I still hold out hope that a sequel movie will come out before the end of the decade. But from what I've seen of articles being written, a TV show is more likely than a movie. And I'm all for it. #HBOgetonit
I agree, it was a good movie, hopefully it does not get destroyed with sequels
I'm also surprised that the Terminator series never got a third instalment. Or Aliens, for that matter.
I was really sad about the Aliens franchise ending after two movies. I was really looking forward to seeing what Newt, Ripley, and Hicks got up to in the next installment.
I heard some asshole was peddling a script that killed off Newt and Hicks in the first 2 minutes. Luckily they burned it...
Michael Biehn is a favorite of mine
"Not like this" intensifies with every sequel
Shame, that
No kidding. Same way I feel about Bill and Ted. Oddly, bot have Keanu.
Constantine. Keanu Reeves has said he would like to do it, and there is a ton of story material to draw from between the Constantine series and all of the Hellblazers, not to mention cameos in other series.
Apparently they are working on a part 2. Peter stormare is confirmed to return as well.
Heck yes!
Ok, now I am interested.
Edge of Tomorrow. Not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but that one really gets me. Emily Blunt is awesome in it. Went in not expecting much, but I was blown away.
Watched it last year and immediately searched to see if there was sequel in the pipe. Development hell.
I would love more, but how? It was a rather self contained story.
In the book there are some references to Rita (Emily Blunt) fighting in various places and I think her getting her start in South America. Might be remembering that one wrong, but a prequel with her learning how to fight the monsters would have been good if they stuck more to the book.
Wrap a much larger time loop around the first movie.
The Fifth Element
I'm glad it didn't get a sequel because it is such a good stand alone movie. I'm just shocked the studio didn't try to milk it for everything it had.
It was a European production. We don't do it that way.
The Transporter intensifies
Ironically, Luc Besson himself made two sequels to Arthur and the Invisibles, both novels and films.
It was good. It was written by Douglas Adams. He also wrote screenplays for the next 2 books to be made into movies.
And despite it making a couple million more than it cost, the first one was considered a flop. :(
Thay movie was awful. As a huge fan of the series, I don't know how anyone can watch it and understand the plot without being familiar with it beforehand.
The BBC series is much better, and goes up to Book 3 iirc.
I disagree. I loved the film. I remember it fondly.
Do you like the books? I find that people who like or have read the books tend not to like the movie and vice versa. I do not like the books.
I personally enjoyed the movie, the books, and the BBC series.
Yeah the way I see it is that even Douglas himself didn't quite have a single vision in his mind about the story, which is why there are so many iterations (radio, book, movie, tv series, musical? Am I forgetting anything?)
There was a text adventure game as well.
The books, game, BBC radio series, BBC television series, and film were all written by Adams, each with slightly independent canon.
And a towel.
The funny thing about THHGttG is that it exists several times simultaneously with wildly different canons. The original BBC radio show was the original, then they did the TV miniseries with much of the same talent (Mostly replacing Susan Sheridan with Sandra Dickenson as Trillian), THEN the book pentology, THEN the 2005 movie. They all start pretty similarly with Arthur's house and the pub and the Vogons, but then they go into all kinds of different directions in different orders.
For me personally, the plot doesn't matter all that much anyway. What I love is Douglas Adams' prose - the plot's mostly just a vehicle for that - and I feel that doesn't really translate to film. The perfect example:
The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.
It's funny. It's succinct. It's very descriptive. It doesn't just tell you that the ships were hovering, it draws comparison to bricks which conjures up images of blocky, inelegant ships, and it gives the impression that the way they're just stationary in the sky is somewhat unsettling or surreal. I think it's quite impressive how much such a short sentence manages to convey really!
Translating it to film, and having shot of some blocky, inelegant ships hanging in the sky, doesn't manage to capture the same humour or feeling that that short sentence in the book does, at least for me. And it's the same throughout the whole series, but that line is probably the easiest example to bring up. Some books translate really well to film and the imagery in the film ends up being far better than what I could imagine myself on the fly, but that's not the case with Hitchhiker's Guide at all.
The Hitchhiker's Guide radio series has a fair amount of narration so the prose still shines through in that.
I had similar issues with the various Dirk Gently adaptations, too. And I find I have the same issue with screen adaptations of Terry Pratchett's work for similar reasons. Without Adams' or Pratchett's wonderful prose, it often tends to feel very B-movie-esque to me.
Agreed. Second-worst date movie ever. She was shellshocked and missed all the humour cues.
Agreed, I fell asleep. In a movie theater.
It was ok. Didn't understand the side story with John Malkovich at all, pointless. And Zoey Deschanel was terrible as Trillen, like criminally awful at the role to the point she ruined it for me. Sam Rockwell was perfect casting though, same with mos Def and Martin Freeman
Sam Rockwell is cast perfectly in just about everything. Phenomenal actor. Kinda surprised we don’t see him more.
I'm surprised it's never been made into a decent TV show. The entire thing has already been made into half-hour radio shows, so the scripts are there and road tested. It's basically halfway done already.
I’m not necessarily surprised this one didn’t get a sequel, but I really wish it had!
Event Horizon (1997)
I like the fan theory that Event Horizon is a prequel of sorts to the Warhammer universe.
Oh, I’ve never heard that, I’ll have to look it up!
The theory is basically that in 40k ftl works by sending the ship through the warp (hell). Humans use a Gellar field to keep a bubble of reality around the ship while in the warp. The theory is this is humanities firstf tll so they don't know they need a Gellar field.
It's fun but other then the ftl is hell doesn't fit at all with the rest of 40k lore.
Apparently there was a directors cut that got lost somehow...
It was apparently too intense for test audiences, and this was in the pre-DVD-special-features era when no one bothered to keep cut footage. Maybe they cut too much. I watched it recently because I had heard fantastic things and I was just... generally unimpressed. It was an interesting concept that really wasn't very well explored, and the writing was so stiff.
Master and Commander. It's atmospheric and fun, and I'm sad they didn't make more with that cast.
I read something about that a while ago. If I recall correctly, it was intended to be a franchise, but Master and Commander was so incredibly expensive that they decided against it.
I really liked the books. I thought the movie was good, but it didn't scratch the same itch the books did.
I'd love to see them make the books into a series of movies like with Sharpe or Hornblower.
Favourite movie of all time!
In 2021 there was some planning/writing done for a prequel, but I don't think anything came of it.
That film is having a bit of a cultural comeback, so there's still hope.
That's good to hear. I haven't read any of the books (not my preferred literary genre) so I didn't have a preconception of the Aubrey character. This sadly left me loving Russell Crow as Aubrey, and I'll have a hard time with anyone else playing him. Crow is 59, now; he might still be able to get away with it.
And there's a whole bunch of more books to be adapted. That movie was so perfectly done I wish it had worked enough to allow a whole series of sequels.
Yeah but the director got distracted by making other movies.
District 9 could easily have a couple seasons of a series on Netflix.
Hell yea! I loved the worldbuilding of that movie. Give me more!
This is the one I'm most disappointed by. I would love to know what happened to Wikus.
Exactly! Or was the goal of the aliens to convert all of the earth’s bio mass into more prawns but there was a screw up and no queen caste was present?
Really? The movie was the handout for the people who were pissed the series didn’t last longer. Asking for a second movie is a nonstarter, even if the first was good.
Wouldn't watch anything from Joss at this point anyways. 10 years ago I would have been all over a Firefly reboot or another movie, but Joss kinda dug his own grave on that by being a total piece of shit. And then after rewatching Buffy/ Angel, and Firefly so many times I realized that they are just the same stories and same characters with some different actors.
Serenity was the best thing Joss ever wrote and it was essentially a pity fuck.
Which, honestly, to be 100 percent honest, it wasn't. I hated the movie. I understand its my fatal flaw, but I look at works holistically. One of the things that got me into firefly was it's pacing; the promise that everything was going to have room to breathe. I would rather just have the first season; the movie crammed plot threads and character arcs meant to sustain an entire 5 season series into a 2 hour movie. Except its worse, because I got to see what the slow burn was like.
Alita: Battle Angel. I've heard there is a sequel planned, but it's been a few years since the first movie. James Cameron is still involved as a producer, but I guess his blue-skinned money machine has kept him busy lately.
it took ten years for avatar to get one
And he'd been working on it through that period, too — whereas poor Alita ain't getting that same treatment. 🥹
I think Alita is the better movie, honestly
The manga is leagues beyond both. 🤗
Still waiting for the Zootopia sequel. Genuinely good and creative movie that used the format to talk about tricky topics with some cushion and then became a cult favorite. They added some extra stuff under Zootopia+, they tee'd up the buddy cop format, did all this world building and then... what, Disney, this is the one IP you're not going to squeeze for all its worth? Where's the next one?
Adventures of Tintin. Peter Jackson was supposed to direct it, but unfortunately he got busy with Hobbit.
Apparently they were supposed to adapt Prisoners of the Sun, which is arguably the best Tintin storyline to make a movie of.
I would love to see a sequel. I really enjoy that movie. One of the few I like to rewatch.
Pacific Rim, such a great fun mechs vs monsters movie that had a gritty feeling to it. Not over the top fantastical bullshit with flips or garish colors, just solid, slow, huge mechs fighting solid, slowish, sea monsters.
yeah, it was one of those movies that I think was ruined by the advertising. All the adverts at the time tried to make it seems like a star wars rip off, when it wasn't anything like star wars really.
John Carter inspired the inspirations for Star Wars, including Dune. Heck, if they had advertised it as the story that inspired [list of movies] it would have gone a long way in making it clear that it wasn't a ripoff.
Working out the numbers on IMDB, the estimated budget was $250,000,000. Gross worldwide: $284,139,100. Total from these numbers: $34,139,100.
The number(s) that are not represented, is how much Disney spent to market the movie. And since it was supposed to be their latest tentpole movie franchise, they must have spent the same amount they did on production (and perhaps more,) to market it. This means that Disney might have put $500 million or more into the whole project. Then they would have lost $215,860,900 or more.
Man of Steel. It was a shot in the arm for DC movies, and the Superman character in film. Why they didnt follow up with a direct sequel, and instead released that dumpster fire Batman v Superman instead, I will never understand.
They wanted their own marvel cinematic universe
You'd think after the second or third time they tried to skip a rung on the ladder and smacked their face in humiliation they would have learned. At least it seems they've learned now and put people who actually understand story in charge rather than people who just chase box office numbers.
I will forever be mad about that. I was defending Man of Steel, while others shit talked it. I thought it was a great beginning for a Superman franchise. Sure he killed Zod, but imagine how this will change Superman to never want to kill again? But they never went back to do a solo Superman movie. Poor Caville was shafted hard by WB suits who wanted their own Marvel franchise.
DC tried launching into their own DCU way too fast. Whereas Marvel setup most of the major characters beforehand and let it simmer for a little bit before jumping into the ensemble movies, DC just tried jumping right into their cinematic universe. DC just can't seem to do anything right when it comes to their movies unless by accident (or if it's an animated movie). Maybe James Gunn will be able to turn it around and put together something cohesive, but it's hard to tell where anything starts or stops with DC now, it just feels like a convoluted mess. Plus, the whole superhero movie trend may be dying out anyways thanks to Disney's/Marvel's lazy writing.
Princess Bride
I always thought a sequel where the roles are reversed and Fred Savage is reading to an ailing Peter Faulk would have been a great way to start a sequel.
The prince's bride?
The prince's groom*
Ha…I don’t think Peter Faulk was around for Fred Savage to grow up, sadly. Not the most healthy guy.
Edit: damn.
Fred Savage was 35 years old when Peter Falk died in 2011. He was 83 at that time. Poor dude had Alzheimer's for those last few years.
They could've definitely filmed a reunion scene in the 90s, early 2000s though.
Wow for some reason I though he died in the 90s
TRON: Legacy
Should have made the sequel before Daft Punk retired
I'm also surprised that Tron didn't get two more movies. It seemed like it had a good start with the reboot.
For what it's worth, I've heard good things about the animation TV show that ran for 19 episodes. Tron: Uprising
I enjoyed uprising. It deserved a sequel too though, and was clearly leading to things it didn't get to wrap up sadly. Well worth watching anyway though.
I'd like to see a miniseries based off TRON 2.0.
It was so boring and uninspired. Reminiscence - The movie. Just regurgitating everything we saw in the original.
I found it strange that the modern TRON felt so much more lifeless and drab than the original's, given the limitations on the original's technology. The worldbuilding was flatter, the characters were extra flatter, and the villain's plan didn't make any sense.
I almost wish he'd succeeded so that we could have seen Clu's giant digital aircraft carrier trying to squeeze through that laser emitter and cram itself into the basement of an abandoned arcade. Either it would wreck itself instantly or it'd come out as a wee little tiny thing, equally amusing outcomes.
Sometimes I feel like the only person on the planet that enjoyed the movie. It's my guilty pleasure watch.
I mean, everyone's entitled to their own tastes. I've got my own guilty pleasures that I can readily admit aren't widely liked - the old TV series "Lexx", for example. Whenever I talk about that one I open with "Let me be clear that I'm not actually recommending this." :)
Such a great movie that should've launched at least a trilogy, it was so much better than the Stalone movie, it kept the stakes relatively low, just a day-in-the-life sort of story, but did some great world-building. No "end of the world" stakes or anything silly, just some Judges trying to clear out a building, one apartment building in a mega-city.
Just an apropos of that, I'm at dinner with friends and one of them says that I had bad tastes in movies. His example of that was that I liked Dredd. I think the entire table turned on him at that point. I think that he said that The Raid did it better. I was like ... they're just different movies to me ... I LOVE The Raid. That being said, I really enjoyed Dredd. It's a damned tragedy Karl Urban didn't get to reprise the role.
The Rock. It would have been very easy to set up another terrorist attack that is tied to Mason’s spy past. Goodspeed is the only one who knows Mason is alive and where to find him. Would have been an easy hit.
A prequel would be neat too.
I was going to say "How the hell didn't Hunt for Red October" get a sequel?" But today I learned it sort of did; they've made like four other movies in the Clancy cinematic universe.
How about Galaxy Quest? I'm surprised they haven't made a Galaxy Quest sequel. Not because I think it needs one, but because it was a very popular and well received movie with stuff to talk about.
Kung Pow.
The first one even had a trailer during the credits.
Last time I checked they were searching for a film to repurpose into a sequel.
Some say they're still searching.
They repurposed some deleted scenes for that montage. You can see them on the DVD.
Serenity
😭☠️
idk bout you but to me it felt like Serenity was the sequel to the series, meant to wrap things up.
I agree. It felt like a finale.
There are current rumors about Disney rebooting this, though I can say nothing of their veracity.
I doubt they could put together a cast that would have the chemistry that the original one had…
The Adventures of Buckeroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
I even wouldn't mind a reboot, except that they'd never allow it to be as committedly wierd as the original... which was why it was so great. It'd be sad to see a modern Hollywood vision treatment of the comics.
John Lithgow should also play a role in it again. He totally made the movie awesome.
Jeff Goldblum playing one of the least eccentric characters in the film was also great.
Well if we're going this route I would like to add in Kung Pow. I would've loved to see the sequel they teased at the end.
According to the director there were never plans for a sequel. It was just a joke he added to the end.
This. This is what I was looking for before I posted.
Just rewatched this one a few days ago. Still so much fun! And it's even got a sequel tease at the end, title and everything. :(
remo williams was a decent, entertaining movie that flopped in theaters. a tv pilot was also produced, and but didn't lead to a series order.
based on the popular the destroyer series of novels (of which there is now over 150 published), it had huge potential.
not all that 'surprising' given its lackluster performance at the box office, more a 'disappointment'.. although hollywood has made far worse.
What in the world. You just gave me a flashback of remembering seeing the video cover at the VHS rental place when I was a small kid and thinking that movie looked super cool. Never ended up seeing it though.
it's on freevee (amazon) and tubi right now.
Man I came here to say that. With a subtitle like "The Adventure Begins" it really does beg for a sequel. It's a fun little movie.
I'm almost certain there was more than one episode of Remo Williams. But all I can remember is Roddy McDowall as a martial arts guru of some sort, and Remo using the spray from a water hose to get off the roof of a building.
This thread needs more explanations than just straight responses.
Anyways, I will say that the most surprising to me was Dredd. I mean, I shouldn't really be surprised because it didn't do well in the Box Office, but it was just so awesome. Was such a great movie all around and I really wanted to learn more about that world.
Ah, but Urban did get a chance to reprise that character, IMHO: Chronicles of Riddick. In my head canon, his Dredd was the younger version of his Necromonger in CoR. 🤌🏼 (In much the same way that Ras Al'ghul's origin story was the flick The Grey.)
I'd be all about a prequel series for Morgan Freeman's character in Se7en. Only if David Fincher returned to direct through.
Elf.
I know Will turned down an obscene amount of money for it, and it was prolly the right decision, but I'm still surprised a sequel never got made given how popular Elf continues to be.
Because they saw the Mask, and knew that changing the cast would be changing the major thing it has going for it.
Nightmare Before Christmas. Not that I want a sequel, mind you, but it is Disney we’re talking about here. It’s like a to tobacco addict turning down one specific brand of cigarettes.
Back when it came out in theaters it was... underwelming. I remember going to the theater to see it. I left kinda wondering if it was good or just dreck. Pretty sure it did poorly in the theater and just limped along on video for a while until much later on, when it became a Christmas tradition.
Now... I'm glad they never brought it back or did spinoffs or anything else. I'm not sure who to thank, but "thank you".
I wouldn't be surprised if Tim Burton has more to do with that than Disney. He doesn't seem to make sequels.
They probably have something planned once the merchandise numbers go below a certain number. Until then, they are fine selling Jack Skellington shirts at Hot Topic without a new movie.
Alita: Battle Angel
That has been on the roadmap from the very beginning though, and they will allegedly start production in 2024.
Speed Racer. Loved the silliness and the love and passion the film had. Unfortunately I believe to much time has passed, the cast must have aged. But so glad we had the best racing movie in my opinion, had so much heart and car-fu
I loved the movie but I think the studio lost their asses on it financially.
I stayed away when it was in the theaters, then saw that it was on Netflix and figured I'd give it a chance.
So ridiculously good.
that movie was one of the first movies i remember crying at. along with monsters inc
Buckaroo Bonsai
The end credits talk of a sequel, “Buckaroo Bonzai against the World Crime League” - that script ended up being repurposed into “Big Trouble in Little China”
*Banzai. Bonsai is a tree.
John Dies at the End
They have the books and all, just make it.
They'd need to start completely fresh with JDATE, because the existing movie clearly ran out of money like 40 minutes in.
I'd like to see it as a streaming series, personally, with Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits as a movie franchise.
Commenting to take notes of movies that weren't ruined by useless sequels.
I wasn't really surprised it didn't get a sequel but
I remember that "The golden compass" was made to have sequels from the get go and i think even ended with a cliffhanger, or maybe not. I juste remember feeling like the story was cut short.
I didn't feel this with the Harry potter movies despite being another adaptation of a book, so they probably screwed up.
His dark materials on HBO
thanks. The "on HBO" made me miss the feeling of trying to catch the episodes of my favorite shows on tv when kid. I rarely would , but it was an adventure.
It's based on the first book of a trilogy, the series is called His Dark Materials, and was a fucking travesty of a film adaptation. I'm honestly glad they didn't go forward with the rest, I doubt they would have handled the other two any better.
I can't speak on Amazons attempt, haven't gotten around to it yet, but can recommend the books. They're a good read.
HBO did a decent job of the TV adaption
The books were so good! My whole family plowed through them. Movie/tv had none of the......page turning excitement of Philip Pullman's books.
His dark Materials? Now, that's a catchy name.
I really liked the world shown in the movie so will certainly give it a read.
BBC/HBO did a TV adaptation of the full series, aptly called "His Dark Materials". I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the books, but it was a good adaptation (and much better than The Golden Compass).
The books won a bunch of awards and were very well received when they released. The first one, Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in the US) came out in 1995 so it was fairly popular for a few years as the "premier" young adult novel, but it ended up being dwarfed in popularity by Harry Potter once that released (as did, well, everything else on the planet).
I think the books were a little less popular and well-received in America. In part because Philip Pullman is a British author, so obviously he got more attention here in the UK. But also, quite a few Christian groups - particularly in America because, let's be honest, most evangelical Christian groups are American - took issue with His Dark Materials' world and themes. It doesn't paint the church in a good light at all, and the series' God analogue, The Authority, is pretty tyrannical. Although, funnily enough, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was one of the biggest supporters of the series - he felt it basically highlighted the dangers of dogmatism and attacked the ways religion could be used to oppress rather than Christianity itself - so obviously not all Christians were offended by the series.
Anyway, yes! Not only is the world fantastic (and it only gets more interesting and wild as the series goes on) but it also handles the characters really well. The way it handles the main characters - children who age into teenagers throughout the series - developing feelings for each other and discovering sexuality was done in a really thoughtful and age-appropriate way (for the characters and the audience). It addresses some interesting philosophical concepts, too, including some religious ones - I'd say the spirit, the body and the soul is a pretty key theme throughout, albeit not necessarily in the same way Christianity approaches it
I'd start by reading the books - Northern Lights/The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - and then watch the TV series. He's also written other books in the world - some novellas, and (currently) two out of three books in a second trilogy called "The Book Of Dust".
Well said! I read the books long before the first movie, and have seen all the screen adaptations, and pretty much agree with you. Hell, my 12 year old Border Collie is named Lyra! However, I actually mostly enjoyed HBOs TV series, even with all the changes and such, which i was expecting because it was a screen adaptation. Didn’t much care for the new characters, but i was able to get over it because of all the other parts that were well done. They did a great job appropriately making you dislike Ms. Coulter!
I forgot all about the newer books, though! Thanks for the reminder!
I was already convinced but you're review was a very interesting read. Thanks !
I read Lyra's Oxford but there were more?
Also, you talk about "themes and world building not paining the church in a good light", and I am just here to say, that's a hell of an understatement. The primary mythic fantasy war is about a guy going to war with God. Capitol 'G' god the father God. In the end,
::: spoiler spoiler
"God" is revealed to the a senile old angel. He also lied about creating anything; he just spawned from the dust first. The war in heaven was really about if they should let him die, or maintain the illusion.
:::
I believe I read somewhere Philip Pullman intended to create the anti Narnia.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Taye Diggs poking MILFs back to health could have become annual event theater like Fast and the Furious.
I say first week in October. The leaves are changing. Pumpkin spice is back. Every mom in America would buy new shoes and be there in an outfit she’d been mentally choosing for 4 months.
Unnnng. You've put some thought into this. First week of October is perfect milfs-in-our-prime weather. Kids have been back in school for a few weeks? We're finally catching our breath, perfect time for a little "me-time" matinee.
"In 1915, Don Juan, Elizabeth, their dog Smile, and their pet mice Top Connors and Ronnie, are tasked by the U.S. Navy to explore the ocean depths in search for the wreck of the Titanic."
Kung Fury has a sequel and it's been finished for several years, I'm just suprised the damn movie hasn't released yet. They were suing some company because they were owed money by them but that's settled now and we have no word as to why it's not out yet.
I didn't know it was done. I can't wait for the sequel
ITT: Medium confidence password reset question answers.
The Last Starfighter
It was a really cool movie that I think fondly of from my childhood. There’s been a “potential sequel” in the works for like 15 years.
Yeah it just didn't do well at the box office, although it got a cult following later.
I watched it a couple years ago. It actually aged well for a mid 80's sci-fi...
Watchmen. The series just wasn't as good. But Watchmen the movie, is one of my favorite superheroes movie of all time. Dark and funny.
The comic is a self contained story. That's why. Funny enough too the show is not a sequel to the movie, but to the comic.
The better the film is, the less likely it gets a sequel. (Or an Oscar.)
Blade Runner, for example. Released in 1982. Oh sure, it got one in 2015 ... because the slo-mo's had 33 years to catch up. And half the original audience was no longer around to mock it.
Yeah, where's "The Real Rock'n'rolla" we were promised?
The cell should have gotten a sequel
if a movie didn't get a sequel it is either the greates masterpiece ever made or so unbelievably bad no one tried to save the idea. so i'm fine with pretty much any movie not getting a sequel. but i do wonder why star wars visions never went anywhere (technically not a movie but a series)
it is either the greates masterpiece ever made
Sorry to say that Mean Girls did in fact get a sequel
Not necessarily a sequel but kinda surprised they didn't make a prequel to coraline
R.O.T.O.R. they teases the sequel at the end, but I guess it'll never happen.
Push
Cloverfield
Had two, third was shit. But they were more same universe(s), not same story.
God I love 10 Cloverfield Lane. Brilliant film. Jaw-dropping performance from John Goodman.
Yeah he was brilliant, probably one of the most underrated villains in film.
I thought they were more of a multiverse vibe/anthology, tied together with the common thread of alien monsters. apparently though an actual sequel for the first film is in development
It had sequels, they just weren’t anything like the original film.
based on the ending of the movie, Tom Jane being tried for a multiple homicide I guess. my understanding is the book ends with them just driving into the mist so maybe, uh, them hitting a large boulder the size of a small bolder.
I was thinking a medium boulder.
Just a 2 hour uninterrupted grief shot in the car until the final suicide.
I'm late to the party here, but since I didn't see it mention elsewhere, I'll throw up unbreakable with Bruce Willis. given his health conditions, it won't happen with him but it might be able to happen with somebody else in his place.
I feel like that movie established some solid characters and a somewhat unique case of the every man turned superhero. The whole idea of him just being able to touch someone and then get a glimpse into their hidden life was really cool. Plus there was the relationship with his son, bad guy suffering from that brittle bone disease to contrast with Bruce Willis's character being, well, unbreakable. it was a good setup I thought for a whole series of films.
Either that or it’s a good faith question that I’m worried will be scraped by some desperate studio that will then force feed us a Netflix algorithm style “please everyone until the film means nothing” movie lol
Dredd with Karl Urban
I still hold out hope that a sequel movie will come out before the end of the decade. But from what I've seen of articles being written, a TV show is more likely than a movie. And I'm all for it. #HBOgetonit
https://screenrant.com/judge-dredd-tv-show-cast-karl-urban-response/
https://screenrant.com/why-dread-2-never-happened/
Make Dredd 2!
The Matrix
I agree, it was a good movie, hopefully it does not get destroyed with sequels
I'm also surprised that the Terminator series never got a third instalment. Or Aliens, for that matter.
I was really sad about the Aliens franchise ending after two movies. I was really looking forward to seeing what Newt, Ripley, and Hicks got up to in the next installment.
I heard some asshole was peddling a script that killed off Newt and Hicks in the first 2 minutes. Luckily they burned it...
Michael Biehn is a favorite of mine
"Not like this" intensifies with every sequel
Shame, that
No kidding. Same way I feel about Bill and Ted. Oddly, bot have Keanu.
District 9
If I remember correctly, a sequel has been in development hell for years.
What would they call that, District 9 2?
District 9 3/4
Sonofabitch stole my line
District 3³ 1/3
District 9½ weeks
Electric Boogaloo
District 9 Years Later
Tristrict 9
District 9 + 1
District Nein.
Christoph Waltz would be lead.
Yes!
Constantine. Keanu Reeves has said he would like to do it, and there is a ton of story material to draw from between the Constantine series and all of the Hellblazers, not to mention cameos in other series.
Apparently they are working on a part 2. Peter stormare is confirmed to return as well.
Heck yes!
Ok, now I am interested.
Edge of Tomorrow. Not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but that one really gets me. Emily Blunt is awesome in it. Went in not expecting much, but I was blown away.
Watched it last year and immediately searched to see if there was sequel in the pipe. Development hell.
I would love more, but how? It was a rather self contained story.
In the book there are some references to Rita (Emily Blunt) fighting in various places and I think her getting her start in South America. Might be remembering that one wrong, but a prequel with her learning how to fight the monsters would have been good if they stuck more to the book.
Wrap a much larger time loop around the first movie.
The Fifth Element
I'm glad it didn't get a sequel because it is such a good stand alone movie. I'm just shocked the studio didn't try to milk it for everything it had.
It was a European production. We don't do it that way.
The Transporter intensifies
Ironically, Luc Besson himself made two sequels to Arthur and the Invisibles, both novels and films.
Unfortunately, Bruce Willis has a severe form of dementia.
Still waiting on Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money
I liked Rick Moranis's idea for it, Spaceballs III: The Search for Spaceballs II.
I feel like you can modify it to include both ideas Spaceballs III: The Search for Spaceballs II: The Search for More Money
Thanks-killing did that, skipped a sequal and the third film was about destroying the second (that dosent exist).
Mel Brooks is 97, good luck!
he just made a history of the world part 2 show earlier this year i believe
They can AI gen Yogurt just like they did with Admiral Tarkin.
Pretty sure he's not needed if it's the search for more money. It won't be any good, but if they think it will make money...
They made that, it was just split into three movies and made by Disney, with different titles.
Underwhelming too.
They did History of the World Part 2 finally, so there's a chance!
Can we get Jews in space and Hitler on ice. I mean technically space balls was the former but what would be the latter.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
It was good. It was written by Douglas Adams. He also wrote screenplays for the next 2 books to be made into movies.
And despite it making a couple million more than it cost, the first one was considered a flop. :(
Thay movie was awful. As a huge fan of the series, I don't know how anyone can watch it and understand the plot without being familiar with it beforehand.
The BBC series is much better, and goes up to Book 3 iirc.
I disagree. I loved the film. I remember it fondly.
Do you like the books? I find that people who like or have read the books tend not to like the movie and vice versa. I do not like the books.
I personally enjoyed the movie, the books, and the BBC series.
Yeah the way I see it is that even Douglas himself didn't quite have a single vision in his mind about the story, which is why there are so many iterations (radio, book, movie, tv series, musical? Am I forgetting anything?)
There was a text adventure game as well.
The books, game, BBC radio series, BBC television series, and film were all written by Adams, each with slightly independent canon.
And a towel.
The funny thing about THHGttG is that it exists several times simultaneously with wildly different canons. The original BBC radio show was the original, then they did the TV miniseries with much of the same talent (Mostly replacing Susan Sheridan with Sandra Dickenson as Trillian), THEN the book pentology, THEN the 2005 movie. They all start pretty similarly with Arthur's house and the pub and the Vogons, but then they go into all kinds of different directions in different orders.
For me personally, the plot doesn't matter all that much anyway. What I love is Douglas Adams' prose - the plot's mostly just a vehicle for that - and I feel that doesn't really translate to film. The perfect example:
It's funny. It's succinct. It's very descriptive. It doesn't just tell you that the ships were hovering, it draws comparison to bricks which conjures up images of blocky, inelegant ships, and it gives the impression that the way they're just stationary in the sky is somewhat unsettling or surreal. I think it's quite impressive how much such a short sentence manages to convey really!
Translating it to film, and having shot of some blocky, inelegant ships hanging in the sky, doesn't manage to capture the same humour or feeling that that short sentence in the book does, at least for me. And it's the same throughout the whole series, but that line is probably the easiest example to bring up. Some books translate really well to film and the imagery in the film ends up being far better than what I could imagine myself on the fly, but that's not the case with Hitchhiker's Guide at all.
The Hitchhiker's Guide radio series has a fair amount of narration so the prose still shines through in that.
I had similar issues with the various Dirk Gently adaptations, too. And I find I have the same issue with screen adaptations of Terry Pratchett's work for similar reasons. Without Adams' or Pratchett's wonderful prose, it often tends to feel very B-movie-esque to me.
Agreed. Second-worst date movie ever. She was shellshocked and missed all the humour cues.
Agreed, I fell asleep. In a movie theater.
It was ok. Didn't understand the side story with John Malkovich at all, pointless. And Zoey Deschanel was terrible as Trillen, like criminally awful at the role to the point she ruined it for me. Sam Rockwell was perfect casting though, same with mos Def and Martin Freeman
Sam Rockwell is cast perfectly in just about everything. Phenomenal actor. Kinda surprised we don’t see him more.
I'm surprised it's never been made into a decent TV show. The entire thing has already been made into half-hour radio shows, so the scripts are there and road tested. It's basically halfway done already.
I weirdly enjoyed the 1981 BBC series:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_(TV_series)
I’m not necessarily surprised this one didn’t get a sequel, but I really wish it had!
Event Horizon (1997)
I like the fan theory that Event Horizon is a prequel of sorts to the Warhammer universe.
Oh, I’ve never heard that, I’ll have to look it up!
The theory is basically that in 40k ftl works by sending the ship through the warp (hell). Humans use a Gellar field to keep a bubble of reality around the ship while in the warp. The theory is this is humanities firstf tll so they don't know they need a Gellar field.
It's fun but other then the ftl is hell doesn't fit at all with the rest of 40k lore.
Apparently there was a directors cut that got lost somehow...
It was apparently too intense for test audiences, and this was in the pre-DVD-special-features era when no one bothered to keep cut footage. Maybe they cut too much. I watched it recently because I had heard fantastic things and I was just... generally unimpressed. It was an interesting concept that really wasn't very well explored, and the writing was so stiff.
Master and Commander. It's atmospheric and fun, and I'm sad they didn't make more with that cast.
I read something about that a while ago. If I recall correctly, it was intended to be a franchise, but Master and Commander was so incredibly expensive that they decided against it.
Worth every penny, IMO.
I really liked the books. I thought the movie was good, but it didn't scratch the same itch the books did.
I'd love to see them make the books into a series of movies like with Sharpe or Hornblower.
Favourite movie of all time!
In 2021 there was some planning/writing done for a prequel, but I don't think anything came of it.
That film is having a bit of a cultural comeback, so there's still hope.
That's good to hear. I haven't read any of the books (not my preferred literary genre) so I didn't have a preconception of the Aubrey character. This sadly left me loving Russell Crow as Aubrey, and I'll have a hard time with anyone else playing him. Crow is 59, now; he might still be able to get away with it.
And there's a whole bunch of more books to be adapted. That movie was so perfectly done I wish it had worked enough to allow a whole series of sequels.
District 9.
Wasn't district 10 in the planning?
Yeah but the director got distracted by making other movies.
District 9 could easily have a couple seasons of a series on Netflix.
Hell yea! I loved the worldbuilding of that movie. Give me more!
This is the one I'm most disappointed by. I would love to know what happened to Wikus.
Exactly! Or was the goal of the aliens to convert all of the earth’s bio mass into more prawns but there was a screw up and no queen caste was present?
Firefly.
I mean more series, uh episodes.
Really? The movie was the handout for the people who were pissed the series didn’t last longer. Asking for a second movie is a nonstarter, even if the first was good.
Wouldn't watch anything from Joss at this point anyways. 10 years ago I would have been all over a Firefly reboot or another movie, but Joss kinda dug his own grave on that by being a total piece of shit. And then after rewatching Buffy/ Angel, and Firefly so many times I realized that they are just the same stories and same characters with some different actors.
Serenity was the best thing Joss ever wrote and it was essentially a pity fuck.
Which, honestly, to be 100 percent honest, it wasn't. I hated the movie. I understand its my fatal flaw, but I look at works holistically. One of the things that got me into firefly was it's pacing; the promise that everything was going to have room to breathe. I would rather just have the first season; the movie crammed plot threads and character arcs meant to sustain an entire 5 season series into a 2 hour movie. Except its worse, because I got to see what the slow burn was like.
Alita: Battle Angel. I've heard there is a sequel planned, but it's been a few years since the first movie. James Cameron is still involved as a producer, but I guess his blue-skinned money machine has kept him busy lately.
it took ten years for avatar to get one
And he'd been working on it through that period, too — whereas poor Alita ain't getting that same treatment. 🥹
I think Alita is the better movie, honestly
The manga is leagues beyond both. 🤗
Still waiting for the Zootopia sequel. Genuinely good and creative movie that used the format to talk about tricky topics with some cushion and then became a cult favorite. They added some extra stuff under Zootopia+, they tee'd up the buddy cop format, did all this world building and then... what, Disney, this is the one IP you're not going to squeeze for all its worth? Where's the next one?
They are making a sequel to it.
I'm holding out for a movie and Frozone.
Master and commander... They had the ship built already too - why not make a sequel? There's about 20 books worth of material.
Adventures of Tintin. Peter Jackson was supposed to direct it, but unfortunately he got busy with Hobbit.
Apparently they were supposed to adapt Prisoners of the Sun, which is arguably the best Tintin storyline to make a movie of.
I would love to see a sequel. I really enjoy that movie. One of the few I like to rewatch.
Pacific Rim, such a great fun mechs vs monsters movie that had a gritty feeling to it. Not over the top fantastical bullshit with flips or garish colors, just solid, slow, huge mechs fighting solid, slowish, sea monsters.
Have I got a movie for you to watch! https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2557478/
No.
That movie was so bad
It's like they took everything in the original that made it work and threw it out.
For people wondering how much impact a film director makes, this is a prime example.
I point to those two movies to illustrate a great director as opposed to an average one.
Pacific Rim is a brilliant film that pays homage to multiple films and genres.
Pacific Rim: Uprising is a terrible film that completely missed the point of the first movie.
Let’s just pretend that film never released.
Beat me to it. Hahaha.
Godzilla vs Kaiju
The Nice Guys
Absolutely. Easily one of the best films of the last decade.
The A-Team with Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper. Such a fun movie.
I grew up with the original series and couldn't agree more. It was fun and only very slightly marred by no Mister T cameo.
Fwiw I think rampage did a pretty solid job as BA, especially considering the pressure and expectations of having to replace mister t
I absolutely agree. I just missed him having a cameo like the rest of surviving main cast.
John Carter of Mars
If I remember correctly Disney lost a lot of money on that movie. I liked it though.
They did it to themselves by barely advertising and dropping the 'of Mars' from the title, both for stupid reasons.
yeah, it was one of those movies that I think was ruined by the advertising. All the adverts at the time tried to make it seems like a star wars rip off, when it wasn't anything like star wars really.
John Carter inspired the inspirations for Star Wars, including Dune. Heck, if they had advertised it as the story that inspired [list of movies] it would have gone a long way in making it clear that it wasn't a ripoff.
Working out the numbers on IMDB, the estimated budget was $250,000,000. Gross worldwide: $284,139,100. Total from these numbers: $34,139,100.
The number(s) that are not represented, is how much Disney spent to market the movie. And since it was supposed to be their latest tentpole movie franchise, they must have spent the same amount they did on production (and perhaps more,) to market it. This means that Disney might have put $500 million or more into the whole project. Then they would have lost $215,860,900 or more.
Man of Steel. It was a shot in the arm for DC movies, and the Superman character in film. Why they didnt follow up with a direct sequel, and instead released that dumpster fire Batman v Superman instead, I will never understand.
They wanted their own marvel cinematic universe
You'd think after the second or third time they tried to skip a rung on the ladder and smacked their face in humiliation they would have learned. At least it seems they've learned now and put people who actually understand story in charge rather than people who just chase box office numbers.
I will forever be mad about that. I was defending Man of Steel, while others shit talked it. I thought it was a great beginning for a Superman franchise. Sure he killed Zod, but imagine how this will change Superman to never want to kill again? But they never went back to do a solo Superman movie. Poor Caville was shafted hard by WB suits who wanted their own Marvel franchise.
DC tried launching into their own DCU way too fast. Whereas Marvel setup most of the major characters beforehand and let it simmer for a little bit before jumping into the ensemble movies, DC just tried jumping right into their cinematic universe. DC just can't seem to do anything right when it comes to their movies unless by accident (or if it's an animated movie). Maybe James Gunn will be able to turn it around and put together something cohesive, but it's hard to tell where anything starts or stops with DC now, it just feels like a convoluted mess. Plus, the whole superhero movie trend may be dying out anyways thanks to Disney's/Marvel's lazy writing.
Princess Bride
I always thought a sequel where the roles are reversed and Fred Savage is reading to an ailing Peter Faulk would have been a great way to start a sequel.
The prince's bride?
The prince's groom*
Ha…I don’t think Peter Faulk was around for Fred Savage to grow up, sadly. Not the most healthy guy.
Edit: damn.
Fred Savage was 35 years old when Peter Falk died in 2011. He was 83 at that time. Poor dude had Alzheimer's for those last few years.
They could've definitely filmed a reunion scene in the 90s, early 2000s though.
Wow for some reason I though he died in the 90s
TRON: Legacy
Should have made the sequel before Daft Punk retired
I'm also surprised that Tron didn't get two more movies. It seemed like it had a good start with the reboot.
For what it's worth, I've heard good things about the animation TV show that ran for 19 episodes. Tron: Uprising
I enjoyed uprising. It deserved a sequel too though, and was clearly leading to things it didn't get to wrap up sadly. Well worth watching anyway though.
I'd like to see a miniseries based off TRON 2.0.
It was so boring and uninspired. Reminiscence - The movie. Just regurgitating everything we saw in the original.
I found it strange that the modern TRON felt so much more lifeless and drab than the original's, given the limitations on the original's technology. The worldbuilding was flatter, the characters were extra flatter, and the villain's plan didn't make any sense.
I almost wish he'd succeeded so that we could have seen Clu's giant digital aircraft carrier trying to squeeze through that laser emitter and cram itself into the basement of an abandoned arcade. Either it would wreck itself instantly or it'd come out as a wee little tiny thing, equally amusing outcomes.
Sometimes I feel like the only person on the planet that enjoyed the movie. It's my guilty pleasure watch.
I mean, everyone's entitled to their own tastes. I've got my own guilty pleasures that I can readily admit aren't widely liked - the old TV series "Lexx", for example. Whenever I talk about that one I open with "Let me be clear that I'm not actually recommending this." :)
The girl with the dragon tattoo. (American version)
Man I wanted this so much.
The first one was so so good.
Jumper
And the material is there because there's a second book.
There's also a TV series called Impulse.
Dredd
Such a great movie that should've launched at least a trilogy, it was so much better than the Stalone movie, it kept the stakes relatively low, just a day-in-the-life sort of story, but did some great world-building. No "end of the world" stakes or anything silly, just some Judges trying to clear out a building, one apartment building in a mega-city.
Just an apropos of that, I'm at dinner with friends and one of them says that I had bad tastes in movies. His example of that was that I liked Dredd. I think the entire table turned on him at that point. I think that he said that The Raid did it better. I was like ... they're just different movies to me ... I LOVE The Raid. That being said, I really enjoyed Dredd. It's a damned tragedy Karl Urban didn't get to reprise the role.
The Rock. It would have been very easy to set up another terrorist attack that is tied to Mason’s spy past. Goodspeed is the only one who knows Mason is alive and where to find him. Would have been an easy hit.
A prequel would be neat too.
I was going to say "How the hell didn't Hunt for Red October" get a sequel?" But today I learned it sort of did; they've made like four other movies in the Clancy cinematic universe.
How about Galaxy Quest? I'm surprised they haven't made a Galaxy Quest sequel. Not because I think it needs one, but because it was a very popular and well received movie with stuff to talk about.
Kung Pow. The first one even had a trailer during the credits.
Last time I checked they were searching for a film to repurpose into a sequel.
Some say they're still searching.
They repurposed some deleted scenes for that montage. You can see them on the DVD.
Serenity
😭☠️
idk bout you but to me it felt like Serenity was the sequel to the series, meant to wrap things up.
I agree. It felt like a finale.
There are current rumors about Disney rebooting this, though I can say nothing of their veracity.
I doubt they could put together a cast that would have the chemistry that the original one had…
Stiiiiill too soon 😭
The Adventures of Buckeroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
I even wouldn't mind a reboot, except that they'd never allow it to be as committedly wierd as the original... which was why it was so great. It'd be sad to see a modern Hollywood vision treatment of the comics.
John Lithgow should also play a role in it again. He totally made the movie awesome.
Jeff Goldblum playing one of the least eccentric characters in the film was also great.
Well if we're going this route I would like to add in Kung Pow. I would've loved to see the sequel they teased at the end.
According to the director there were never plans for a sequel. It was just a joke he added to the end.
This. This is what I was looking for before I posted.
Just rewatched this one a few days ago. Still so much fun! And it's even got a sequel tease at the end, title and everything. :(
Van Helsing. I liked it at the time.
it got video game though
remo williams was a decent, entertaining movie that flopped in theaters. a tv pilot was also produced, and but didn't lead to a series order.
based on the popular the destroyer series of novels (of which there is now over 150 published), it had huge potential.
not all that 'surprising' given its lackluster performance at the box office, more a 'disappointment'.. although hollywood has made far worse.
What in the world. You just gave me a flashback of remembering seeing the video cover at the VHS rental place when I was a small kid and thinking that movie looked super cool. Never ended up seeing it though.
it's on freevee (amazon) and tubi right now.
Man I came here to say that. With a subtitle like "The Adventure Begins" it really does beg for a sequel. It's a fun little movie.
I'm almost certain there was more than one episode of Remo Williams. But all I can remember is Roddy McDowall as a martial arts guru of some sort, and Remo using the spray from a water hose to get off the roof of a building.
This thread needs more explanations than just straight responses.
Anyways, I will say that the most surprising to me was Dredd. I mean, I shouldn't really be surprised because it didn't do well in the Box Office, but it was just so awesome. Was such a great movie all around and I really wanted to learn more about that world.
Ah, but Urban did get a chance to reprise that character, IMHO: Chronicles of Riddick. In my head canon, his Dredd was the younger version of his Necromonger in CoR. 🤌🏼 (In much the same way that Ras Al'ghul's origin story was the flick The Grey.)
V for Vendetta
VI for Viendetta
W for Wendetta
I see what you did there
Why can't I quit you
A few years ago I would have said Unbreakable.
And it ended up being a very well done trilogy. I was NOT expecting that.
The Last Jedi
"Oops, we found another Jedi"?
ok, then The Last Last Jedi For Really Reals You guys I'm Super Serious
I'd be all about a prequel series for Morgan Freeman's character in Se7en. Only if David Fincher returned to direct through.
Elf.
I know Will turned down an obscene amount of money for it, and it was prolly the right decision, but I'm still surprised a sequel never got made given how popular Elf continues to be.
Because they saw the Mask, and knew that changing the cast would be changing the major thing it has going for it.
Nightmare Before Christmas. Not that I want a sequel, mind you, but it is Disney we’re talking about here. It’s like a to tobacco addict turning down one specific brand of cigarettes.
Back when it came out in theaters it was... underwelming. I remember going to the theater to see it. I left kinda wondering if it was good or just dreck. Pretty sure it did poorly in the theater and just limped along on video for a while until much later on, when it became a Christmas tradition.
Now... I'm glad they never brought it back or did spinoffs or anything else. I'm not sure who to thank, but "thank you".
I wouldn't be surprised if Tim Burton has more to do with that than Disney. He doesn't seem to make sequels.
They probably have something planned once the merchandise numbers go below a certain number. Until then, they are fine selling Jack Skellington shirts at Hot Topic without a new movie.
Alita: Battle Angel
That has been on the roadmap from the very beginning though, and they will allegedly start production in 2024.
Speed Racer. Loved the silliness and the love and passion the film had. Unfortunately I believe to much time has passed, the cast must have aged. But so glad we had the best racing movie in my opinion, had so much heart and car-fu
I loved the movie but I think the studio lost their asses on it financially.
I stayed away when it was in the theaters, then saw that it was on Netflix and figured I'd give it a chance.
So ridiculously good.
that movie was one of the first movies i remember crying at. along with monsters inc
Buckaroo Bonsai
The end credits talk of a sequel, “Buckaroo Bonzai against the World Crime League” - that script ended up being repurposed into “Big Trouble in Little China”
*Banzai. Bonsai is a tree.
John Dies at the End
They have the books and all, just make it.
They'd need to start completely fresh with JDATE, because the existing movie clearly ran out of money like 40 minutes in.
I'd like to see it as a streaming series, personally, with Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits as a movie franchise.
TIL there's more than one book!
The Dark Crystal
It got a TV series but didn't quite hit the same.
Technically, the 2019 series is a prequel. OP asked for a sequel.
I haven't watched the series yet.
I really liked it, and more than the movie. But I saw them in that order.
Commenting to take notes of movies that weren't ruined by useless sequels.
I wasn't really surprised it didn't get a sequel but I remember that "The golden compass" was made to have sequels from the get go and i think even ended with a cliffhanger, or maybe not. I juste remember feeling like the story was cut short. I didn't feel this with the Harry potter movies despite being another adaptation of a book, so they probably screwed up.
His dark materials on HBO
thanks. The "on HBO" made me miss the feeling of trying to catch the episodes of my favorite shows on tv when kid. I rarely would , but it was an adventure.
It's based on the first book of a trilogy, the series is called His Dark Materials, and was a fucking travesty of a film adaptation. I'm honestly glad they didn't go forward with the rest, I doubt they would have handled the other two any better.
I can't speak on Amazons attempt, haven't gotten around to it yet, but can recommend the books. They're a good read.
HBO did a decent job of the TV adaption
The books were so good! My whole family plowed through them. Movie/tv had none of the......page turning excitement of Philip Pullman's books.
His dark Materials? Now, that's a catchy name.
I really liked the world shown in the movie so will certainly give it a read.
BBC/HBO did a TV adaptation of the full series, aptly called "His Dark Materials". I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the books, but it was a good adaptation (and much better than The Golden Compass).
The books won a bunch of awards and were very well received when they released. The first one, Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in the US) came out in 1995 so it was fairly popular for a few years as the "premier" young adult novel, but it ended up being dwarfed in popularity by Harry Potter once that released (as did, well, everything else on the planet).
I think the books were a little less popular and well-received in America. In part because Philip Pullman is a British author, so obviously he got more attention here in the UK. But also, quite a few Christian groups - particularly in America because, let's be honest, most evangelical Christian groups are American - took issue with His Dark Materials' world and themes. It doesn't paint the church in a good light at all, and the series' God analogue, The Authority, is pretty tyrannical. Although, funnily enough, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was one of the biggest supporters of the series - he felt it basically highlighted the dangers of dogmatism and attacked the ways religion could be used to oppress rather than Christianity itself - so obviously not all Christians were offended by the series.
Anyway, yes! Not only is the world fantastic (and it only gets more interesting and wild as the series goes on) but it also handles the characters really well. The way it handles the main characters - children who age into teenagers throughout the series - developing feelings for each other and discovering sexuality was done in a really thoughtful and age-appropriate way (for the characters and the audience). It addresses some interesting philosophical concepts, too, including some religious ones - I'd say the spirit, the body and the soul is a pretty key theme throughout, albeit not necessarily in the same way Christianity approaches it
I'd start by reading the books - Northern Lights/The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - and then watch the TV series. He's also written other books in the world - some novellas, and (currently) two out of three books in a second trilogy called "The Book Of Dust".
Well said! I read the books long before the first movie, and have seen all the screen adaptations, and pretty much agree with you. Hell, my 12 year old Border Collie is named Lyra! However, I actually mostly enjoyed HBOs TV series, even with all the changes and such, which i was expecting because it was a screen adaptation. Didn’t much care for the new characters, but i was able to get over it because of all the other parts that were well done. They did a great job appropriately making you dislike Ms. Coulter! I forgot all about the newer books, though! Thanks for the reminder!
I was already convinced but you're review was a very interesting read. Thanks !
I read Lyra's Oxford but there were more?
Also, you talk about "themes and world building not paining the church in a good light", and I am just here to say, that's a hell of an understatement. The primary mythic fantasy war is about a guy going to war with God. Capitol 'G' god the father God. In the end, ::: spoiler spoiler "God" is revealed to the a senile old angel. He also lied about creating anything; he just spawned from the dust first. The war in heaven was really about if they should let him die, or maintain the illusion. :::
I believe I read somewhere Philip Pullman intended to create the anti Narnia.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Not a film, but wholeheartedly and agree.
Aaahh, summer glau kicking ass and taking numbers...
Salt. I kinda liked it and felt that there was more that was planned.
How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Taye Diggs poking MILFs back to health could have become annual event theater like Fast and the Furious.
I say first week in October. The leaves are changing. Pumpkin spice is back. Every mom in America would buy new shoes and be there in an outfit she’d been mentally choosing for 4 months.
Unnnng. You've put some thought into this. First week of October is perfect milfs-in-our-prime weather. Kids have been back in school for a few weeks? We're finally catching our breath, perfect time for a little "me-time" matinee.
District 9
Elf.
Zwölf
Knick Knack. It's one of the earliest Pixar films that were made. They could make an actually amazing story out of this.
But all they did was include it as a bonus feature on the Finding Nemo DVD, and I guess a couple others idk.
Titanic
I have good news for you: Titanic II.
One of them did https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tentacolino
"In 1915, Don Juan, Elizabeth, their dog Smile, and their pet mice Top Connors and Ronnie, are tasked by the U.S. Navy to explore the ocean depths in search for the wreck of the Titanic."
Kung Fury has a sequel and it's been finished for several years, I'm just suprised the damn movie hasn't released yet. They were suing some company because they were owed money by them but that's settled now and we have no word as to why it's not out yet.
I didn't know it was done. I can't wait for the sequel
ITT: Medium confidence password reset question answers.
The Last Starfighter
It was a really cool movie that I think fondly of from my childhood. There’s been a “potential sequel” in the works for like 15 years.
Yeah it just didn't do well at the box office, although it got a cult following later.
I watched it a couple years ago. It actually aged well for a mid 80's sci-fi...
Watchmen. The series just wasn't as good. But Watchmen the movie, is one of my favorite superheroes movie of all time. Dark and funny.
The comic is a self contained story. That's why. Funny enough too the show is not a sequel to the movie, but to the comic.
The better the film is, the less likely it gets a sequel. (Or an Oscar.)
Blade Runner, for example. Released in 1982. Oh sure, it got one in 2015 ... because the slo-mo's had 33 years to catch up. And half the original audience was no longer around to mock it.
Schindler’s List
Schindler's List II: Schindler's PISSED
Schindler's Fist
Pretty sure some German Art Film exists...
Gladiator deserves the Nick Cave script sequel.
2008 Guy Richie gangster movie 'RocknRolla'.
Rock'n'rolla
Yeah, where's "The Real Rock'n'rolla" we were promised?
The cell should have gotten a sequel
if a movie didn't get a sequel it is either the greates masterpiece ever made or so unbelievably bad no one tried to save the idea. so i'm fine with pretty much any movie not getting a sequel. but i do wonder why star wars visions never went anywhere (technically not a movie but a series)
Sorry to say that Mean Girls did in fact get a sequel
They made a sequel to Good Burger, so I'm not so sure about the "unbelievably bad" thing being a reason for sequels to not be made.
Ah, common logical mistake. A =⟩ B does not imply B=⟩ A, like squares and rectangles.
'No sequel' =⟩ 'film very bad' OR 'film very good'
does not imply
'Film very bad' OR 'film very good' =⟩ 'no sequel'
In the same way
Square =⟩ rectangle
does not imply
Rectangle =⟩ square
Not necessarily a sequel but kinda surprised they didn't make a prequel to coraline
R.O.T.O.R. they teases the sequel at the end, but I guess it'll never happen.
Push
Cloverfield
Had two, third was shit. But they were more same universe(s), not same story.
God I love 10 Cloverfield Lane. Brilliant film. Jaw-dropping performance from John Goodman.
Yeah he was brilliant, probably one of the most underrated villains in film.
I thought they were more of a multiverse vibe/anthology, tied together with the common thread of alien monsters. apparently though an actual sequel for the first film is in development
It had sequels, they just weren’t anything like the original film.
The Mist
What would that even be about?
based on the ending of the movie, Tom Jane being tried for a multiple homicide I guess. my understanding is the book ends with them just driving into the mist so maybe, uh, them hitting a large boulder the size of a small bolder.
I was thinking a medium boulder.
Just a 2 hour uninterrupted grief shot in the car until the final suicide.
The Iron Giant. Why don't we ever see him come back?
I'm late to the party here, but since I didn't see it mention elsewhere, I'll throw up unbreakable with Bruce Willis. given his health conditions, it won't happen with him but it might be able to happen with somebody else in his place.
I feel like that movie established some solid characters and a somewhat unique case of the every man turned superhero. The whole idea of him just being able to touch someone and then get a glimpse into their hidden life was really cool. Plus there was the relationship with his son, bad guy suffering from that brittle bone disease to contrast with Bruce Willis's character being, well, unbreakable. it was a good setup I thought for a whole series of films.
(looks around)
(To neighbor) psst who's gonna tell this guy that unbreakable not only got a sequel. It's start of a trilogy. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbreakable_(film_series)
(Neighbor to me) I think he's being sarcastic....
You should watch Split.
e: and Glass.
It does have a sequel and also a parallel tie-in movie in "Glass" (sequel) and "Split" (tie-in, also leads into Glass).
I’m convinced this is a marketing ploy.
Either that or it’s a good faith question that I’m worried will be scraped by some desperate studio that will then force feed us a Netflix algorithm style “please everyone until the film means nothing” movie lol
Titanic
Titanic 2: The Resinkening?
Human Highway