These days, a hit movie getting a sequel isn't much of a surprise — in fact,
it's usually a given. Nonetheless, there are a few projects in the work that nobody could
possibly have seen coming. Here are the sequels you probably had no idea were even happening.
It's been almost 20 years since audiences first followed sorority girl Elle Woods to Harvard Law
School in the bubblegum comedy Legally Blonde. The movie was followed up with 2003's Legally
Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, and now Elle is back in an as-yet-untitled threequel. ,
Not much has been said in the way of plot details, although sources originally told
Deadline that the third movie will be "much in the spirit of the first film," which saw Elle
draw on her fashion sense, optimism, and strong sense of sisterhood to defy the patriarchy,
lift up the women around her… and look great doing it.
"You got into Harvard Law?"
"What, like it's hard?"
That Deadline report mostly referred to an earlier draft of the script,
before Office alum Mindy Kaling and Brooklyn Nine-Nine creator Dan Goor took over writing
duties — but it's easy to imagine that the new story will also embrace the original
movie's themes of female empowerment. Legally Blonde 3 is expected to arrive in May 2022.
When The Meg first swam into theaters, plenty of people were skeptical at what
appeared to be an over-the-top Jaws ripoff. But this megalodon movie earned some serious
coin at the box office, drawing $528 million worldwide against its $130 million budget. And
maybe that's not really so surprising — after all, it's basically a movie about
Jason Statham going to war with a gigantic shark. Who doesn't want to see that?
Well, after audiences went into a feeding frenzy for the film, plans for a sequel were almost
immediately set into motion. In October 2020, Warner Bros. confirmed that, of all people,
the critically-acclaimed thriller filmmaker Ben Wheatley will be helming the shark-tastic sequel.
Nobody's really sure what the plot will be, but since The Meg is actually based
on a series of books by Steve Alten, the sequel might well draw on the next novel, which involves
an even bigger shark, as well as the giant, crocodile-like beast known as the Kronosaurus .
In 2007, Disney captivated audiences with Enchanted, a princess story with a twist,
in which the animated princess Giselle accidentally tumbles into real-world,
live-action New York City. Although Giselle eventually found her happy ending with single
dad Robert, that didn't stop talk of a sequel from spinning soon after the film's release.
While the sequel, titled Disenchanted, was slow getting off the ground,
the production is now full steam ahead, and will be premiering exclusively on Disney+ .
In 2016, Hairspray director Adam Shankman was brought on board to direct the movie,
and he confirmed in 2019 that he's still attached to the production.
The script for Disenchanted is said to take place ten years after the first film,
following Giselle as she questions her happily ever after — and inadvertently
shakes things up in both the real world and the animated kingdom of Andalasia .
Disney has confirmed that Amy Adams will return for the sequel, and while Patrick
Dempsey hasn't been officially announced as a cast member, he has told Entertainment Tonight
that he'd happily be involved, just so long as the sequel can live up to the magic of the original.
Nearly a quarter century after the release of the first Scream movie,
a fifth installment in the deliciously self-aware
horror franchise has wrapped filming — and is headed to theaters in 2022.
Stars Courteney Cox and David Arquette have appeared in all four previous Scream installments,
and both officially signed on for the fifth film in 2020. Although Cox and Arquette are
divorced in real life, their characters should theoretically still be married in the films.
Marley Shelton, who played Judy Hicks in Scream 4, will also be returning, as will NeveCampbell,
who played protagonist Sidney Prescott in all four prior Scream films. Although
Campbell's casting was never officially announced by Campell or the studio,
her involvement was confirmed when Kevin Williamson tweeted a photo of himself
alongside Campbell and Cox announcing the end of filming. In a caption, Williamson wrote:
"I'm thrilled to be reunited with Neve, Courteney, David and Marley,
and to be working alongside a new filmmaking team and incredible cast of newcomers that have
come together to continue Wes's legacy with the upcoming relaunch of the franchise that I hold
so dear to my heart. See you in theatres January 2022."
In 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road reinvigorated the long-dormant Mad Max franchise,
offering a thrilling new spin on George Miller's post-apocalyptic action series.
Casting Tom Hardy as Max and shifting the focus to Charlize Theron's rage-fueled
Imperator Furiosa , Fury Road wowed audiences and critics alike, with many now considering it
one of the best action films of all time. So it seemed that a sequel was pretty much inevitable.
And sure enough, five years after Fury Road roared into theaters, two follow-up films
are in the works. One is a direct sequel to Fury Road, while the other is a prequel
centered around a younger Furiosa. The sequel, which has been given the working title Mad Max:
The Wasteland, was reportedly greenlit by Warner Bros. in early 2020, and while the
movie will follow the further exploits of Max, Furiosa herself isn't set to return.
Of course, Furiosa will bring back the character,
but Theron won't be making an appearance in that film either;
director George Miller said that much as he loved Theron's performance in Fury Road, he doesn't have
enough faith in de-aging technology to allow Theron to reprise her role for the prequel.
Instead, the younger Furiosa will be played by Anya Taylor-Joy,
who will be joined by MCU star Chris Hemsworth and Emmy-winning Watchmen actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
in undisclosed roles. However, their characters have likely existed in Miller's
head since before the previous film, since he developed origin stories for every character
while prepping Fury Road — even writing an entire screenplay for Furiosa in the process.
In an act of divine providence — or maybe just Hollywood nostalgia — it looks like
Sister Mary Clarence will be donning her habit once again. In late 2020,
Whoopi Goldberg announced that Sister Act 3 is finally in the works,
after years of being told that there was no interest in a threequel.
The film, which will premiere on Disney+, was confirmed by Disney
at their 2020 Investor Day event. Goldberg will be returning as both star and producer,
with Tyler Perry also coming on board to produce. Released in 1992, the first Sister
Act saw Goldberg play Deloris Van Cartier , a lounge singer who goes into witness protection
at a convent after witnessing a killing. There, in the guise of a nun named Sister Mary Clarence,
Deloris transforms the convent's humdrum choir into an upbeat musical sensation.
Sister Act got a sequel in 1993 with Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, which found Deloris
stepping in as a music teacher for a group of low-achieving students at a Catholic school.
And while Goldberg hasn't dropped any hints about the plot of Sister Act 3, it's safe to assume that
Deloris will likely be giving a lackluster singing group a powerful musical makeover.
It hasn't yet been confirmed whether the recurring cast members from the previous
movies will be returning, but Goldberg herself seems keen to bring them back into the fold.
"So we're working diligently to try to figure out how to get every — how to get the gang together."
While Hocus Pocus failed to make much of a splash when it was first released in 1993, it has since
gathered a cult following as a Halloween staple. The film follows a group of kids who accidentally
resurrect a trio of sisters on Halloween, three hundred years after their execution in 1693.
While details on the sequel remain scarce, original Hocus Pocus writer Mick Garris has
suggested that, although himself is not involved, he's under the impression that original stars
Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy , and Sarah Jessica Parker are set to return. Those three have indeed
all expressed an interest in the movie, so now that Hocus Pocus 2 has been officially
confirmed by Disney, it would be surprising if they didn't make at least a brief appearance.
Hocus Pocus 2 is expected to debut on Disney+ sometime in the not-too-distant future.
Released in 2010, David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network earned tremendous critical
acclaim and won three Oscars for its screenplay, editing, and score. Now, a decade later,
Sorkin is eager to return to the story of Mark Zuckerberg's tech empire, this time looking into
what Facebook has become and the role it plays in modern politics. Speaking to MTV's "Happy
Sad Confused" podcast about the possibility of a Social Network sequel, Sorkin said:
"I do want to see it. And [producer Scott Rudin wants to see it. People have been
talking to me about it because of what we've discovered is the dark side of Facebook."
Although Sorkin and Rudin seem to be on board,
there's one thing that could still stand in the way of The Social Network 2 becoming a reality:
a commitment from director David Fincher. Working explained:
"I will only write it if David directs it. If Billy Wilder came back from the
grave and said he wanted to direct it, I'd say I'd only do it with David."
In addition to Jesse Eisenberg , The Social Network starred a number of other talented
young actors — and although it's safe to assume that The Social Network 2
would see Eisenberg return to his role, there's no knowing which of
his fellow Social Network cast members might make an appearance in the sequel.
After the massive commercial success of Disney's Lion King remake,
it seemed like only a matter of time until a sequel was announced. But the
follow-up's director is more of a surprise — because this time,
Academy Award-winning writer and director Barry Jenkins will be sitting in the director's chair.
Jenkins won't be writing The Lion King 2, but will be working from a script by Jeff Nathanson,
who penned the first movie. While no specific details of the plot have been revealed,
Deadline reports that "the story will further explore the mythology of the characters,
including Mufasa's origin story." Although The Lion King 2 seems like an outlier in Jenkins'
filmography, which includes movies such as Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk,
the director seems excited about working on the sequel. In a statement, Jenkins said:
"Having the opportunity to work with Disney on expanding this magnificent tale of friendship,
love and legacy, while furthering my work chronicling the lives and
souls of folk within the African diaspora, is a dream come true."
During Disney's 2020 Investor Day event, the studio reaffirmed that a fifth installment in
the iconic Indiana Jones franchise is on the way, and will once again star Indy himself,
Harrison Ford. At 78 years old, Ford will likely be retiring his trademark whip and fedora by the
end of Indiana Jones 5, although the studio hasn't yet indicated whether the film will see
him pass the baton to a younger generation — or close out the franchise altogether.
"It's not the years, honey. It's the mileage."
James Mangold is sitting in the director's chair for the new movie,
and if anybody knows how to bring the legacy of a beloved action hero to a dignified end,
it's him. Mangold previously directed 2017's Logan, which earned him an Academy Award
nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and served as a thrilling and satisfying conclusion for Hugh
Jackman and Patrick Stewart's characters. While Indiana Jones 5 isn't likely to skew
nearly as dark as Logan, fans can only hope that it will provide a similarly moving farewell
to everybody's favorite adventurer. Indy 5 hits theaters in July 2022.
In October 2020, actor Stephen Lang revealed on Twitter that he'd just wrapped filming on Don't
Breathe 2, the sequel to the 2016 home invasion horror thriller. In the first film, Lang played
the cryptically named Blind Man, a homeowner who finds himself the target of a trio of small-scale
burglars. Unfortunately for the would-be thieves, the Blind Man is far more capable and ruthless
than they assume, and winds up trapping them in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
The sequel follows Lang's character several years after the home invasion,
as the Blind Man lives in quiet isolation with a young girl who was orphaned by a house fire.
The Blind Man is forced to jump back into action when the girl is kidnapped, however,
and if the first movie is any indication, the kidnappers have no idea what they're in for.
After six successful movies very loosely based on the video game series of the same name,
Resident Evil is finally getting a proper origin story, jumping back to the events of the earliest
games in the series. This standalone Resident Evil prequel will star Kaya Scodelario as Claire
Redfield, Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine, Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield, Tom Hopper as
Albert Wesker, Avan Jogia as Leon Kennedy, and Neal McDonough as William Birkin . The
film will be written and directed by Johannes Roberts, who said of his approach to the film:
"With this movie, I really wanted to go back to the original first two games
and re-create the terrifying visceral experience I had when I first played them,
whilst at the same time telling a grounded human story about a small dying American
town that feels both relatable and relevant to today's audiences."
Roberts' approach is likely to be a significant departure from the previous six films, which were
all directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. No release date has been announced for the Resident Evil
prequel, but filming began in October of 2020, and it's expected to hit screens sometime in 2021.
More than three decades after the original Troop Beverly Hills hit theaters in 1989,
a sequel is in the works from Israeli filmmaker Oran Zegman, in her feature directorial debut.
The original Troop Beverly Hills film starred Shelley Long as a pampered housewife on the brink
of divorce, who sets out to prove to her family that she's capable of more than they think by
becoming a Wilderness Girls den mother. There's no word yet on whether the original cast will return,
or even what the sequel is about, but Ava Fries — whose real-life experiences inspired the events of
the first movie — is back on board as executive producer, indicating that the sequel could also
draw from some part of her life, although nothing official has yet been announced.
While the main Toy Story narrative appears to have been wrapped up by the end of Toy Story 4,
it seems that Pixar aren't ready to say goodbye to the franchise just yet.
Disney announced during their 2020 Investor Day event that everyone's favorite Space Ranger, Buzz
Lightyear, would be getting his own feature film, which will arrive in theaters June 17th, 2022.
But Lightyear won't be your typical spinoff. Instead of following the Tim
Allen-voiced character from the Toy Story films,
Lightyear will follow a different Buzz Lightyear, voiced by MCU star Chris Evans.
After Pixar tweeted that the movie will be "the definitive story of the original Buzz Lightyear,"
Evans followed their announcement up with a clarification of his own, saying:
"And just to be clear, this isn't Buzz Lightyear the toy.
This is the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on."
Basically, this is the movie on which the Buzz Lightyear toys are based. Expect plenty
of sci-fi heroics, thrilling space action, and, hopefully, an appearance from this guy.
"I'll never give in. You killed my father!"
"No, Buzz. I am your father."
"Noooooo!"
In a normal year, a movie like The War With Grandpa probably wouldn't have delivered an
especially notable performance at the box office. But in 2020, when many theaters were operating
at extremely limited capacity, the movie was a surprising success — since it was basically one of
the only ones anybody could actually see. Still, that's apparently enough to warrant a sequel.
Starring Robert De Niro alongside an all-star cast, The War With Grandpa
follows a kid who is upset about having to give up his room to his grandfather,
and decides to wage war in order to reclaim it. Although the film ends with the two in a better
place, the sequel will apparently revisit the family when Grandpa proposes to his girlfriend,
and needs to meet her family from London. While there's no word yet on a release date just yet, we
can only hope that, when it finally does release, it will be under far less harrowing circumstances.
Although a G.I. Goe spinoff titled Snake Eyes was delayed until 2021 due to the coronavirus
pandemic, that hasn't stopped Paramount from moving forward with yet another G.I. Joe sequel.
While no plot or casting details for the third G.I. Joe film have been confirmed,
back in 2018 it was reported that the title would be G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant,
and that it would star Dwayne Johnson, reprising his role from G.I. Joe:
Retaliation. Of course, at the time that those details were announced, Mission Impossible:
Ghost Protocol writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec were also attached to write the script,
which is no longer the case. With the script changing hands, it's very possible that none of
the other previously announced details are still the case — but we'll likely find out soon enough.
Having announced that the absurdly successful Transformers franchise
will be stepping in a new direction, Paramount are eyeing up Creed II director Steven Caple Jr. to
helm the next movie in the franchise. Caple will be working from a script written by Joby Harold,
who was responsible for the screenplay for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
and will be serving as a writer for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series at Disney+.
While a deal hasn't closed quite yet, production insiders told Deadline that Caple was the top
choice among studio executives and producers. Although Paramount hasn't yet revealed anything
definitive about the plot or characters for Transformers 7, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura
previously revealed that the studio wasn't interested in developing a direct sequel to
The Last Knight — and that the next Transformers film won't be picking up where that one left off.
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