It’s no secret thatHollywood loves making franchises. Nothing pleases studio executives more than pumping out sequels and capitalizing on a film’s success, milking that cash cow for as long as they possibly can. But a sequel isn’t guaranteed to surpass, or even to match, the previous film’s critical and commercial performance. Some sequels are nothing more than reiterations of the original (we’re looking at youForce Awakens), boring copycats that bring nothing new or fresh to the story. Others are weak additions that do nothing to improve upon its predecessor and hurt the series more than help it. In either case, these awful sequels end up sinking the franchise that they were meant to grow.
But rather than let the franchise drown, producers try reviving it with yetanothersequel. These additions attempt to course-correct the storyline – and in doing so, they ignore their previous films. They overlook mishaps and neglect major plots and characters, or they ignore the entire film altogether, as if they never happened at all. Here are ten films that purposely forgot about their predecessor – and tried making us forget about them, too.
10Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
As the first Hollywood blockbuster,Jawsforever changed the scope of filmmaking. For better or worse, movies likeJawsare the reason we have big budget franchises. The original film established its own series, producing three sequels. But much likeJurassic Park,no sequel could ever capture the first film’s magic. The third movie,Jaws 3-D,utilized 3D technology and takes us away from the fictional beach town of Amity Island and into Florida’s Sea World. That’s right, Sea World. Despite its commercial success, audiences and critics hated it. And apparently, so did the producers.
The sequel,Jaws: The Revenge, completely ignores its predecessor’s existence. Several major plot elements fromJaws 3-Dare omitted, such a character’s love interest or his work and time at SeaWorld. Even a press release forJaws: The Revengerefers to it as the “thirdfilm of the remarkableJawstrilogy.” But this shift still couldn’t saveJawsfrom sinking. This 1987 flick turned out to be the lowest grossing and most critically reviled movie in the franchise (it has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes). Andthe once popularJawsserieshas been dead in the water ever since.
9Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
It’s been a roller coaster ride for theTerminatorfranchise. The first two films were monumental successes, especiallyTerminator 2: Judgment Day,while the next two sequels were underwhelming. The series was rebooted withTerminator Genisys,but itsdisappointingbox office numbers killed any plans for a sequel. James Cameron, who wrote and directed the first two films, was brought back as a producer to try and save the franchise. His idea forTerminator: Dark Fatewas to continue the original storylinewhile ignoring its third and fourth movies and also, of course, its reboot.
Dark Fateis a direct sequel toJudgment Dayand brings back several iconic characters and actors, including Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But unfortunately, the damage to this franchise was already done. Despite decent reviews from critics, viewers were tired of all the back and forth with this series.Dark Fatewas a box office catastrophe, resulting inone of the worst bombs in cinematic history. There are currently no plans for anotherTerminatormovie.
8Scary Movie 2 (2001)
This one is more of a joke compared to the other entries on this list. But still, it works. The originalScary Moviewas a hit back in 2000 and birthed four sequels and some parody spin-offs, likeNot Another Teen MovieandEpic Movie. A spoof of mostly iconic horror films,Scary Moviehumorously kills off most of its main characters. In the very last scene, while screaming at the heavens, main character Cindy (Anna Faris) gets absolutely demolished by a car.Scary Movie 2brings back much of the cast, who all play the same characters from the previous film. There’s no explanation as to why these characters are alive when they were so clearly dead inScary Movie.And the whereabouts of the first movie’s villain, the brilliant and deceitful Officer Doofy (Dave Sheridan), are never addressed. But this lack of acknowledgment just makesScary Movie 2even funnier.
Related:Scary Movie 2: Every Horror Movie Parodied in the Film
1981’sThe Evil Deadis a small, independent horror film that birthed the popular franchise andlaunched the illustrious career of director Sam Raimi.Evil Dead 2is meant to be a sequel but feels more like a remake. It begins with a recap of the previous film, and yet it ignores and also changes numerous plot lines and events fromThe Evil Dead.Many characters are inexplicably missing,and the cabin and the Book of the Dead are seemingly discovered for the first time, even though they had already been found in the previous film. As it turns out, there’s a reason for this. Raimi didn’t have the rights to re-use footage from the original movie. He was forced to re-shoot scenes and made various changes along the way. Despite this funky approach,Evil Dead 2was well-received by critics and audiences and is considered better than its predecessor.
6Jurassic World (2015)
Between its ground-breaking visual effects, iconic score, and stellar filmmaking,Jurassic Parkis one of the greatest films ever made. It’s the movie that brought dinosaurs back to life. Since 1993, Hollywood has beentrying to recapture the magic of the original film. But each sequel has been worse than the last and has felt more like an action blockbuster than a sci-fi masterpiece.
When a fourth movie,Jurassic World, was announced, fans were thrilled to see that the park was actually open to the public – but were also confused as to how this could be possible. You go into the film waiting for this explanation, but it never really comes. The movie acknowledges the events ofJurassic Parkbut never explains how investors, lawyers, and the overall world were able to overlook Jurassic Park’s massacre. Regardless,Jurassic Worldserves as a direct sequel toJurassic Park,completely ignoring the existence ofThe Lost World: Jurassic Parkand Jurassic Park III.
Related:Will We See Another Jurassic Park Movie (And Should We)?
5Rocky Balboa (2006)
Rocky Balboa is arguably the most legendary sports figure in movie history. Created and played by Sylvester Stallone, Rocky is the star of his own series, which produced fivefilms over an 11-year period. The fifth movie, aptly namedRocky V,was a critical and commercial disappointment and is widely regarded as the worst installment in theRockyfranchise. One of this film’s major plot lines is Rocky’s diagnosis of cavum septum pellucidum, a lethal form of brain damage (a medical inaccuracy) that forces Rocky into early retirement.
BetweenRocky V’sunderwhelming box office numbers and the character’s brain damage, theRockyfranchise seemed to be over. Until a sixth film,Rocky Balboa,came out 16 years later. This film places the 60-year-old Italian Stallion back into the boxing ring. “But wait, what about Rocky’s lethal brain damage?” you may ask. Well,Rocky Balboaignores that diagnosis completely and never even addresses it. And it worked. The film received positive reviews and revived Rocky instead of killing him, which ultimatelycleared the way for theCreedfranchise.
4X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
TheX-Menseries was off to a hot start with its first two movies in the early 2000s.ButX-Men 3: The Last Standkilled the franchise’s momentum with its cluttered story and haphazard disposal of major characters. The series was rebooted in 2011 withX-Men: First Class,which focused on the mutant team’sfounding.X Men: Days of Future Pastwas its sequel while also serving as a direct sequel toX-Men 3: The Last Stand.This movie juggles the stories and timelines from each series, retconningFirst Classinto a prequel of the original film.And in doing so, it completely ignoresX-Men 3’sexistence. Every major character that was killed off inThe Last Standreturns inDays of Future Pastwith no explanation. This would normally be a bundle of confusion, but in this case, theX-Menfranchise was better off for it.X Men: Days of Future Pastis arguably the best film in theX-Menseries, much better than the now negatedX-Men 3.
3Superman Returns (2006)
TheSupermanfranchise starring Christopher Reeve was a massive hit in the late 70s and early 80s. At least, it was for the first two movies. The last two films,Superman IIIandSuperman IV: The Quest for Peace, were negatively received by critics and audiences. They were lambasted for their poor visual effects, campy tone, and plot holes and basically ended the franchise. It would be 19 years before audiences got to see Superman soar through the skies again.
2006’sSuperman Returnsattempted to revive the Christopher Reeve series while casting a new face, Brandon Routh, as its iconic hero.Superman Returnsignores not just one but two previous films and takes place afterSuperman II.It was meant to be the first in a new batch of Superman sequels. But despite its best efforts,Superman Returnsunderperformed at the worldwide box office. Thisscrapped the plans for Brandon Routh’s Superman, paving the way for yet another Superman and a brand-new franchise with Henry Cavill.
Related:Superman: Legacy: How the Film Should Differ From Man of Steel
2Halloween (2018)
Thanks to its iconic masked killer Michael Myers,Halloweenis one of the most popular horror series ever. It’s hard to keep track ofthe movies in this franchiseand how they all fit together. 2018’sHalloweenwas a direct sequel to the 1978 original. This approach ignored not one, not three, not even five movies. It disregarded the events of the lastninefilms in the series. It was basically a semi-reboot that produced a trilogy of its own. 2018’sHalloweenbrought back Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode and takes place forty years after the original, pitting her once again against the psychotic Michael Myers.
Related:Explained: How Are Legacy Sequels Paving the Future of Horror
1I Am Legend 2
I Am Legend 2isn’t even out yet, but it’s already worthy of this list. Despite veering from its source material,I Am Legendwas a box office smash back in 2007. It follows Robert Neville (Will Smith), who’s seemingly the last person alive in the wake of a viral apocalypse. The movie ends with Neville sacrificing himself (although did he really have to do that?) to save the virus' antidote. So people were confused when it was announced that there’d be a sequel toI Am Legend.Apparently,this new movie will follow the original film’salternate ending. You know, the ending thatwasn’tused in the movie that most people have never seen. Despite being a sequel,I Am Legend 2completely ignores the ending of the previous film, which is a weird approach for a second installment.
