5 Must Watch Legacy Sequels!

Not quite a sequel and not quite a reboot, legacy sequels have been appearing in theaters more and more. But which ones are worth the watch?

Blade Runner 2049

Though now fully integrated into meme culture, Blade Runner 2049 is the playbook for how to do a legacy sequel. A sequel to 1982’s Blade Runner (which was actually set in 2019) Blade Runner 2049 is a near three hour long epic that makes sure to tell its own worthwhile story but deeply connect with Ridley Scott’s original film and its characters, mainly Harrison Ford’s Deckard.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Now here’s where legacy sequels can get a bit muddled when contemplating where they fit in with the movies that preceded them. Though directed by the same George Miller who had directed the original Mad Max, Mad Max: Fury Road is in a sort of gray area where continuity is concerned. As George Miller put it, “Well, they’re not really connected in any very strict way. They’re another episode in a saga of a character who is pretty archetypal: the wanderer in the wasteland, basically searching for meaning. This is someone we see in the classic westerns, in samurai stories. You can’t really put a chronology [of the Mad Max films] together. They were never conceived that way. After I made the first one I had no intention to make a second, the second was ultimately an attempt to do the things I couldn’t in the first one and so on. They were all standalone films in many, many ways.” Regardless of continuity, Mad Max: Fury Road is a solid motion picture that will have you itching to go out and drive some modified, wasteland cars of your own.

Top Gun: Maverick

Before Tom Cruise discovered the key to Hollywood success was making seven Mission Impossible movies, he was in a great movie called Top Gun. Building off of its predecessor’s need for speed, Top Gun: Maverick features a cast of old and new and is a thrill-seeker’s go to movie. Did I mention that it also generated more than 1 billion dollars?

Cobra Kai

Everyone remembers where they were when Daniel won the All Valley Karate Championship with the crane kick in the original The Karate Kid. Set 30 years after, Cobra Kai honors its humble 80’s roots while offering a whole new perspective to the original movie. Some of the character’s inability to move forward from the past and returning friends and foes make Cobra Kai feel more than natural for returning fans and exciting enough to retain a new, young audience, as evidenced by its upcoming sixth season.

Halloween

Though horror movies are no strangers to reboots and redundant sequels, Halloween (2018) clears the board and declares itself a direct sequel to the 1978 original, ignoring all other sequels and reboots (click for a guide to Halloween’s convoluted movie timeline). Featuring Michael Myers at his scariest, Halloween (2018) also offers closure for its grief stricken protagonist and scream queen, Laurie Strode as she fights to protect her family from The Shape. Ending in a fiery finale, it seemed like Michael had finally been put down for good. Until he came back for two more sequels (Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends).