7 Movies That Promised Us Sequels We're Still Waiting For, And 5 That Gave Us Ones We Never Asked For
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I think we all know by now, Hollywood loves making money. It’s pretty much their one goal. So, when they make decisions based solely on profit (and not on creativity or what an audience actually wants), it doesn't surprise me, but it truly always baffles me — like cancelling Batgirl or continuing to let Woody Allen make movies after numerous allegations have come to light. Just...why?
NBC / Via giphy.com
And when it comes to sequels, it’s no different. Hollywood will end a movie on a cliffhanger, announce it'll be a franchise, and then scrap the whole thing when something new and shiny comes along.
ABC / Via giphy.com
Or, they’ll release a really good, well-made movie, which does exceptionally well at the box office, and then strip away the things that made it good and squeeze what’s remaining into a cash-grab sequel.
NBC / Via giphy.com
We've definitely missed out on a lot of fun sequels, and conversely, we've sat through some pretty hard-to-watch ones. So, here are seven sequels that Hollywood promised us that we're still waiting for, and five sequels that were completely unnecessary:
1.STILL WAITING — Austin Powers 4
During the climax of the third installment of the Austin Powers franchise, Austin Powers in Goldmember, it's revealed that Dr. Evil and Austin Powers are actually brothers. They end their rivalry, team up to defeat Goldmember, and save the world together. At the very end of the movie, we see Dr. Evil's son, Scott, sitting on a thrown as he declares, "I'm gonna get you, Austin Powers." It's the perfect setup for a sequel. But, we've still yet to see one.
It's been 20 years, and you would think the possibility of another sequel would be impossible. But the creators are still talking about it. Earlier this year, Mike Myers said, "I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of such a project, should it exist or not exist." So, I'm 100% still holding out hope for a fourth entry.
2.UNNECESSARY — Mean Girls 2
The only overlap Mean Girls 2 has with its predecessor is the character of Principal Duvall, played by Tim Meadows. It's supposed to take place in the same fictional high school, North Shore High in Illinois, but since Mean Girls was mostly shot in Canada, and the sequel was shot in Georgia, the schools look absolutely nothing alike.
The plot is nowhere near as interesting as the first film. It's basically a series of pranks between the popular girl and our "not like the other girls" main character, all leading up to a flag football game between the two, which seems like a strange, and very boring, choice for a climax.
I always wondered if this movie was even written as a sequel, or if it was actually supposed to be a stand-alone movie and they just decided to slap the Mean Girls name on it to capitalize on its success. I mean, the first 20 seconds of the trailer are just scenes from the original movie.
3.STILL WAITING — The Mummy 4
The remake of the 1932 horror classic The Mummy was released in 1999 and sparked two sequels. This seminal trilogy, ending with 2008's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, perfectly set up the next sequel.
Shortly after the release of the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, the fourth Mummy movie was in its early stages, and some of the cast had already signed on. Luke Ford, the actor who played Rick's (Brendan Fraser) son, even announced he signed on for three more films. Unfortunately, Universal ultimately decided to scrap the idea of any more sequels, and instead rebooted the franchise in 2017 with The Mummy, one of the first entries in their planned "Dark Universe," their answer to the MCU. When the movie tanked, so did that "universe."
But, hey, there's still hope for a fourth movie after all. At Fan Expo Canada in 2019, Brendan Fraser revealed he would "absolutely" make another Mummy movie, stating, "If there's a fun way to approach it again, I'm all in."
4.UNNECESSARY — Zoolander No. 2
The first Zoolander is such a product of its time. It's a 2001 time capsule of the era's fashion, attitudes about fame and celebrity, and its fascination with the modeling industry.
Of course, it was exciting when a sequel was on the way. What would Derek and Hansel be like in a more modern world? After 15 years, society has changed immensely, and how would they fit in?
Well, Zoolander No. 2 wasn't exactly the hit movie that it seemed it might be. While the original movie satirized elements of society in a clever and funny way, the sequel was more of a series of unfunny gags and "jokes," some of which were mean-spirited.
Derek and Hansel definitely should have stayed fossilized in our minds as the 2001 versions of themselves.
5.STILL WAITING — Something Borrowed
In 2011, we were given the romantic comedy Something Borrowed, based on Emily Giffin's 2005 New York Times bestselling novel of the same name. In the film, Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) has sex with her best friend Darcy's (Kate Hudson) fiancé and spends the whole movie trying to keep it a secret, while her other friend Ethan (John Krasinski) tries to hide that he's in love with her. It wasn't a huge success, with critics citing the awful depiction of female friendship as one of its downfalls. It definitely didn't help that the two best friends at the center of the movie don't exactly reconcile at the end.
Don't get me wrong, movies are obviously allowed to have unhappy or unresolved endings. But the fact that this was a purported romantic comedy with a very unsatisfying ending was a little weird. But it turns out, the story wasn't done, so we really don't know how Rachel and Darcy's friendship turns out. During a mid-credits scene, we see Darcy visiting Ethan in London, followed by a promise of another movie in a "to be continued" title card.
The script for the sequel, Something Blue, was written by Giffin, but just never got made, possibly due to lack of funds. But earlier this year, Ginnifer Goodwin talked about the film's "longevity" and how she still thinks a sequel can work.
6.UNNECESSARY — S. Darko
Donnie Darko ends with a neat little bow. Everything that was set up in the film is resolved. So, why would we need a sequel?
The first film gives us a very cool and interesting world where there are two universes and time travel, so wanting to see more of that is kind of understandable, but we really didn't need it. But, we got it anyway. The sequel, S. Darko, follows Donnie's sister, played by Daveigh Chase in both movies, as she and her friend go on a cross-country roundtrip. When their car breaks down, they get stuck in a small town in Utah where the events of the first film kind of repeat themselves.
This film tries to follow the rules set up in the first film, but it just ends up adding plot holes to the story. There are also weird subplots that involve missing kids, a third universe, and a predatory pastor.
The writer and director of the original Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly, had nothing to do with S. Darko, and he clearly wants people to know that, stating, "I had to relinquish [the rights] when I was 24 years old. I hate when people ask me about [the sequel] because I’ve never seen it, and I never will."
7.STILL WAITING — Kill Bill: Vol. 3
Shortly after the release of the second Kill Bill movie in 2004, director Quentin Tarantino announced his plan to make a third film.
In the first volume, the Bride (Uma Thurman) seeks revenge on the people who left her for dead. She kills one of her targets, Vernita Green, now a settled-down suburban mother, just as Vernita's daughter walks in. So, the third installment would focus on the daughter all grown up and hell-bent on avenging her mother's death.
For the next 15-plus years, Tarantino teased his fans with the possibility of this third volume, always later announcing it was probably not going to happen. Even just last year he said he would love for Maya Hawke, Uma Thurman's daughter, to appear in it, but then backtracked and said it would never happen because he wore himself out making the first two volumes. I guess we'll just wait and see.
8.UNNECESSARY — American Psycho II: All American Girl
At its core, American Psycho is a comment on '80s yuppie culture. Yes, Patrick Bateman murders people, but it's so much deeper than that. The ending is ambiguous but does NOT set up a sequel. Everything that needed to be said had been said, and the story is very clearly done.
Fast-forward two years, and American Psycho II: All American Girl is released starring Mila Kunis. It takes just the murder stuff from the first movie and ignores any sort of subtext or symbolism or really any sort of profound meaning that made the first one so incredible.
Turns out, American Psycho II was not actually a sequel, at least not at first. It was a standalone script called The Girl Who Wouldn't Die. Somewhere during production, maybe even after filming had wrapped, Lionsgate decided to change the name and add a scene at the beginning where Mila Kunis' character, as a 12-year-old girl, kills Bateman.
Sequels don't always respect the source material, but Bateman's death was absolutely ridiculous and a huge slap in the face to American Psycho.
9.STILL WAITING — National Treasure 3
After the massive success of the first two National Treasure movies, and the sequel setup in the second film about a mysterious "page 47," in 2008, Disney registered domains for NationalTreasure3DVD.com and NationalTreasure4DVD.com. It was official — we were getting a franchise! Or, so we thought.
Unfortunately, when Disney acquired Marvel in 2009, National Treasure 3 was left in production limbo. But all hope was not lost, and in 2020, Disney finally announced a third movie was in production. Two years later and we're getting a Disney+ TV show, National Treasure: Edge of History. Some of the original cast will make an appearance, but unfortunately, Nicolas Cage probably won't be one of them.
But just a few months ago, producer of the first two films Jerry Bruckheimer said a third Nicolas Cage-led National Treasure movie is currently being written. All this back-and-forth is giving me whiplash, so I'm not getting my hopes up too much, but I guess only time will tell whether we see another Ben Gates adventure.
10.UNNECESSARY — Son of the Mask
After Jim Carrey starred in The Mask in 1994, he had plans for a sequel. But after he filmed a follow-up to the first Ace Ventura movie, he decided he wasn't interested in reprising any roles because "it wasn’t challenging enough as an actor." And to be honest, the film doesn't need a sequel.
When the movie came out, we, as a culture, were at the beginning of the '90s swing renaissance. So, something about Jim Carrey's mask persona just made sense. He dressed in zoot suits and talked like he was from the 1940s. But when an eventual non-Jim Carrey-led sequel came out in 2005 called Son of the Mask, Jamie Kennedy's mask persona was a little off. His green-faced alter-ego rapped, which didn't quite have the same impact that Carrey's did. It was a pretty big commercial and critical failure.
11.STILL WAITING — Encino Man 2
Encino Man, released in 1992, stars Brendan Fraser (in his first lead role in a big feature film) as a caveman found frozen in ice by two teenage boys, played by Sean Astin and Pauly Shore. They thaw him out, teach him how to be a typical '90s teen, and form a friendship along the way. It's not everyone's favorite comedy, but Fraser is a standout, and in my opinion, it's the best Pauly Shore movie.
At the end, after Fraser's character discovers a thawed-out cavewoman, a title card appears reading, "The end, bud-dy." Then, Shore's character appears back on screen to deliver the line, "I'll be ba-ack," seemingly setting up a sequel. In 1996, there technically was a TV movie sequel called Encino Woman, but no one from the original movie is in it, and it's incredibly hard to find. So, I'm still waiting.
Shore has said recently that Disney+ is "talking about possibly doing the sequel." And, "if they want [him] to do it and the script was right and Brendan and Sean were on board and it made sense, [he] would do it for the fans!"
12.STILL WAITING — Untitled Telephone Sequel
I'm counting Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's music video for their song "Telephone" as a short film because it's a masterpiece, and its cultural impact is unprecedented.
It picks up right where the music video for Gaga's "Paparazzi" left off, with her getting arrested for killing her boyfriend. In Telephone, Beyoncé bails her out of prison, they poison an entire restaurant full of people, and then run from the cops. It's only nine minutes, but they give us a ~story~.
Since Telephone is a sequel itself, and it ends with a "to be continued" title card, I think it's only fair that we get a follow-up. Yeah, it's been 12 years, so it may be unlikely, but imagine the release of another iconic pop anthem, with even more female pop artists, playing over another Quentin Tarantino-inspired short film. It could happen.
