What Is A Sequel? Definition & Examples

What is a sequel? It’s the second installment in a series of novels, movies or TV shows. The word sequel comes from the Latin sequi, which means “to follow.” In books and movies, sequels usually continue the story of the original work.

They can be either stand-alone stories or parts of a larger story arc.

For example, the first Harry Potter book tells one complete story, but J.K. Rowling wrote seven sequels.
 

 
A sequel doesn’t always have to continue from where a film left off. It can also be a retelling of the same story from a different perspective, like the 2013 film, Oz: The Great and Powerful.

This was directed by Sam Raimi and told the story of how L. Frank Baum became inspired to write The Wizard of Oz.

In general, sequels are typically not as critically acclaimed as their predecessors because they don’t bring anything new to the table, but many die-hard fans enjoy seeing their favorite characters again.

A sequel should generally retain most of its predecessor’s cast. If a sequel’s cast is entirely new or only has one or two returning actors, this can affect whether people see it in theaters or not. Or even if it’s a sequel at all!

What Is A Sequel?

Sequels can be direct or indirect. A direct sequel continues the story directly from where it ended in the original work.

An indirect sequel is set in the same world as the original work but has no direct connection to it.

The movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is a direct sequel to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” while “Zoolander” is an indirect sequel to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

A prequel takes place before an existing story begins and reveals something about what happened before that story began. The prequel to “Star Wars” is called “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

It was released before the original movie came out in 1977 and explains how Princess Leia got hold of the plans for the Death Star superweapon.

What Are Sequels In Literature?

The term sequel can be confusing because it has several meanings. It can mean a book that continues the story of a previous book, but it can also refer to the second book in a series of books.

Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is a sequel to both The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. In this sense, The Hobbit is a prequel to his trilogy, and The Silmarillion is a prequel to his prequel.

There are three types of sequels: authorized sequels, unofficial sequels and pseudo-sequels. An authorized sequel is written by the original author or another person who has permission from the author to continue the story.

Unofficial sequels are written by someone who does not have permission from an author to write the sequel; this person writes as if he or she were the author and publishes it under the name of that author.

Pseudo-sequels are books that bear very little relation to their predecessors; they may feature similar characters or settings but often go in completely new directions.

Authorized sequels are sometimes made after an author’s death when they leave notes telling someone else how they want the story continued. Sometimes, however, an author dies without leaving such notes, leaving readers with unanswered questions about what might have happened next.

What Are Sequels In Film?

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of a sequel is? Or why they are named sequels? Sequels are significantly different from remakes. While remakes are films that tell the same story of an original film, sequels tell the continuing story of a specific character or set of characters.

Tentpoles are films that make up a large part of the business for a production company or movie studio. They don’t always have to be sequels, although most tentpoles tend to be sequels. The concept behind tentpole films is to build up a recognizable brand and release a new film in one of these series every year.

Sequels are often referred to as franchises, because they can include more than one film. The Rocky franchise, for example, includes six films (Rocky I-VI). Other popular film franchises include Star Wars, James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Mission Impossible.

A sequel must meet several criteria before it can get approval for development and production. The first criterion is there must be significant interest in a second film before the first film has even been released. This usually happens when the potential box office earnings exceed expectations. If there isn’t enough interest in the first film, then it won’t be profitable enough to warrant the sequel.

Examples Of Novel Sequels

So, you’ve finished your novel. Or maybe you’ve written it in several different sections. Now what? As with most things in life, the best thing to do is to use examples from real life.

Tolkien’s Middle Earth books were all parts of a larger story and not just one long book.

There are many examples of novels that are made up of pieces of other novels. One famous example is Dickens’ The Old Curiosity Shop which was made into a film starring Charlie Chaplin.

The first part was written by Charles Dickens and the second part by his friend, Thomas Thompson, who took up the story where Dickens left off after his death.

Another example is The Lord of the Rings which was written by JRR Tolkien, but continued by Christopher Tolkien after his father’s death. He completed writing on the same subject matter as his father had started many years before.

There are also several examples of sequels that have been written hundreds (or thousands) of years after the original stories were written. This can be seen in Homer’s Odyssey which was originally written around 800 BC but then was re-written in 1210 AD by Dante Alighieri in Italian as La Divina Commedia.

Examples Of Film Sequels

There are a lot of reasons why you should consider using film sequels. There are some definite benefits that come with working on sequels. This article will give you a few ideas of what they are and how to work around them.

So What Are Film Sequels?

A sequel is a follow up to a film, game or novel. The second part in a series, the follow up to a successful story.

Often when something does well, people want more. Be it more of the same or maybe an improved version if the original was lacking in any way. This can apply to many things and is usually seen with television series and movies.

With movies, this may mean that if the first film did well at the box office, there may be interest in creating an immediate sequel or releasing a second one shortly after the first one.

Sometimes, it can be as long as five years before we see the next edition of a movie franchise but most frequently we see it within two years of release for the first film if it was successful enough to warrant another one.

This has been happening for decades now and shows no sign of slowing down in the foreseeable future. It’s even getting to the point where we have franchises that are starting to outlive their original cast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWqoHaNFLrg

What Makes Sequels So Good?

If you’ve ever watched a movie and felt a sense of deja vu, it’s because Hollywood has made plenty of sequels. There are, in fact, a lot of good reasons for this.

On the most basic level, people go to the movies to be entertained and, for the most part, a sequel makes for an entertaining movie. But there’s more to it than that. Sequels can serve as a further exploration of a character or storyline as well as satisfying viewers’ curiosity about what happens next.

There are other good reasons to do a sequel too. Some argue that sequels have become a staple in Hollywood not because they’re good, but because they’re safe.

   

It’s far less risky to make an established sequel than take a chance on something new.

And even when sequels aren’t necessarily the best thing since sliced bread, they still rake in the big bucks at the box office.

Best Movie Sequels Of All Time

There is no better feeling than watching a movie and knowing that you are about to see the best sequel of all time.

It is a pleasure that not many people get to experience, but it is one that everyone should be able to enjoy from time to time.

This list of the best movie sequels of all time has been put together so that you can pick and choose which film you want to watch tonight.

If you’re not sure if any of these movies live up to their predecessors, then take a quick look at our list below so you’ll know which movies are worth watching tonight.

Here are some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood:

Star Wars

The first Star Wars film came out way back in 1977 and blew audiences away with its special effects and engaging story line. Since then, there have been four more “Star Wars” films along with several video games, novels and comic books and even two animated series episodes.

Dawn Of The Dead

When a new strain of rabies starts turning humans into zombies, the survivors of the original Dawn Of The Dead realise they have no choice but to head for the safety of a shopping mall. 

However, when the zombies start developing intelligence and break out, the group must make a run for freedom in their struggle for survival in this 2004 remake.

The Godfather Part II

After his father’s murder, Vito Corleone attempts to lead his family’s empire, but is soon caught in a power struggle with rival mobsters and ambitious political figures in this sequel set 20 years after The Godfather.