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.
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