With its theatrical release on October 14, Halloween Kills undid Michael's disappearance from the original film with a flashback that shows officer Hawkins and his partner encountering him at his old home.
Other movie sequels have undone plot elements from their predecessors by reverting deaths or entirely changing a character's arc for better or worse. From blockbusters of Alien 3, Redditors caught some of the most notable–and, in some cases, infamous–examples of this particular sequel phenomenon.
Toy Story 2 (1999)
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one of the best Pixar movies, as it set the stage for what was to come. While the sequel, Toy Story 2, clearly intended to capitalize on its predecessor’s popularity, it also wasn’t afraid to go off in its own direction.
MagBez writes: “I feel like Toy Story 2 did this fairly cleverly allowing them to keep all the character development while also bringing back a popular dynamic.” In fact, Toy Story 2 manages to both undo and excel the previous movie to such a degree that it has established a reputation for being that rare thing: a sequel being better than the original.
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)
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Though they may not be popular with critics, the recent Transformers movies have gone on to become a truly successful Hollywood franchise with four or more movies. However, there is a notable attempt by the second movie in the franchise to undo what came before, particularly regarding the great battle that closes out the first movie.
As FlashpointJ24 explains: “Then the second movie opens, and the Transformers are once again a government secret, with the battle in the first movie somehow explained away as a "gas explosion." As they further point out, the franchise as a whole repeatedly undoes its own internal mythology.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
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Kingsman: The Secret Service is one of those truly special spy comedy movies, filled with whip-smart humor and great performances from the likes of Taron Egerton and Colin Firth. Unfortunately, the sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, undoes all the goodwill of its predecessor.
It does this primarily by undoing the deaths of the first movie, as well as several other questionable storytelling moves, including killing almost all the British characters very soon after the movie begins. This displeased many Redditors, including I-am-the-Peel, who writes: “If you want to see a movie that destroys a potentially great franchise before it truly starts, watch Kingsman: The Golden Circle.”
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
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Austin Powers is without a doubt one of Mike Myers’ best roles. In some ways, the second movie, The Spy Who Shagged Me is even funnier than the original, but this comes at the expense of its predecessor, particularly the character of Vanessa, who was Powers’ original love interest. She is revealed to have been a robot all the time.
Kmone1116 has this to say about the change: “The opening undos almost all of his character development and growth to make him a single ladies man again.” While this is in keeping with its spoof of James Bond movies–hardly known for their internal consistency–it clearly is something troubling for some of the movie’s fans.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
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For many, The Empire Strikes Back is one of the best of the entire Star Wars saga. However, there’s no question that it does some heavy lifting when it comes to undoing the work of its predecessor, or at the very least retconning notable plot elements. Chen_Geller writes: “I mean, in The Empire Strikes Back the Empire seemed to have merely shrugged off the destruction of the Death Star, which is NOT how it’s set-up in the original film. It ends up working brilliantly for Empire, but it definitely undid the original’s fairytale ending.”
More than anything else, The Empire Strikes Back marks a turning point in the entire saga, marking a shift into darker thematic territory and a suggestion that Star Wars isn’t quite the simplistic fairy tale it appeared to be in the beginning.
Aladdin: The Return Of Jafar (1994)
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There have been many Disney sequels, and one of the first was The Return of Jafar. As its title suggests, it sees the nefarious Jafar scheming to gain revenge on Aladdin and seize control of the city of Agrabah.
However, movie is particularly unpopular with CougarBen, who says: “Other than the fact that they didn’t get Robin Williams back, it’s like they hit the reset button on every bit of character growth and plot advancement from the first.” While it is nice to see these characters back, many of them don’t seem to have learned much from their experiences from the first movie, particularly Aladdin, who continues to hide the truth from Jasmine.
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)
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Though it wasn’t terribly successful when it was first released, Highlander became a cult classic. In part, this stems from its unique concept–focusing on various immortals who fight one another throughout time, all leading up to a culminating battle–and powerful performances.
Unfortunately, the sequel, The Quickening, jettisoned its complex mythology, as Flarty eloquently writes: “Highlander 2, which wrecks the high-concept/ very cool notion of immortals living among us and battling through the centuries by turning them into aliens from the planet Zeist. Oh, and inexplicably bringing Sean Connery’s Ramirez back from the dead.” As it is far too frequently the case, The Quickening forgot what precisely made the original so popular to begin with, and it well deserves its place as one of the worst movies ever made.
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)
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The Star Wars sequel trilogy has experienced its fair share of criticism, and one of the most notable is the lack of consistency across the three movies. The last, Rise of Skywalker, truly goes out of its way to obliterate the work done in The Last Jedi, ranging from having Palpatine return from the dead to having Rey revealed to be the daughter of one of the Emperor’s clones.
Nahim33 calls it “Probably the most reactionary movie I’ve ever seen.” There is, then, an unfortunate tonal inconsistency within the trilogy as a whole that it is very difficult for it to ever fully overcome.
Alien 3 (1992)
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Though not always regarded as one of David Fincher’s best movies, Alien 3 is still a compelling bit of moviemaking and a disturbing blend of science fiction and horror. Small wonder that s like jdragon3 write that “Alien 3 feels like a fever dream. It's weird but that's the only way I can think of describing how bizarre it feels compared to the previous 2 movies.”
The movie takes considerable liberties with the mythology and ethos established in the previous two movies. Thus, despite its stylish visuals–which would become a hallmark of David Fincher’s movies–it never really lived up to its predecessors.
The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride (1998)
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Simba’s Pride, is also one of the better straight-to-video sequels. Notably, the sequel tries to jettison the original’s problematic portrayal of hyenas as being subaltern subjects, focusing instead on an outcast group of lions. This extends to the movie’s broader themes.
As bb2357 writes: “It is as if Disney realized this and pushed a theme of unity in Lion King II: Samba’s Pride. “We are one” and “Love will find a way” despite differences. They (strategically?) left out the hyenas.”
