so the type of movie has been round for fairly a while. However the laziness that has grow to be synonymous with them is getting too obvious. It appears many filmmakers simply suppose that bringing again previous characters is sufficient, whereas paying no thoughts of protecting them constant or placing them into an attention-grabbing story. It’s merely “Hey, this individual is returning so followers ought to be pleased.”
I used to be fed up with Legacy Sequels as soon as Halloween Ends got here alongside and was utterly irrelevant to the remainder of the sequence. After organising a number of motion pictures of “Laurie goes to go after Michael” we as an alternative bought “Michael sleeps in a sewer and provides his mystical powers to an ungainly automotive mechanic.” Simply make sequels and get away from the Legacy facet. We don’t must see these individuals return to roles 30+ years later when these new roles basically tarnish the prior legacy. Which makes the purpose of those sequels utterly moot. Right here’s hoping they lastly simply concentrate on making good motion pictures as an alternative of who they will carry again. However the cynic in me is tough to persuade.
What do YOU take into consideration Legacy Sequels? Do you suppose we must always transfer on from them? Or do you suppose we must always give them one other probability? Remark under and tell us!