There are plenty of notable movie franchises that have gone on for too long, with sequels that stretch out the material past its breaking point with mediocre results. However, even more frustrating is when everyone could agree upon the fact that a sequel should be made and genuinely hoped for the best from it. The most disappointing movie sequels of all time are often those that should have been an instantly iconic continuation but ended up as just a bit bland (at best).

This is often due to a change in writing or direction behind the scenes, with someone new in charge who didn’t understand the original vision quite as well as its creator did. It could be a case where the best writing was simply used up in the preceding movies, and the latest sequel became noticeably repeтιтive. Whatever the reason, these movies, from perhaps even before their franchises went off the rails, should have been the stuff of Hollywood legend but fell short.

8

Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)

Sequel To Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day always existed in the space of the war against the machines being a long-off, horrific future. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines had the chance to start showing what that future would actually look like, with John Connor having reached adulthood and Judgment Day upon him. However, the franchise lost something when Linda Hamilton did not return, and the new leads didn’t have the same sharp charm.

Additionally, how the human resistance begins to take shape is simplified and the movie skips over what could have been its most interesting material. Characters who were supposed to become John’s trusted lieutenants are unceremoniously killed off with no consequences, while John and Kate being informed of their future marriage as an attempt to replicate the circumstances of the original is pointless. T3 faced the challenge of avoiding repeтιтion, and while it failed to do this, it didn’t delve into anything that could have made it a decent movie in its own right.

7

Joker: Folie À Deux (2024)

Sequel To Joker (2019)

2019’s Joker may have been divisive, but it executed its grittier-than-ever vision of Gotham City well, earning a Best Picture nomination and a Best Lead Actor win. Joker: Folie à Deux set itself up to be a very interesting sequel, meant to further explore crime and poverty in Gotham with an unabashed genre shift, becoming a jukebox musical and co-starring Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. While the movie received some praise for its performances, most of its other creative choices were deemed nonsensical.

Namely, the musical format could have been something legendary if better blended with the grainy crime drama, but it ended up being a redundant embellishment that disrupted the rest of the movie. This all leads up to a disappointing, nihilistic ending that proved that this particular iteration had worn out its welcome in the larger Batman franchise. Still, with some different story decisions and more deft use of the music, it could have been a movie sequel better than the original.

6

Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)

Sequel To Speed (1994)

Perhaps the million-dollar question is: “Would Speed 2 have worked if Keanu Reeves had returned?” It is not as if Reeves has never starred in a bad movie, and he reportedly turned down the part because he didn’t like the script to begin with. The absence of one of Reeves’ best action heroes is certainly one flaw with Speed 2: Cruise Control. Yet this is hardly the movie’s only problem.

The sequel to Speed could perhaps have been an iconic follow-up, albeit one that rehashes elements of the original, if it had leaned into its тιтular idea and found a new, high-speed, high-stakes situation that tops the first. However, the cruise ship concept clashes with what made Speed great to begin with. The conflict isn’t particularly clever, the performances are uninspired, and there is plenty of weak writing in between; Speed 2 was headed away from triumph and towards disaster from very early on.

5

Finding Dory (2016)

Sequel To Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Nemo is still one of the best Pixar movies of all time, and part of what works about it is its simplicity. The fish are anthropomorphized, certainly, but it is still merely about a long and arduous journey where they “just keep swimming” while reckoning with the emotional fallout of what’s happened. Following up on one of the Pixar greats, Finding Dory had a lot of hype building up around it, especially with the real-world persona of Ellen DeGeneres doing the marketing for them.

Finding Dory was, sadly, a sequel that just didn’t live up to the original, if that was ever possible to do. By all means, it is a decent movie with a new take on Finding Nemo‘s themes of a family searching for each other in a vast and unforgiving world. There are also some great new supporting characters who add to the Finding Nemo-esque charm. However, it goes astray in the final act with some ridiculous action and, overall, it doesn’t have the same je ne sais quoi of being one of Pixar’s classics that could have made it an awesome legacy sequel.

4

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Sequel To Wonder Woman (2017)

Wonder Woman is rightfully called one of the best superhero movies of all time, also making for one of the best DC Comics adaptations. However, Diana loses some of her edge as a character in the sequel with a “be careful what you wish for” plot stuffed with goofy, annoying villains. There is some profound character development for her, as she grapples with the pain of giving everything and getting nothing and discusses a legend that inspired her, with a perfect cameo to boot.

However, just about everything else distracts from the emotional core of what is an over-the-top story with no lasting consequences. Some will fervently argue that Wonder Woman 1984 wasn’t so bad of a movie and deserves more acknowledgment for its strengths. However, regardless of internal quality, its reception proves that it fell flat of being the epic sequel that Wonder Woman deserved, which could have built upon the themes of its predecessor rather than going with a different lesson altogether.

3

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)

Sequel To The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)

The final installment in the main Hunger Games series remains its lowest-rated chapter, including its “Part 1,” and just beating out the prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. The second Mockingjay movie should have been the epic conclusion to one of the biggest franchises in history, dealing with some of the books’ heaviest themes. Katniss discovers that the new government she has been fighting for also has the potential to be corrupted, and that evil is everywhere in humanity.

However, the Mockingjay movies both struggled with stretching out repeтιтive material enough to make two installments, and it becomes especially dull in the last one. It feels like it is simply going through the motions of tying up all the loose ends, and character deaths happen haphazardly without the weight they are due. The Hunger Games doubtlessly had its high point elsewhere and wasn’t destined to have as iconic of a finale.

2

Alien 3 (1992)

Sequel To Aliens (1986)

Alien is a masterclass in space horror, recasting the haunted house plot and cementing the final girl trope in the dark and merciless void of space, with a terrifying monster that hides until the very end like all good monsters do. Aliens was taken up by a different legendary director who lent his more action-oriented insights to the project, representing a genre shift but with just as stellar results that again relied on the leading lady power of Ellen Ripley. Alien 3, like Terminator, should have been the better-than-ever third installment.

However, this can generally be traced as the point where the Alien franchise started to fall in inconsistent quality. Going from Ridley Scott to James Cameron to then-newbie David Fincher, Alien 3 could have succeeded with an off-beat thriller approach. However, possibly due to behind-the-scenes troubles with budget and studio interference, Alien 3 is simply dull, with some divisive moments early on and pacing that can’t match the electricity of every moment of the other two.

1

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

Sequel To Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)

Star Wars: Episode IX should have reached the lofty heights of the most larger-than-life movies in history, bringing the iconic Skywalker Saga to an end. It was a task that would’ve been nearly impossible in the best of circumstances, which wasn’t what the sequel trilogy had with two directors with conflicting visions. About half of The Rise of Skywalker is trying to undo storylines developed in the previous movie, while the rest is fumbled plot twists reusing old characters to force the movie to be poignant.

The entire affair is a rushed mess and a sad end to one of the most famous stories of all time. Odd moments of fan service punctuate this, and it once and for all proves that Disney should have laid out a plan for its trilogy from the beginning. What should have been an absolutely legendary sequel failed to do justice to the iconic characters of old and the truly great new ones, whose arcs trailed off into disappointment.