Anna Bialkowski
Editor-in-Chief
Sequels are being released at astronomical rates. Hollywood has become creatively bankrupt, reaching for low hanging cash grabs in the form of making a sequel to a recent successful film. Looking at the remainder of 2025, sequels like Wicked: For Good, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Zootopia 2 are just a few upcoming movies that are continuations of their predecessors, with Wicked: For Good and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 having had their first films released just last year.
It is important to recognize that while bad sequels do exist, and are inevitable within the movie world, sequels expand the world-building created within that first film, leading to audiences becoming more invested in the franchise.
Three of my favorite movies are sequels: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Dark Knight. These movies are recognized by fans as even better than the originals, because of the increased conflict that arises, causing the protagonist to be challenged in new ways.
In The Empire Strikes Back, the joy and celebration of the first film is shattered. The Empire becomes a more formidable force, challenging heroes like Luke Skywalker. It is in this movie that Darth Vader reveals himself to be Luke’s father, becoming one of the most, if not the most, iconic scene in movie history. This film intentionally and beautifully complicated the Star Wars story, making it more enjoyable and interesting for anyone watching.
George Lucas originally was not planning to create a sequel, saying that Star Wars: A New Hope was supposed to be one movie and that’s it. However, due to the financial success of the original, Lucas and his team went forward with the next part. It only makes me wonder that without a sequel to A New Hope, Star Wars would have never become as big and successful as it is now.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of my all time favorite movies. After being frozen for nearly a century, Steve Rogers is forced to navigate the 21st century, along with political tensions between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. This movie is one of my favorites because it completely changes the usual Marvel genre.
While Marvel movies are usually quippy, funny and magical, The Winter Soldier casts a more serious tone into the universe rooted within realistic real world circumstances. While some argue that sequels simply rehash the same plot with different villains and bigger drama, The Winter Soldier does the exact opposite, proving that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) can develop new and meaningful stories within the microcosm of our heroes.
Finally, The Dark Knight propels the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy into its full potential. While Batman Begins simply sets up the character of Batman and Bruce Wayne, The Dark Knight is where things really get interesting and intense. This film introduces Nolan’s take on The Joker, who forces Batman into not only physical but ideological warfare.
The character that really makes this movie powerful, though, is Harvey Dent, who goes from Gotham’s “White Knight” and symbol of hope to a villain on par with Joker. Dent’s character shows that even the strongest individual in this universe is susceptible to corruption, creating high and real stakes for characters. The Dark Knight’s dark themes shift the entire trilogy from a mere crime saga to an epic tragedy, with tensions escalating even further due to terrorist threats in The Dark Knight Rises. Ultimately, tensions are what make audiences invested within sequels.
Without sequels, huge franchises that fans have grown to love over the years simply would not exist. They are the catalysts to fantastic and intentional storytelling. Without the increased tension of sequels, stories and characters like Batman, Luke Skywalker and Captain America simply would not exist in the way we know them today.
