Unofficial trilogies are some of the best-kept secrets in movie history, and many of them don’t get the attention that they deserve. Unlike a film franchise such as Star Wars or Harry Potter that are linked by their characters, events, and setting, unofficial trilogies are usually grouped together based on themes and overarching ideas.

Often, filmmakers will take stabs at the same story concepts across their filmographies, and that can sometimes result in an unofficial trilogy. In other instances, directors’ trademarks inadvertently link several films together, such as Edgar Wright’s uproarious Cornetto Trilogy. The only thing that connects the films is the inclusion of the тιтular ice cream snack.

While the individual movies themselves might be celebrated, their status as part of unofficial trilogies goes unnoticed. With the rise of fan culture, more and more such trilogies have begun to pop up, with devoted viewers noticing subtle clues to connect their favorite films together. Some unofficial trilogies are so good that they rival the best planned-out franchises.

Alexander Payne’s Omaha Trilogy – Citzen Ruth (1996), Election (1999), About Schmidt (2002)

Writer/director Alex Payne has never shied away from his roots as a native of Nebraska, but three of his films specifically celebrate his hometown of Omaha. His first three feature films, Citizen Ruth, Election, and About Schmidt, are all set in Nebraska’s largest city, though that is the only major thread that links the three dark comedies.

While the films may be wildly different, the Omaha setting isn’t just a mere detail. The trilogy represents various aspects of life in the Midwestern H๏τbed, and they cynically tear apart the squeaky clean idealized vision of the region and its people. Except for his 2013 masterpiece, Nebraska, the director hasn’t returned to his old stomping ground since.

The Trilogy Of Life – The Decameron (1971), The Canterbury Tales (1972), Arabian Nights (1974)

Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini’s life was tragically cut short, and he had finally found his signature themes in the final few years of his career. Pasolin’s so-called “Trilogy of Life” includes three adaptations of classic literature, where the filmmaker accentuates the humor and Sєxual nature of the stuffy old books.

There was clear intention with the filmmaker’s work, and the Trilogy of Life is one of the most official unofficial trilogies ever. Pasolini’s themes remained the same with all three installments, and they are even stylistically linked as well. However, The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales, and Arabian Nights can be watched in any order, befitting their anthological source material.

The Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy – Totally F***ed Up (1993), The Doom Generation (1995), Nowhere (1997)

Gregg Araki was one of the most triumphant new voices in independent cinema in the 1990s, and his Teenage Apocalypse trilogy captured the mood of the era. As the тιтle suggests, Totally F***ed Up, The Doom Generation, and Nowhere all involve teenagers who come of age while getting into plenty of debauchery and trying to ᴀssess their Sєxual idenтιтies.

The Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy was a seminal part of Queer art in the ’90s, and can be seen as something of an intentional subversion of the manufactured teen films of John Hughes from the ’80s. Though many of Araki’s later movies touched on similar themes, the trio he made in succession are linked by similar styles, tone, and contemporary critique.

The Apartment Trilogy – Repulsion (1965), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Tenant (1976)

Horror is not a genre that often produces unofficial trilogies, but Roman Polanski’s Apartment Trilogy is a rare exception. The disgraced Polish auteur broke onto the international scene with his surrealistic nightmare, Repulsion, but continued those themes into his career-defining flick, Rosemary’s Baby. The Tenant is often forgotten, but fittingly concludes the series.

Each film involves, unsurprisingly, an apartment dweller who is suddenly thrust into a Kafka-esque horror situation. The movies all use claustrophobic imagery to scare the audience, and there is a touch of surrealism to go along with the urban paranoia that was all the rage in the ’60s and ’70s.

Wim Wender’s Road Movie Trilogy – Alice In The Cities (1974), The Wrong Movie (1975), Kings Of The Road (1976)

According to the Criterion Collection, Wim Wenders didn’t conceive his films Alice in the Cities, The Wrong Movie, and Kings of the Road as a trilogy, but others didn’t agree. Unlike his earlier films, which were somewhat aimless, the Road Trilogy stuck closer to the traditional road trip movie format, with the characters being changed by each new experience.

Technically speaking, the Road Trilogy looks very disparate, with all three movies sH๏τ on different film formats. However, they feature a stylistic throughline involving characters who use travel as a way to connect with the world around them. The trilogy itself shares no repeated characters, but some would appear in later Wenders projects.

The Vengeance Trilogy – Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), Lady Vengeance (2005)

With two of the three movies sharing one keyword, it should come as no surprise that critics were quick to dub Park Chan-wook’s early 2000s output as a trilogy. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance were all made in succession, and saw Chan-wook hammering his themes down to the finest point possible.

Besides being a trilogy of revenge flicks, the Vengeance series also breaks down the emotions that drive the genre. It takes an analytical approach, and looks at it from all moral angles. Several actors play different roles in all three movies, but that doesn’t link them. Oldboy has the strongest lasting legacy of the three, but they’re all excellent films.

Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War Trilogy – Platoon (1986), Born On The Fourth Of July (1989), Heaven & Earth (1993)

The Vietnam War left profound scars on the American psyche, and it particularly influenced filmmakers like Oliver Stone who fought overseas. A decade later, Stone directed Platoon, which offered an unflinching look at the violence and tragedy of war. He followed it with the devastating Born of the Fourth of July, and capped his trilogy with Heaven & Earth.

The Vietnam War is the main thing that links the three films, but so too does their staunch anti-war message. When watched in order, the trilogy shows the war itself, the emotional aftermath on Americans, and the tragedy wrought on Vietnamese people by the conflict. It’s one of the most complete unofficial trilogies, even if the third installment is overlooked.

The Apocalypse Trilogy – The Thing (1982), Prince Of Darkness (1987), In The Mouth Of Madness (1995)

Director John Carpenter might be one of the most beloved horror filmmakers of all time, but his directing career was rife with setbacks. Three of his biggest cult classics are technically linked as an unofficial trilogy, and The Thing, Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness are all considered part of the Apocalypse Trilogy.

Each movie involves some sort of larger cosmic horror, and the apocalyptic aftermath of that evil being unleashed. Taking a page from author H.P. Lovecraft, there is a fatalistic theme throughout the three films, and it’s clear by the ending of each that the world is doomed. The three movies pit science, faith, and art against the inevitability of destruction.

DiCaprio’s Corruption Trilogy – Django Unchained (2012), The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013), The Great Gatsby (2013)

While most unofficial trilogies are cooked up by fans and critics, one actually comes from the mind of Leonardo DiCaprio himself. DiCaprio considers his unofficial trilogy to be Django Unchained, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Great Gatsby, three movies that look quite different on the surface. However, he has good reason for his thought process.

To DiCaprio, the movies represent some form of corruption in United States history, and the films all take place in three distinct time periods. Not only does DiCaprio link them, but each involves a nefarious insтιтution that harms others while benefiting some. He might be the only person who considers them a trilogy, but he makes a good point.

The Lesbian B-Movie Trilogy – Drive-Away Dolls (2024), Honey Don’t! (2025), ?

Unofficial trilogies are usually completed when they are given a label, but Ethan Coen’s ambitious Lesbian B-Movie Trilogy is still ongoing. The solo Coen plans to make a third film that will borrow a lot of the same themes and style of the first two, and they will all involve traditional B-movie genres with Lesbian main characters.

The first two films star Margaret Qualley in different roles, and the third film will presumably see her ᴀssume another. Drive-Away Dolls apes classic crime thriller themes from ’70s grindhouse cinema, while Honey Don’t! is a cheeky send-up to private eye stories. There’s no telling where the forthcoming third film in the unofficial trilogy will go.