Written by Adam Carson.
10. Dredd (2012)
Sticking true to the comic source material, Dredd debuted guns blazing in 2012. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and his inexperienced sidekick, Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), are forced to bring order to a 200-storey high-rise block of flats and deal with its resident drug lord, Ma-Ma (Lena Headey). A delightfully blood-soaked romp through one and a half hours of film follows. While gaining some impressive reviews with critics, the film did not take off in the box office as it should have.
Likelihood of sequel: Although the film did not make back its production budget in the box office (usually the death of a franchise), there is movement in Hollywood, with scripts being written and star Karl Urban openly stating that he cannot wait to reprise his role as Dredd. Better him than Stallone any day!
9. Serenity (2005)
Serenity, the 2005 film follow-up to the short lived space western TV series Firefly, is meant to be the wrap up to the much loved series. Geeks everywhere however, yearn for more. Created and directed by Mr. Joss Whedon himself; Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of Serenity, a “Firefly-class” spaceship. Combining sharp dialogue and goofy characterisation really makes it a fun film, however it masks what seems to be a critique of contemporary society and politics. It’s generally regarded amongst fans as the best science fiction film ever made, although I will save that argument for another time.
Likelihood of sequel: While I am not the biggest fan of the film, it deserves a place on this list due to its very vocal fan base. There seems to be no reason why fans shouldn’t get another movie made, except for this diatribe from Mr Whedon:
“Here’s a thing: when Firefly was cancelled, my heart got broke. Sounds a bit much, but it changed me. Not even Serenity could patch that wound… There’s no sequel, no secret project regarding Serenity or some such and I’m not even sure how anyone thought there was talk there.”
Here’s hoping he has changed his mind, for the sake of the interwebs!
8. Constantine (2005)
John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a cynic with the ability to perceive and communicate with half-angels and half-demons in their true form. He seeks salvation from eternal damnation by exorcising demons back to Hell in a bid to earn favour with Heaven. With death looming, he helps a troubled police detective learn the truth about her sister’s death while simultaneously unravelling a much larger and darker plot.
While doing OK at the box office, it has since gone on to enjoy a strong Home media market. Also starring Rachel Weisz, Tilda Swinton and a pre-transformers Shia LaBeouf, it is greatly acted, and has some awesome set pieces.
Likelihood of sequel: Director Francis Lawrence has expressed his willingness to direct another sequel for Constantine in the past few years, this time a darker, grittier hard R reboot, which would be cool, and more faithful to the comic book. Meanwhile, there are reports that the character of Constantine could be featured in a movie featuring DC Comics’ supernatural characters, directed by Guillermo del Toro. Not sure which one I would like to see more–
7. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the fantasy/comedy/quasi-kids film created a resurgence of interest in the golden age of cartoons, and that may be just what is needed in today’s world of high fidelity 3D animation. The exploits of the titular Roger Rabbit, his wife Jessica Rabbit and the Private Dick Eddie Valiant made a fantastic movie, and one which has stood the test of time. It gained wide critical success at the time of release and has kept a strong fan-base over the years.
Likelihood of sequel: In the years since the release there have been talks of sequels, with original Director Rob Zemeckis revealing in 2009 that he was still interested in the idea. Unfortunately Bob Hoskins who played Eddie Valiant has retired from acting after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2010. Latest word is that a prequel is set to be developed with the original writers and creative team, so fingers crossed we get to see more of Roger soon.
6. Super Troopers (2001)
When comedy group Broken Lizard released Super Troopers in 2001 it was not received well by most critics. It has, in fact, a 35% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audience members however, seem to love it, and in my opinion, rightfully so. The antics of the group as they uncover a drug smuggling ring and the conspiracy around it provide ample laughs. And who could forget Rodney Farva, the Trooper with anger issues, and the famous Litre-o-Cola scene.
Likelihood of sequel: Out of all the films on this list it seems that Super Troopers 2 is the most likely to be made, with various scripts being written and all of the team on board trying to make it happen. I’d rather not wait any longer, and it would be nice if I could watch it right meow (see what I did there??).
5. Wanted (2008)
Wanted provided a fast paced thrill ride that offered audiences something different to the action movies that had come out of late. Adapted from a miniseries of comic books by Mark Miller (also responsible for Kick Ass) the story followed Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) as he is inducted into the Fraternity, a secret assassin guild. Nominated by the Academy for its Sound Editing and Mixing, Wanted is also known for creative fight sequences, and the infamous “bullet bending” that takes place in the film. It’s like The Matrix, without all of the confusion.
Likelihood of sequel: The possibility of a sequel has been kicking around for quite some time, and seems to be in development hell. *Spoiler Alert* With the death of Jolie and Freeman’s character in the first movie, it seems Hollywood is reluctant to give the film a sequel. Also, the film adapted the whole of Millar’s miniseries in one hit, so whatever they do come up with will be completely original material.
4. Unbreakable (2000)
A completely original superhero origin story, M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable was a complete surprise when it came out. Remember, this was released before the pre-Spiderman renaissance of superhero films. Starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Motherf*~king Jackson we were taken for a more “realistic” version of a superhero story. Quentin Tarantino himself put it “what if Superman was here on earth, and didn’t know he was Superman?”
Likelihood of sequel: Although the script was specifically written to parallel a comic book’s traditional three-part story structure, it seems that we may never get a true sequel to this film. While all the players generally seem to be in favour of creating another film at varying times, it just does not seem to gel together. Shyamalan himself is now insistent he will not be a part of it again.
3. Master and Commander: Far Side of The World (2003)
Master and Commander: Far Side of the World starred Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany in a supporting role as the Captains friend and ship doctor Stephen Maturin. This epic 138 minute adventure is a realistic depiction of naval warfare circa 1805. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, and while it won Best Cinematography and Best Sound Editing, it was beaten by a little epic movie that was also released, known as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
Likelihood of sequel: There is, in fact, plenty of material to draw from in order to create a sequel to the film. The film was adapted from 3 books within a volume of 20 novels! Even Russell Crowe himself is keen to create another sequel; in December 2010 he launched an appeal on Twitter to get the sequel made: “If you want a Master and Commander sequel I suggest you e-mail Tom Rothman at Fox and let him know your thoughts”. Might just have to do that–
2. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut will be fondly remembered amongst my generation as the movie which opened us to an entire new world of comedy. Much like the television show, its use of profanities and musical segments only heightened the films impact. It was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, “Blame Canada”.
Likelihood of sequel: The exploits of Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman have kept us entertained for 15 years of television, and it is about time for another feature film from geniuses Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Parker and Stone stated in a 2008 interview that a theatrically released sequel would most likely be what concludes the series. So we may yet get our wish, although it will most definitely be bittersweet.
1. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
THIS is the movie I want made into a sequel the most. Why? Mainly because of that 2012 Super Bowl Commercial, which had to be the biggest tease– and still showed that Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) could still be relevant as a 40-something year old man. The original film follows high school senior Ferris, who skips school and spends the day in downtown Chicago. Accompanied by his girlfriend Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and his best friend Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), he creatively avoids his school’s Dean of Students Edward Rooney, his resentful sister Jeanie, and his parents. Writer, Director and Producer John Hughes unfortunately passed away in 2009, but managed to create a masterpiece that examines freedom and happiness versus order and depression.
Likelihood of sequel: I’ll leave it up to Alan Ruck himself to describe what would be the ultimate sequel:
“I used to think why don’t they wait until Matthew and I are in our seventies and do Ferris Bueller Returns and have Cameron be in a nursing home. He doesn’t really need to be there, but he just decided his life is over, so he committed himself to a nursing home. And Ferris comes and breaks him out. And they go to, like, a titty bar and all this ridiculous stuff happens.”
– A.C.
