I’ve gone on many a tangent about sequels, both the good and the bad. Some of the best sequels ever made include Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, Terminator 2, Evil Dead 2, and The Road Warrior. These movies not only lived up to the standard that the original film set, but in some cases, surpassed them. On the flip-side of the coin, we also have BAD sequels like Highlander II, Superman IV, Jaws: The Revenge, and The Predator. These movies were legitimately terrible in so many different ways. However, there’s one kind of sequel that I’ve never actually discussed: The sequels that were never made…yet. The reason I bring this up now, is because recently it was announced that Todd Phillips, the director of Joker, was reportedly to be in talks to co-write a follow-up film to Joker. Considering that the original film literally made over a billion dollars at the box-office on a 65 million dollar budget, it makes business sense to do another. From a narrative standpoint, where could you go with it, though? That’s a subject for a different post. Here, I’m going to focus on sequels that were announced or were in talks to be announced, but were never made. For one reason or another, these movies were left on the wayside for different projects. It happens more often you would think. Someone has a great idea for a sequel, but it never gets the green-light because it might not make financial sense, or the fan backlash to said sequel could upend any future plans. Now let’s get on to the movies sequels that haven’t been made…at least, not yet.
Gladiator 2
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was released back in 2000 to wide-spread critical acclaim, winning 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor. This was the movie that really made people interested in historical epics again. The story of a general who defied a corrupt emperor was one for the books. Russell Crowe was outstanding and Ridley Scott’s direction was flawless. Believe it or not, there were talks over the past 17 years about making a sequel to Gladiator. One that included Russell Crowe reprising his role as Maximus Decimus Meridius. Now, you might be asking yourself, “How would that happen? The character died at the end of the movie, rejoining his family in Elysium.” You would be correct. From my understanding, the film would’ve taken place IN the afterlife with Maximums taking on the Roman gods, including Jupiter and Mars. The idea was as ridiculous as it sounds. It would’ve gone from an historical epic to full-fledged fantasy film. It hasn’t happened, because how would you approach making a sequel that’s an entirely different genre? I think cooler heads prevailed and shelved that idea permanently. It would’ve been a very bad idea.
Likelihood of being made: A snowball’s chance in Hell.
Neill Blomkamp’s Alien Sequel
This one kind of hurts. It was announced back in 2014 or somewhere around there that 20th Century Fox was going to bring on Neil Blomkamp to direct an Alien movie. The movie that he had in mind would’ve been a direct sequel to James Cameron’s movie. It would have focused on Ripley, Newt, Hicks, and possibly Bishop taking on the xenomorphs together as a kind of a family unit. The idea was sound, and even Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn had expressed real interest in returning to these roles. Unfortunately, Mr. Blomkamp didn’t have the kind of clout that Ridley Scott did, so Fox decided to go with Scott’s movies…and the results speak for themselves. This was disappointing because I’m fan of Blomkamp’s work that included District 9, Elysium, and Chappie. His idea to skip Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection was a really good idea.
Likelihood of being made: Dead in the water
Ridley Scott’s Alien Sequel
Following up on Neil Blomkamp’s failed attempt to get an Alien movie off the ground, Ridley Scott himself has been dealt a blow because of the poor performance of Alien Covenant, his follow-up to Prometheus. In a bizarre sense of irony, Ridley Scott’s sequel performed so badly at the box-office that Fox ultimately shelved his planned sequel which would have focused more on the android David, played by Michael Fassbender. I was not surprised because while Covenant wasn’t a terrible movie, it was beset by a bunch of really bad decision-making on the part of Ridley Scott. The film was made as a kind of course correction to Prometheus, because people were bitching and moaning about the lack of xenomorphs in that movie. I personally loved that movie, and Mr. Scott should’ve followed that threat to completion instead of caving to the fans. When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing NOBODY, and that’s exactly what happened here. Even worse, is that Alien Covenant ended on a cliff-hanger. Ridley Scott had been trying to get his second sequel off the ground, but those plans were shredded when Disney bought out Fox.
Likelihood of being made: Slim-to-none.
Indiana Jones 5
Of all the potential sequels that I’ve talked about on this list, Indiana Jones 5 stands the best chance of actually being made. Making a fifth Indy film has been talked about since after the fourth film was released back in 2008. But the problem was that roadblocks kept the project from moving forward. Harrison Ford was always gung-ho about doing another film, since he’s had a blast playing the character in the past. A number of problems had arisen for this film. First of all, Mr. Ford’s age is an issue. He’s coming close to hitting 80, so physically there could be issues with him doing his own stunts. Most likely, he’s not going to, as much as he would like. Two: The story needs to be good enough. Again, with Harrison’s age, you need a story that needs to take that into consideration, for better or worse. So, the character is going to need sidekicks and allies to do the heavy lifting. Three: Steven Spielberg is no longer directing. This was a result of Spielberg no longer having time to direct the project, which would make this the first Indiana Jones that he didn’t direct. Thankfully, James Mangold has stepped up to the plate, and his filmography is impressive. So, that’s actually no longer an issue. Lastly, Indy 5 is going to be the last Indiana Jones film, so the final film really needs to be something special to send the character out on a high note. They’ve got some actors cast in the film already like Mads Mikkelson, who is going to be the main villain, which is awesome. It seems like they really want to get this one made before it’s too late.
Likelihood of being made: 50/50, but there’s more movement now than there was years ago.
Superman Lives
Now this is one of those movies that crashed and burned long before it got out of the hanger. Tim Burton’s Superman Lives would have loosely adapted the Death of Superman storyline from the comics in which Superman was killed in the battle with Doomsday. It would have also featured villains like Brainiac and Lex Luthor. This was supposed to go into production in the 90s, but it was ultimately scrapped. Nicolas Cage was tapped to play the Man of Steel, but again, the project was scrapped and he never got the chance. I love Nicolas Cage as an actor, but he just doesn’t have the build for Superman. I don’t think anybody on Earth does. Tim Burton did a fantastic job with his Batman movies, but I don’t think he was really the right choice to be directing a Superman movie. Superman Lives is one of those projects that just fell apart, and we wouldn’t see another Superman movie until Superman Returns in 2006.
Likelihood of being made: Buried in kryptonite.
Independence Day 3
It seemed like yesterday that the idea of a second Independence Day film was ridiculous. The original film ended perfectly with the mothership being destroyed and the threat eliminated. Well, 5 years ago, we got Independence Day Resurgence. So, that was a thing. It ended up being ridiculous with the exact same aliens attacking the exact same planet, knowing that we kicked their ass 20 years prior. Had the movie been made and released back in 2006, I think it would’ve fared a lot better than it did in 2016. It was ten years too late. What made the original film so special, was not just its special effects, which were a combination of CGI, miniatures and practical effects. They used every trick in the book to bring the original film to life. The cast is also what made the original film awesome. Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Randy Quaid, Judd Hirsch, and Vivica A. Fox made the film incredibly fun to watch. Resurgence relied too much on CGI and they killed off Will Smith’s character between movies, which is one of the big reasons why the film bombed at the box office. Killing your main attraction in between movies is box office suicide, and that’s exactly what happened. Oh, and guess what? The movie ends on a cliff-hanger? Yeah, they beat the bad guys, but the film ends with the possibility of them taking the fight to aliens’ homeworld. Did that happen? Nope. Independence Day Resurgence proves that just because you can make a sequel, doesn’t mean you should. Even Roland Emmerich himself has come out against the movie.
Likelihood of being made: I have no idea. Roland Emmerich has ideas, and Disney likes these big tent-pole movies. So…maybe?
There are a lot more potential sequels out there that haven’t been made. Hollywood is all about show business, with the emphasis on business. If a movie does extremely well at the box office, there could be a follow-up if the original film leaves it open for one. Some movies like Gladiator really don’t. Some do, but they still don’t get made. These are just a small handful of sequels that didn’t get made for one reason or another. Indiana Jones 5 is the only one out of this bunch that might actually see the light of day. This is one of things that happens more often than you think it would. Sometimes people are interested in a script, and it just doesn’t happen. Film-making is a very risky business, so it’s a very fluid situation. That’s just how it works. I’m glad that Gladiator didn’t get a sequel, though. That would not have ended well.