One of the most popular new genres is the legacy sequel. You know what I’m talking about. Legacy sequels are new additions to older franchises that pair the original stars with a new generation of talent, sometimes passing the torch to the next generation while also recapturing some of the glory from the old-school blockbuster days. Arguably, the two legacy sequel champs are Creed, which brought Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky back to cinemas while also giving Michael B. Jordan a stepping stone to big-screen stardom, and Top Gun: Maverick, which was such a huge hit that it kicked off the current legacy sequel craze.
Indeed, many of these legacy sequels outgross the originals. A good example is Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which grossed over four times what the original did (not adjusted for inflation), the Creed films (which have all been blockbusters), and Top Gun: Maverick. This year has seen the release of another wildly popular legacy sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, which made $100 million more than its predecessor domestically—and hundreds of millions more overseas. It was a big enough hit that star Anne Hathaway is joining another much-anticipated legacy sequel, Tom Cruise’s Days of Thunder 2. Next weekend, another big legacy sequel, Practical Magic 2, is on the way and looks to capture the zeitgeist at the box office.
But legacy sequels aren’t a sure thing. Some of them have really tanked, like Independence Day: Resurgence (not bringing back Will Smith was a fatal error), Men in Black: International (again—you needed Will Smith), the recent I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot, Terminator: Dark Fate, and the disastrous The Matrix Resurrections. Often, these movies go wrong either by overestimating nostalgia or trying to update a franchise while forgetting what made it work in the first place.
With that in mind, we want to know what your favorite legacy sequel is. Take the poll and let us know!
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