5 Films I'd Like To See A Sequel Too

The other day I was listening to AMC Movie Talk on the way to work, like I always do, and a viewer asked 'what films would like to see sequels too.'  This question sat with me for a bit. With all the sequels and remakes coming out this year, from Robocop to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I started thinking about what films I would like to see sequels too.  At first I could only think of a few off the top of my head so I looked at my vast DVD collection for inspiration.  Afterwards, I thought of about a dozen films I would like to see a sequel be made.  I widdled it down and came up with five films I feel the original helped set-up a great sequel.

THE INCREDIBLES

I'll admit, when I went to see this film in theaters I just wanted to go to see the Star Wars: Episode III teaser trailer, but my friends and I were blown away by how good it was.  To this day it's still one of my top Pixar films.  The Incredibles are Disney's Fantastic Four, a family of superheroes.  With the variety of characters the first film introduced there is plenty of source material to expand upon.  I know there have also been several comic books continuing the adventures of The Incredibles.  

Fans still cry-out for a sequel to this 2004 film.  As kids grow-up families change, so there is much to work with in a sequel. Violet could be in college, Dash in high school, and Bob could be starting to feel the effects of getting older.  Like I said, a lot of different places to take this family.  For god sakes Pixar made a Cars 2, but not an Incredibles 2?

THE LAST STARFIGHTER

I'm a huge fan of this film.  Along with Tron, The Last Starfighter helped pioneer computer special effects in film making during the 1980's.  It was also every young boys dream to think that all those hours of playing video games weren't just 'a waste of time' like our mothers said. This film had all of it; the reluctant hero, the epic space battles, and a decent love story/chemistry in actors Lance Guest and Catherine Mary Stewart.  Some have said to just re-make The Last Starfighter, but I say we should take a page from Tron and make the sequel feel like a re-make. Granted, I give Tron: Legacy more credit than most, but I know a story that would work nicely.

The Last Starfighter ended with Alex's brother, Lewis, looking up as Alex and Maggie headed off into outer space.  Now Lewis is all grown up with a teenage-video game-hotshot-son of his own.  Alex returns from space running from a new threat.  He reconciles with his brother who he hasn't seen him in years and his nephew becomes the new Starfighter.  With today's updated graphic I think it would blow people away visually like Tron: Legacy did.

THE LOSERS

I quite enjoyed this underrated comic book movie.  Granted, to this day I've never actually read the source material, but the film itself was an awesome ride.  It was full of great characters and relationships.  I think the hard part would be getting all the actor back together because they're all so busy.

The film ended with the Losers never getting Max, still on the run from the law, and Aisha still wanting to kill Clay for murdering her father, even though they're kind of into each other.  This film was set-up for a sequel that never got made because of disappointing box office numbers. However, now that the cast are all known actors, I think a sequel could draw in more of an audience.  Now that I think of it, I may see if my local library has any Loser graphic novels to read.

WILLOW

Before Lord of the Rings brought sword and sorcery films to the forefront, Willow made them fun.  I always wondered who would win in a fight; Madmartigan or Aragorn?  George Lucas wrote this film back in the 1970's before Star Wars was released, but didn't get Willow made and released till 1988.  

The sequel for this film has already been written.  George Lucas outlined a trilogy that took place fifteen years later with Elora Danan, now a teenager, at the center of the tale.  Famous comic book writer, Chris Claremont, wrote the book trilogy and even though I've never read it I know the story outline and it seems pretty cool.  Willow was light-hearted, fun to watch, and was directed by one of my favorite directors; Ron Howard. The 9-year-old in me is begging for a Willow sequel.

THE PUNISHER

Some fan boys saw this film starring Thomas Jane as the worst interpretation of the comic book character.  Then they saw the next Punisher film, Punisher: War Zone.  I liked the Thomas Jane version because although the tone of the film wasn't dark I thought Jane portrayed the character perfectly dark.  He was kind of an ass, but likable.  Plus you saw what happened to Frank Castle to make him that mean and vengeful.

In 2012 a short film was made, Punisher: Dirty Laundry, that again starred Thomas Jane as Frank Castle and it sparked an interest in Jane playing the character again.  Last year the rights to The Punisher, along with Daredevil and Blade, reverted back to Marvel from 20th Century Fox.  While I know Marvel Studios has immediate plans for Daredevil, via Netflix, I haven't heard about them moving on The Punisher property.  I say give Thomas Jane another shot.  It can't be an worse than the Dolph Lundgren version.

Why I'm Excited For Guardians of the Galaxy

If you ask the average person to list Marvel heroes they'll probably tell you about Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Thor.  I doubt anywhere on their list will be Star-Lord.  Well, he's only one of the coolest heroes in the Marvel Universe and is the center of Marvel Studios 2014 summer blockbuster.....next to Captain America: Winter Soldier.  I'll have to admit that not so long ago I too was clueless as to who the Guardians of the Galaxy (GotG) were.  The only character I knew was Rocket Raccoon.  After I heard a movie was in the works I sought out to discover why Marvel thought this relatively unknown comic book would make a good movie before characters like Black Panther or Ms. Marvel.

Luckily my local library had the 2008 series on file so I could get acquainted with the Guardians.  To my joy, I ended up loving these characters!  Star-Lord reminded me so much of Chris Pine's portrayal of James T. Kirk in the current Star Trek films.  He's got a boyish charm, he means well, but usually is pulling his plans out of his ass as he goes along.  Ask my wife who that reminds her of.  In the series, Star-Lord recruits a team of lone-wolves and outcasts to fight impending intergalactic catastrophes.  He has to lie to them a little to get them to play along, and of course it comes back to bite him in the ass, but you knew that was coming.  The series was cancelled in 2010 after twenty-five issues.  

Last year Brian Michael Bendis brought back the GotG for a new on-going series.  Bendis re-told Star-Lord's origin and had Tony Stark tag-along as familiarity for readers.  This comic is going strong and I hope people read the first graphic novel "Cosmic Avengers" before seeing the film, which comes out in August.  After rumors that we may FINALLY get a trailer for the film this week I wanted to give you a brief rundown as to who the Guardians of the Galaxy are.

Peter Quill/Star-Lord

His father fell from the sky and fell in love with his human mother.  When Peter was a child aliens came looking for him and ended up killing his mother.  Peter ran away and made a vow to avenge his mother's death by going into space and seeking justice.  There he met his biological father, who is Prince of the Spartoi Empire, and kind of an asshole.  So Peter did what all normal kids do; he formed a gang and caused his dad a lot of trouble.

After the success of The LEGO Movie, I think this going to be Chris Pratt's break-out year.  I've always loved him in Parks and Recreations and I think the charm he exhibits as Andy will come across great as Star-Lord.

Gamora

Remember that purple guy at the end of Avengers?  Well he's a daddy.  Thanos trains his adopted daughter to become a great killer/assassin, but when she sees him for the villain he is she takes off and joins Star-Lord in taking back the galaxy from their tyrannical parents.

I think this film cements Zoe Saldana as the Queen of Sci-Fi.  She's played Uhura in Star Trek and the lead female in James Cameron's Avatar.  Adding another alien hottie to her resume just makes me want to say, "all hail the Queen."

Arthur Sampson Douglas/ Drax the Destroyer

Arthur was with his family when Thanos killed them all and left him for dead.  The being Kronos found Arthur and transformed him into a superhuman weapon to unleash and defeat Thanos.  His lust for vengeance has made Drax a powerful killer as he rampaged through the galaxy till he received justice.  I'm sure you can see why he teamed-up with Star-Lord and Gamora.

Of all the actors in this film Dave Bautista has me the most worried.  He's got the look and build to pull off Drax, but I've never been impressed with wrestlers branching out to film.  But I do trust Kevin Feige and director James Gunn that they got the right guy for the part. "All hail Feige."

Groot

This alien is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk, but all he says is, "I am Groot."  In his native language he is saying something, but in English every sentence he says is "I am Groot."  Groot's the last of his race, the Floral Colossus,  and some would like to finish the genocide by taking out Groot.  However it's a little hard to do when the being can grow in size and hangs out with a genius raccoon with lots of big guns.

Remember The Iron Giant?  It was a great film and Vin Diesel voiced the Giant before he ever stepped into the Fast and Furious franchise.  I highly recommend watching the film, and then you'll see why Diesel is going to say more with three words than most do with a hundred.

Rocket Raccoon

As a guardian of an outcast planet full of 'Loonies' Rocket is out to keep the galaxy at peace and use his high level IQ, and bad attitude, to keep it that way.  This is the most-well-known character of the GotG, and the one most are excited to see.  

Bradley Cooper is lending his voice to this classic character and though he wasn't my first choice I have more than enough faith in Cooper.  I've been watching his career since he was on the WB show Jack and Bobby with Logan Lerman.  I just really hope he never actually is cast as the Flash like some fan boys want.

So this is just a brief history of the characters origins.  I'm not sure what spin the film will put on the characters but given that Thanos has a history with several characters we can be guess that the galactic Titan will at least appear in the film, hopefully for more than just an over-the-shoulder smile.  This film could open up the Marvel cinematic universe like the Grand Canyon.  Just the idea of the Nova Corps appearing is enough to make me giggle.  A look at the GotG toyline was just released and it just makes me crave a trailer even more.  With this relatively unknown property I feel like Marvel Studios is going to have to market the hell out of it.  I think Marvel is about to face it's toughest challenge yet in GotG, but I have every faith that it'll be awesome.  A sequel is already planned, and if GotG is a success I can see 20th Century Fox putting out a Starjammers movie at some point.
 Finally, just to paint you a funny visual, in one issue of Bendis's current run, Tony Stark sleeps with Gamora and has an awkward-after moment.  When I read that scene all I could think of was Robert Downey Jr. and Zoe Saldana.  Plus, Tony got a lecture from a raccoon afterwards.

The Butler and The Billionaire Join The Bat and The Boy Scout

Over a week ago it was announced that Jeremy Irons and Jesse Eisenberg will join the untitled Man of Steel sequel as Alfred Pennyworth and Lex Luthor. Months ago Ben Affleck was announced to play Batman/ Bruce Wayne in this film as nerds and geeks everywhere exploded in one way or another.  These recent casting choices haven't stirred quite the forum that Affleck did but has added fuel to the fire to a film that is being called the "Batman vs Superman" movie.

It was announced at the San Diego Comic Con that the sequel of Man of Steel would feature Batman as Warner Bros and DC Entertainment try and get their own cinematic movie universe started.  The first piece of big news came when it was announced that Ben Affleck would be playing a "seasoned and tired" Batman.  Most bloggers and tweeters first reaction was anger due to Affleck's last try as a superhero, Daredevil, which was not well received.  I always tell those people to watch the director's cut to see a better version of the film, and that Ben Affleck is a good actor and director.  I was thrilled to see Affleck was being added to this film, although I don't quite yet understand the benefit for his career at this point, having just won Best Picture at the Academy Awards for a film he directed, Argo.  Why play a superhero that could tie him up for the next decade?

 Not too long ago it was announced that actress Gal Gadot of the Fast and Furious franchise was cast as Wonder Woman.  This again sent nerds and geeks into a frenzy, many questioning if Gadot can carry a Wonder Woman franchise.  Then, it was reported that the film, which was set to be released in summer 2015, is being pushed back to 2016.  The studio said they want to make the best picture possible and needed more time, some say the film makers dropped the ball somewhere, and some believe Warner Bros has no idea what they're doing when it comes to copying what Marvel Studios has seemed to perfected.  Finally, this film has created more to discuss with these two new casting choices.  For me, it all depends on what story and version of these characters Zach Snyder and David Goyer decide to tell.  Unfortunately, Man of Steel disappointed me so much I question everything about this sequel, Warner Bros handling of DC property, and DC Comics all together.

No one can deny that Jeremy Irons is a phenomenal actor.  Most of us who grew up in the 1990's will always remember him as the voice of Scar from The Lion King, and he's also a multi-Oscar winner.  I remember him best from films like Die Hard: With a Vengeance and The Man in the Iron Mask opposite Leonardo Dicaprio.  I've always thought of him as a hard-ass.  Which doesn't make me picture him slipping into a role similar to what Michael Caine just did in the Dark Knight trilogy.  But then I thought of a recent re-telling of Batman's origin, Batman: Earth One.  In this graphic novel, written by Geoff Johns, Alfred Pennyworth was an ex-military bad ass who saved Thomas Wayne's life at one point.  When the Wayne's are murdered Alfred raises Bruce and teaches him how to fight and essentially what he needs to become Batman.  This is the kind of Alfred I see Jeremy Irons being.  Don't get me wrong, I have enough faith in Irons to pull off any part, given that his director doesn't lead him astray.  This is just the version of Alfred I picture when I think of Jeremy Irons as Alfred the butler.

The casting of Lex Luthor has been a subject of much debate.  The top 3 names I heard most frequent were Michael C. Hall, Mark Strong, and Brian Cranston.  And I was comfortable with any of those actors portraying Superman's arch-nemesis.  I first saw Jesse Eisenberg in a little film called The Squid and the Whale opposite Jeff Daniels.  I continued to watch him throughout the years and enjoyed The Social Network and Zombieland.  That being said, I can see why he was cast as a young Lex.  He has played cold and distant characters, which most would call neurotic.  I have no doubt seeing him pull off a diabolical plan to take down the Last Son of Krypton, but it's his screen presence I question.  

Hall, Strong, and Cranston all have an incredible presence in any scene they do.  That's what Lex Luthor should be.  He's evil, egotistical, and really does believe he's going to save to the planet from an alien threat; Superman.  Former Lex Luthor's include Gene Hackman, Michael Rosenbaum, Kevin Spacey, and all have stolen the spotlight from their own Superman while the camera is rolling.  I just don't see Eisenberg having that commanding, sinister, presence with his high pitched voice.  He just doesn't scare me like a good villain should.  Now I may be wrong, and maybe Eisenberg will show me something of his I haven't seen yet, and he'll be a great Lex Luthor.  I was surprised by Heath Ledger as the Joker and Chris Evans as Captain America; so it's possible.

 I really want to like this movie.  I really hope all these casting choices turn out well. And I really want to get this DC cinematic universe going and thriving, but if Man of Steel is a representation as to how it will proceed then I may have to start carrying a box of tissues with me to see DC films, or a bag full of tomatoes.  For god sakes Snyder, not killing is the core to who Superman is, how could you screw that up!