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38 Characters and Stories Ruined by Their Own Sequels

When will Hollywood leave well enough alone?

38 Characters and Stories Ruined by Their Own Sequels

February 19, 2024

Hollywood, we’re begging you. If a character dies, leave them dead. If a character learns a lesson, don’t give them amnesia. If you have a scary doll or monster shark, make sure they remain scary!

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38

Failed Sequels The franchise failed to land on a tone. Where fans and critics thought Tim Burton's second Batman was too dark, Joel Schumacher overcorrected with a cartoonish installment featuring the now-iconic Bat Nipples. Batman & Robin CRACKED — Source

37

Failed Sequels Shaft (2019) Shaft failed to pass the baton. Samuel L. Jackson's Shaft in 2000 was a critical and financial success, but in 2019, his return was outdated and unnecessary, and lost almost $15 million. CRACKED — Source

36

Failed Sequels Terminator: Dark Fate We must go back and stop this movie from happening! Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and James Cameron reunited to take things too far. This sequel quickly states that the entire mission of the original two films was all for nothing. CRACKED — Source

35

Failed Sequels J Eh:00 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace When has anyone ever said, The fourth one was the best? A mainstay of worst comic book movies ever lists, it was such a failure that it killed live- action Superman movies for almost 20 years. CRACKED — Source

34

Failed Sequels Sin City: A Dame To Kill For A singular style is hard to recapture. Nine years after the original, this sequel kept its great cast and style, but felt irrelevant. It lost over $25 million. CRACKED — Source

33

Failed Sequels X-Men: Dark Phoenix It's been done. The final installment of the Fox reboot was same- old, story-wise, as the Jean Grey turned dark plot had been done in X-Men: The Last Stand (which was itself a failed sequel). CRACKED — Source

32

Failed Sequels Grease 2 They couldn't catch Grease Lightning in a bottle again. In 1978, Grease was Paramount's second highest grossing film (behind The Godfather). But by 1982, that '50s bad boy style felt stale. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John didn't return for it. CRACKED — Source

31

Failed Sequels Evan Almighty The scene that launched an ark. In Bruce Almighty, fans loved Jim Carrey forcing sleazy news anchor Evan (Steve Carell) to babble on air, but why this warranted an entire Noah's Ark sequel remains a mystery. CRACKED — Source

30

Failed Sequels The Rage: Carrie 2 Just another teen-filled horror flick. In 1976, a blood-soaked teen drama was groundbreaking, but by 1999, we'd seen it all. Critics called it a tired, boring rehash with less horror and more annoying teen angst. CRACKED — Source

29

Failed Sequels The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter A never-ending story that needed an ending after all. The German original film found massive success in the U.S, but the sequel was a step down both visually and in storytelling. Not to mention: it lost almost $20 million. CRACKED — Source

28

Failed Sequels Basic Instinct 2 A lot changed in 14 years. Back in 1992, the original set the bar in the erotic thrillers genre. But that had long cooled by 2006, so the sequel was behind the times of the standards set by the original. CRACKED — Source

27

Failed Sequels PC FO K Z e The Matrix Resurrections A movie not even its creator wanted. Almost 20 years after the trilogy, co-creator Lana Wachowski came on board reluctantly, and it showed. Fans noticed the self-deprecating themes, and it kind of tarnished the trilogy. CRACKED — Source

26

Failed Sequels Predator 2 Predator 2: Lost in L.A. It sounds like a fictional movie in the BoJack Horseman universe, but nope. Bringing Predator from the rainforest to Los Angeles and overcomplicating the story confused fans, and it fell way short of its successful original. CRACKED — Source

25

Failed Sequels Blues Brothers 2000 If you want nostalgia, just watch the original. In 1998, Dan Akroyd teamed up with John Goodman - which seemed like a slam dunk, but it only reminded fans of how good Aykroyd and John Belushi were back in 1980. CRACKED — Source

24

Failed Sequels They spent more on a weaker version. The DIY original was made for under $500k and raked in $248 million, but this sequel cost $15 million to gross $47.7 million. It used the same basic formula, but managed to make it worse. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 CRACKED — Source

23

CRACKED.COM STARWARS RETURN OF THE JEDI Being frozen in carbonite seems to have turned Han Solo into an incompetent crybaby. After his rescue, all Solo does is bumble around battles, nearly gets eaten by Ewoks, and spends half of the film being jealous of Leia and Luke. — Source

22

In the first installment of Disney PRINCESS DIARIES THE we expect Mia to make some mistakes because she's an awkward teen who is thrown into an unusual situation. But that in the second installment, she's still behaving like an irresponsible and impulsive teen when she expects to be appointed queen is, which is unacceptable and disappointing. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

DRAGONBALL Z Goku isn't the best dad, nor the brightest person, but he cares about his family and friends, and can be intimidating when angry. DRAGOMBALL SUPER Goku is a manchild who only lives for fighting and can't take anything seriously. CRACKED COM — Source

20

CRACKED COM At the end of Ted, stoner/slacker John Bennet becomes a mature adult and marries the woman he loves. Yay John! In Ted 2, immature slacker and recently-divorced John Bennet finds a woman more like him instead of trying to better himself. — Source

19

CRACKED.COM The flamboyant and chatty Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was a disappointing change from the first movie where Voldemort is a very intense and frightening figure. — Source

18

missin the first installment of CONGENIALITY Agent Hart is an empowered, strong woman who takes no nonsense from anyone. However, in the sequel, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, she might be armed but not so fabulous. She's turned compliant, frivolous, and started making decisions based on her bad breakup with Eric. GRACKED.COM — Source

17

SNOKE SEEMED LIKE AN INTERESTING VILLAIN, AND I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO LEARNING HIS BACK STORY. But in the first 15 minutes of Rise of Skywalker, we learn that he was Palpatine's pawn, with no apparent identity of his own. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

By the end of Men In Black, J is an accomplished agent with a unique style and a new rookie partner. THEN IN MEN IN BLACK II, HE'S BACK IN HIS OLD SUIT AS TOMMY LEE JONES' GOOFY SIDEKICK. CRACKED COM — Source

15

It's no one's fault that Richard Harris passed away, and had to be replaced for the rest of the HARRY POTTER films... ...but why did a new actor have to mean a new personality and wardobe for the character? This drab grouch is not Professor Dumbledore! CRACKED.COM — Source

14

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life does a good job of portraying Rory's 30-something burnout. They also make her a serial cheater for no reason. She hadn't always made the best decisions about love, but the way she constantly forgets about her boyfriend adds a cruel streak to her that's played off as a running joke. CRACKED.COM — Source

13

Annabelle used to be scary in The Conjuring (2013) because of its unexplained origin. In Annabelle (2014), it is explained that the doll became haunted because some cultists died next to it, which is an explanation so dumb and generic it turned the potentially scary doll into a joke. CRACKED.COM — Source

12

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man gave us an excellent Peter Parker. His Spider-Man 3 gave us a dancing dweeb with an awful haircut. CRACKED COM — Source

11

In The Godfather: In The Godfather: Part III, Michael Part II, Michael Corleone is a Corleone is ruthless, powerful pathetic and figure, a natural wracked heir to the with guilt, formidable Vito trivializing the Corleone. family saga. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

The Blues Brothers Blues Brothers 2000 Elwood Blues is a Elwood spends cool, detached most of the character who movie acting doesn't really like an uncool, care about concerned dad. anyone. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

CRACKED.COM The Karate Kid While Daniel was always a conflicted teenager, he was loyal and respectful towards Mr. Miyagi. But in The Karate Kid Part III he turns on him, behaves like a brat and even makes his friend and mentor cry. Shame on you, Daniel-San! — Source

8

In the first Legally Blonde movie, Elle Woods is a perky but still grounded and likeable character. In the sequel, she's an obnoxious caricature. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

CRACKED.COM PIRATES of - CARIBBEAN THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL OVER THE COURSE OF 5 MOVIES, CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW WENT FROM BEING THE COOLEST CHARACTER IN THE FRANCHISE, TO A RUM-SOAKED BAG OF FAMILY-FRIENDLY SLAPSTICK. PIRATES The CARIBBEAN DEAD MEN TELL! NO TALES — Source

6

The practical effects in John Carpenter's The Thing made the monsters SO believable they still freak us out to this day. The prequel instead utilized a CGI effect, which made the monsters look like video game characters. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Thor: Ragnarok has turned Thor into a goofball for no reason. While his transformation into a comedic figure is a courageous reinvention of the character, the experience is extremely jarring when you consider his personality in his previous movies. It's hard to believe that Thor would still joke around when his fellow Asgardians are facing extinction. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

HANGOVER HANGOVER PART II Alan clearly Alan bullies has a big an innocent heart and teen non- cares for a stop. baby. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

GRAGKED.COM Padmé Amidala Badass warrior queen... ...reduced to a weepy housewife who contributes to the plot by giving birth and then losing her will to live. — Source

2

CRACKED.COM In Jaws, the shark was a mysterious, rarely-shown predator By Jaws: The Revenge, the shark had become a joke, tracking the Brody family to the Bahamas seeking revenge. — Source

1

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, we met a ball-busting Marion Ravenwood who could miraculously drink a ton of liquor and still kick some Nazi ass. In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, we got Mutt's mom. Because all that firecracker attitude had somehow been snuffed out to make way for Indy's long-lost baby mama - drama and all. CRACKED.COM — Source

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