WE MIGHT HAVE

 A SEQUEL HERE.

What might it be a sequel to?

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Is it?

Yes.

Technically it prefers to call itself an “equal”,

but the plain fact is that a few characters do

indeed return, despite all but one being played

by different actors. Other original actors also

appear, mind you, just in new roles.

What might it be a sequel to?

A Christmas Story (1983)

Is it?

Yes.

Sadly, you can’t call it anything else. Brand-new

cast aside, it’s directed by Bob Clark who co-wrote

with Leigh Brown and Jean Shepard himself, who

once again provides the narration. Heck, even Tedde

Moore is back as Ralphie’s teacher. It’s a sequel,

just a mighty sorry one.

What might it be a sequel to?

If.... (1968)

Is it?

No.

Not really. Star Malcolm McDowell and

director Lindsay Anderson made three films

featuring a lead character named Mick Travis,

but that’s where the connections end. There’s

nothing to suggest that he’s literally the same

character. The closest they come is having

him stumble into auditioning for “If....”

towards the end of this movie. So, if anything,

one could construe it as a prequel. But it’s

neither.

What might it be a sequel to?

If.... (1968)

O Lucky Man! (1973)

Is it?

No.

Again, the character’s name and the

themes/tone/message are the only things

that bridge these movies narratively.

But I’m sure somewhere someone is

arguing otherwise, claiming they’re clearly

a trilogy and I’m just too dense to see so.

My apologies.

What might it be a sequel to?

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Is it?

No.

Billed as a “spiritual sequel”, it has no definitive

ties to “Dazed and Confused”. Any claims that the

two kinda maybe might take place in the same

shared universe are entirely unfounded.

What might it be a sequel to?

Uh, presumably a movie called Surf…?

Is it?

No.

There was/is no “Surf I”. Get it? Very funny.

They even went one step further and (sometimes)

subtitled it “The End of the Trilogy”. Hilarious.

What might it be a sequel to?

Django (1966)

Is it?

No.

At least not in my book. There are dozens of

movies that claim to be "Django" ones, but if

you ask me there is only one real sequel and it

stars Franco Nero. Perhaps people just want

this one to be an official follow-up because it’s

actually quite good and if anyone can come close

to filling Nero’s shoes, it’s Terence Hill. However,

this movie has a bunch of titles, one of them being

“Django, Prepare a Coffin”, and the reality is that

it was most likely conceived and developed as

“Prepare the Coffin!” (see poster below) and

naming the main character Django was merely

for publicity purposes.

What might it be a sequel to?

Knocked Up (2007)

Is it?

Yes.

Call it a spin-off or sort-of sequel or

whatever, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann

flat-out reprise their roles as Pete and

Debbie, respectively. The leads from the

first movie never pop up, but each are

briefly referenced in dialogue.

What might it be a sequel to?

Horror High…?

Is it?

No.

For years I honestly assumed this was

a sequel. It’s not. But I think I was right 

to be wrong. The movie, about returning

to a high school where a bunch of unsolved

murders took place years before, is all sorts

of meta: it features a movie within the movie

called “Horror High” and ends with a character

writing a sequel entitled - you guessed it!

What might it be a sequel to?

The Fugitive (1993)

Is it?

Yes.

They didn’t make too big a deal of it in the

marketing or the movie itself, but this is a

good old fashioned spin-off which puts

Tommy Lee Jones’ character centre stage.

What might it be a sequel to?

Zombi…?

Is it?

No.

Here’s what happened: George Romeo’s “Dawn

of the Dead”, recut & rescored, was released in

Italy under the title “Zombi” to great success. This

movie was made to capitalize off that hit, but doesn’t

actually follow “Dawn of the Dead” in any way. So,

when it came time for its North American release,

they dropped the ‘2’ and called it simply “Zombie”

(see below).

However, fans are all for maintaining its

original foreign title. Which is why most

recent home video releases feature cover

art similar to this…

What might it be a sequel to?

Manhunter (1986)

Is it?

No.

It’s just not and we all know it. These are

merely unrelated adaptations of books from

the same series. If these movies are linked than

there’s a whole Elmore Leonard cinematic

universe out there that someone should really

do something about.

What might it be a sequel to?

Meatballs (1979)

Is it?

Yes.

But in title only! This movie is about kids at a

summer camp who befriend and attempt to

hide an alien. All sorts of lame hijinks ensue.

It had absolutely nothing to do with “Meatballs”

during production and was only labelled a

sequel upon release.

What might it be a sequel to?

Meatballs (1979)

Meatballs Part II (1984)

Is it?

Yes.

Again - this was made as a stand alone

summer camp comedy and morphed into

the third in the series by way of marketing

only.

What might it be a sequel to?

Meatballs (1979)

Meatballs Part II (1984)

Meatballs III: Summer Job (1986)

Is it?

Yes. 

And the same goes for this so-called

“instalment” in the so-called “franchise”.

In other words, “Meatballs” has no true

sequel.

What might it be a sequel to?

The Last Detail (1973)

Is it?

No.

This movie is based on the novel that follows

“The Last Detail”, but director Richard Linklater

himself stated that the two adaptations are not

connected in any way.