Hollywood loves a good sequel. And sometimes that means bringing a franchise back long after their heyday had come and gone. Sometimes this works out. Yes, it’s tricky, but the filmmakers have a confident vision and a great idea for a story, then a long-overdue sequel can be refreshing and breath new life into a dormant franchise. Other times it doesn’t, and the sequel just comes across as a shallow attempt to bank on nostalgia and score a profit.
Either way, it’s always a big risk, and it’s always a shock for general audiences.
These are the ten sequels with the longest gaps between movies.
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For - 9 Years
Sin City was released in 2005 to moderate success. It received positive reviews for its unique visual style and fashionable violence, and it grossed nearly $160 million at the worldwide box office. It was a franchise waiting to happen, as there were more graphic novels that were yet to be adapted. Unfortunately, they didn’t strike while the iron was hot and instead waited nearly a decade to pump out a sequel. Everyone had long stopped caring by that point, and the movie grossed an atrocious $39.4 million - just $10 million more than the first movie’s opening weekend.
Toy Story 3 - 10 Years
When Toy Story 3 was announced, we all let out a collective groan. Questions and phrases like “They just had to make another one!” and “What are they going to do this time!?” and “Do we really need another Toy Story?” abounded, and for good reason. After all, both Toy Story movies were equally acclaimed, people thought another would just ruin the impact, and Toy Story 3 would be coming nearly eleven years after its predecessor. Luckily, Pixar leaned into that disillusionment and crafted a masterpiece about growing up and leaving the past behind.
The Godfather Part III - Nearly 16 Years
Now if you want to talk about questionable sequels, let’s talk about The Godfather Part III! Most people agree that this movie is not necessary, and even Francis Ford Coppola considers it more of an epilogue that a continuation of the story. It was released amid some huge buzz on December 25, 1990 to generally positive, but certainly more muted, response. The Godfather Part II was released on December 20, 1974, nearly sixteen years earlier to the day.
Rambo - 19 Years
The mid 2000s was a weird time for Sylvester Stallone. He seemed adamant about reviving long-dormant franchises, including Rambo and Rocky. Rocky Balboa was released in 2006, sixteen years after Rocky V, and Rambo was released two years later on January 25, 2008.
This was nearly twenty years after Rambo III, which was released on May 25, 1988. Questions were obviously raised, as Sylvester Stallone was now in his 60s. However, he more than exceeded our admittedly low expectations, and Rambo was a surprisingly worthy sequel.
Dumb And Dumber To - Nearly 20 Years
Was anyone asking for a Dumb and Dumber sequel? Not really. And we really weren’t asking for it in 2014. This sequel came twenty years after the original, with the original having released on December 16, 1994. The movie was a monumental success, grossing $247 million (about $420 million today) and making a star out of Jim Carrey. We got a horrible prequel in 2003, and that should have been the end of that. Unfortunately, we also got the grossly unnecessary Dumb and Dumber To, which was critically eviscerated and grossed an abysmal $169 million - $78 million less than the original. And that’s without accounting for inflation!
Tron: Legacy - 28 Years
Honestly, you might as well just reboot the series at this point. The original Tron was released in 1982, and while it was a modest success at the box office, it earned critical praise for its groundbreaking visuals. The movie quickly earned a cult following, and interest in a sequel had been brewing for some time. It wasn’t until 2005 that talks of a sequel were taken seriously, and Tron: Legacy was finally released on December 17, 2010 - 28 years and five months after the original.
Mad Max: Fury Road - 29 Years
Mad Max: Fury Road had a very tenuous connection to the past films, probably because they knew that no one remembers them. Mad Max hasn’t been relevant since 1985, when the third and “final” film in the series was released. Unfortunately, that movie was a massive disappointment, and Mad Max sort of faded into irrelevancy.
That is, until May 2015, when Fury Road shocked the world with its quality. It received a wide release on May 15, 2015, and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome on July 10, 1985 - nearly thirty years earlier.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 32 Years (Or 10 Years)
The length between movies depends on how you classify The Force Awakens. Is it a sequel to Revenge of the Sith? Yes, technically. And it came ten years after that movie, which is still a not insignificant amount of time. But if we’re being more accurate and stating that it’s a direct sequel to Return of the Jedi, then it was 32 long years between Star Wars movies. The prequels were fine and all (well…), but most people wanted to know what happened to their favorite characters after the events of Jedi. And they needed to wait three decades for the answer.
Blade Runner 2049 - 35 Years
Let’s be honest - Blade Runner 2049 never had a chance. Blade Runner released way back in 1982 and was a box office disappointment. And even though its stature has grown considerably in recent years, it’s still regarded as a cult classic. And then Blade Runner 2049 came out, 35 years after the original, and was nearly three hours long. That said, it still performed reasonably well, grossing $260 million. However, its inflated budget of $150-185 million guaranteed its death. It too was considered a financial disappointment.
Mary Poppins Returns - 54 Years
OK, now things are just getting silly. Mary Poppins is a cinematic icon, there’s no doubt about that. The original Mary Poppins was released on August 27, 1964 and was an instant success, grossing over $100 million at the box office and scoring thirteen Academy Award nominations (and five wins, including one for Julie Andrews). 54 years later we saw Emily Blunt filling Andrews’s shoes and returning as Mary in Mary Poppins Returns, which grossed $350 million and received four Academy Award nominations. We call that a success.
