Sequel

A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same fictional universe as a previous work, usually chronologically following the events of that work.

In many cases, the sequel continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings. A sequel can lead to a series, in which key elements appear in a number of stories. Although the difference between more than one sequel and a series is somewhat arbitrary, it is clear that some media franchises have enough sequels to become a series, whether originally planned as such or not.

Sequels are attractive to creators and to publishers because there is less risk involved in returning to a story with known popularity rather than developing new and untested characters and settings. Audiences are sometimes eager for more stories about popular characters or settings, making the production of sequels financially appealing.

If the main character dies at the end of the first work, a new character (perhaps a son or daughter, or a supporting character) may take up the role in the sequel. In other cases, the main character is simply brought back or determined not to have died. This is what is referred to in many instances as a cop-out.

In movies, sequels are quite common. There are many name formats for sequels. Usually, they either have unrelated titles, such as The Jewel of the Nile, the sequel to Romancing the Stone, or the same title as the original, but with a number added, as in Lethal Weapon 2, sequel to Lethal Weapon. Sometimes such titles have subtitles as well (e.g. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York). It is also common for a sequel to have a variation of the original title (such as Men of Boys Town, sequel to Boys Town). In the 1930s, many musical sequels had the year included in the title (Gold Diggers of 1933), in the style of Broadway revues such as the Ziegfeld Follies.

Chronologies

There are a number of ways that subsequent works can be related to the chronology of the original. Various neologisms have been coined to describe them.

Sequel

The most common approach is for the events of the second work to directly follow the events of the first, either picking up dangling plot threads or introducing a new conflict to drive the events of a second story.

List of Stop Motions Sequels

• Transformers (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Transformers Prologue (eagc7 Stop Motion) it takes place a Day after its predecessor
• Transformers Earth Protectors (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Transformers (eagc7 Stop Motion) it takes place a Year (or a Month) after its predecessor
• Transformers 2 (Nightslash2020 Stop Motion); Sequel to Transformers (Nightslash2020 Stop Motion)
• Transformers 3 (Nightslash2020 Stop Motion); Sequel to Transformers 2 (Nightslash2020 Stop Motion)

List of Planned Sequels Stop Motions

• Tales of the Fallen: Jetfire (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Tales of the Fallen: The Fallen (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Tales of the Fallen: Bumblebee (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Transformers Earth Protectors (eagc7 Stop Motion) it takes right After its predecessor
• Tales of the Fallen: Moonracer (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Tales of the Fallen: Bumblebee (eagc7 Stop Motion), it takes right After its predecessor
• Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Tales of the Fallen: Moonracer (eagc7 Stop Motion), it takes right After its predecessor
• Transformers Nest Global Alliance (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Iron Man (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Transformers Nest Global Alliance (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Iron Man 2 (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Iron Man (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Spider-Man: Seperation Anxiety (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Iron Man 2 (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• The Incredible Hulk (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Spider-Man: Seperation Anxiety (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Thor (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to The Incredible Hulk (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Godzilla (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Thor (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Transformers Rising Storm (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Godzilla (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Transformers Dark of the Moon (eagc7 Stop Motion); Sequel to Transformers Rising Storm (eagc7 Stop Motion) and the Final Installment of the Eagc7 Transformers/Marvel Stop Motion Series

Prequel

A sequel that portrays events which precede those of the original work is called a "prequel." These can often avoid the plot problems associated with having to deal with the consequences of the original (e.g. the death of an important character). However, they pose the challenge of maintaining dramatic interest when the outcome is already known from the original work, so the focus is usually on the character interactions or revealing how the characters and situations of the original work developed. Examples are

• the Yoshi's Island video games, that follow the Super Mario World games (as Yoshi's Island began with Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island) but take place before the events of the Mario franchise, when the Mario Bros. were babies
• Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins, a story of how the "Mystery Inc." met
• Star Wars episodes I, II and III, the "prequel trilogy". The original trilogy comprised episodes IV-VI, in a sequence that was partially planned before the release of the first film. (See also Episode IV opening crawl.)
• Psycho IV: The Beginning, taking place before Psycho and its sequels

List of Prequel Stop Motions

List of Planned Prequel Stop Motions

• Tales of the Fallen: The Fallen (eagc7 Stop Motion); Takes place way before the events of the Eagc7 Transformers/Marvel Stop Motion Series
• Tales of the Fallen: Jetfire (eagc7 Stop Motion); Takes Place Years Before the events of Transformers Prologue (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Transformers War for Cybertron (eagc7 Stop Motion); Takes Place Years Before the events of Transformers Prologue (eagc7 Stop Motion)
• Captain America (eagc7 Stop Motion); Takes Place Years Before the events of Transformers Prologue (eagc7 Stop Motion)

Interquel

When there are already two or more completed works, an interquel can portray events which happen between them, bridging one story to the other. The interquel is therefore a sequel to one work and a prequel to another. For example, the video game Metroid Prime and its sequels were released after Metroid and Metroid II, but take place between them. Another example is Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge which took place in the middle of Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie, but was released after them. In film, the short film Rings bridges the events of The Ring and The Ring Two. This is more common in ancillary works in other media rather than works in a popular series. For example, the novel The Godfather Returns takes place between the events of the films The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, and the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes place between Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Midquel

A midquel is a sequel which can take place during a chronology gap within a single previously completed work. Template:Citation needed For example, the Narnia book The Horse and His Boy takes place during the reign of the Pevensie children, which happens towards the end of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Other midquels would be the films Bambi II, which starts out shortly after the death of the young deer's mother in Bambi but before the later scenes in which he is an adult; and Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, which takes place during Belle's initial captivity. The video game Resident Evil 2 takes place during a brief interlude in its sequel Resident Evil 3: Nemesis; the video game Daxter takes place during a two-year gap in Jak II, between the moments when the character of Jak is taken prisoner and when he is rescued. The film Saw IV takes place during the events of Saw III. The game Halo 3: ODST takes place during the events of, ironiclly, Halo 2 from an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper's perspective on Earth. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, The Han Solo Adventures take place entirely within the events of the novel Rebel Dawn, which itself ends after the start of A New Hope. The game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days takes place during Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, and, briefly, there is a scene which ends it at the start of Kingdom Hearts II.

Parallel

A parallel can portray the events of a previously completed work from another perspective. As with a prequel, the focus is not on the outcome, but on the characters and previously unrevealed information. For example, the novel Ender's Shadow covers the events of the previous novel Ender's Game from the point of view of a supporting character in the original. The film The Lion King 1½ is a "parallel" of The Lion King; the same story is told, only from the point of view of Timon and Pumbaa, secondary characters in the original film. Similarly, the animated short BURN-E found as a special feature on the WALL-E DVD, tells the story of a maintenance robot set during, and interacting with, the events of the feature presentation. The first three novels in author E. E. Knight's Age of Fire series all take place at the same time, yet each book is told from a different character's point of view - the first, Dragon Champion, from grey scaleless dragon Auron's; the second, Dragon Avenger, from his sister Wistala; and the third, Dragon Outcast, from his unnamed copper brother.

Back to the Future Part II played around with the parallel concept by having the protagonist, Marty McFly, go back in time and watch the events of the first movie from a different angle, while never actually changing the effects of what happened.

List of Parallel Stop Motions

List of Planned Parallel Stop Motions

• Iron Man (eagc7 Stop Motion); Takes place During the Events of Transformers Prologue, Transformers, Transformers: Tales of the Fallen: Starscream (eagc7 Stop Motion), Transformers: Tales of the Fallen: Arcee (Stop Motion), Transformers Attack in Christmas (eagc7 Stop Motion), Transformers Sector 7 (eagc7 Stop Motion), Transformers Earth Protectors (eagc7 Stop Motion), Transformers: Tales of the Fallen: Bumblebee (eagc7 Stop Motion), Transformers: Tales of the Fallen: Moonracer (eagc7 Stop Motion), Transformers Revenge of the Fallen (eagc7 Stop Motion) and Transformers Nest Global Alliance (eagc7 Stop Motion) But From the Point of View of Tony Stark/Iron Man
• Captain America (eagc7 Stop Motion) Takes Place during the Events of Transformers War for Cybertron (eagc7 Stop Motion) But from the Point of View of Steve Rogers/Captain America
• Transformers: Tales of the Fallen: Jetfire (eagc7 Stop Motion) Takes Place during the Events of Transformers War for Cybertron (eagc7 Stop Motion) But from the Point of View of Jetfire
• Thor (eagc7 Stop Motion) takes place during the events of The Incredible Hulk (eagc7 Stop Motion) But from the Point of view of Thor
• Transformers: Tales of the Fallen: Arcee (Stop Motion) takes place during the events of Transformers: Tales of the Fallen: Starscream (eagc7 Stop Motion) But from the Point of view of The Autobots

Distant

Sometimes there is a large chronological interval between the events in a completed work and its sequel. This can allow the creators additional freedom, since the characters and settings will not be expected to have as much in common. A distant sequel allows time for new conflicts to develop, and a distant prequel need not directly establish the setting for the original. Speaker for the Dead is an extreme example of this, set 3,000 years after the novel Ender's Game. Some of the sequels and prequels in the Chronicles of Narnia series are separated by centuries in the chronology of the fantasy land or decades in the chronology of the real world. The series Star Trek: The Next Generation follows the events of the original Star Trek by nearly a century. The Legend of Zelda video game series takes place over several hundred years, with many installments featuring various reincarnations of the characters Link and Zelda, who fight the antagonist Ganon, though some games are direct continuations of others. Some issues of the Tales of video game franchise, namely Tales of Symphonia immediately followed by its sequel, Dawn of the New World, and Tales of Phantasia, take place in the same location but very spaced in time. The video game Mother 3 takes place in an era very distant from Mother 2, though it is never stated exactly how long. In this example, only 2 characters return via time travel, with others only mentioned vaguely. More moderate chronological distances can result from works being set in "the present" but released years apart, such as The Terminator and its sequels, released in 1984, 1991, 2003 and 2009.

Sidequel

A variety of sequel that allows substantial creative freedom is one that is set in the same fictional universe as the original work, but with unrelated plots, and sometimes unrelated characters. One example of this is the Grand Theft Auto series, which contains a multitude of games, each of which follows a different character and storyline, but are set in the same fictional universe. Many of Kevin Smith's films take place in the same continuity, commonly referred to as the View Askewniverse, after his production company, although most feature characters only loosely connected to each other, like most characters common association with characters Jay and Silent Bob and having grown up in the same town, characters also frequently reference prominent events from other movies in passing. Screenwriter David Peoples described his film Soldier as a "sidequel" to Blade Runner (which he co-wrote). When done with the intention of launching a new series of stories, these are often called "spin-offs." See also: gaiden.

Companion piece

A companion piece is a creative work that is produced as a complementary work to another stand-alone project, but storywise has nothing to do with its predecessor. While a companion piece does not necessarily need to take place within the same "universe" as the predecessor, it must follow-up on specific themes and ideas introduced in the original work. It must also be intentionally meant by its creator to be viewed alongside or within the same context as the earlier work. Examples would include Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood's companion piece to his earlier picture, Flags of Our Fathers) which saw the same events taking place from a different perspective, the Road to... pictures starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, and Bob Hope, and films featuring the Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, or the Tramp. Another example is Stephanie Meyer's Midnight Sun which is a project that has been on hold. Another would be Fantasia 2000, which uses the basic ideas of and some elements from Fantasia.

Reboot

A reboot is a term often used for a sequel that is not in continuity with the episode or episodes that were released before it. It is often used in media franchises; for example, the James Bond series has been rebooted with the film Casino Royale, the Batman film series with Batman Begins, the Spider-Man film series upcoming 2012 film, and the Star Trek film series with the 2009 film, Star Trek. In television, the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica was termed a "reimagining" of the original 1978 series. It has also been used for the Spyro video game series with a reboot known as The Legend of Spyro.

Stand-alone sequels

When sequels are set in the same universe but have little or no reference to their predecessors, the work is called a stand-alone sequel. This is often the case of direct-to-video films that follow up on semi-successful works, though there are some mainstream films that are stand-alone. Examples include White Noise: The Light, Boogeyman 2, Home Alone 3, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, George A. Romero's subsequent Dead sequels after Night of the Living Dead, and City of Men. Another example would be the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Each of the original stories exist in the same universe, but are all treated as stand alone adventures and can be read in almost any order. A notable example in video games is the Quake series as well as many of the games in the Legend of Zelda series and the Super Mario series. These works often do not require viewers to encounter the previous installments in order to understand them. Batman Forever is a stand alone sequel as the film is campy compared to its dark predecessors, its only reference to its predecessor Batman Returns is Dr Meridian Chase's line "Or do I need skin tight vinyl and a whip?"

List of Stand-alone sequels Stop Motions

• Transformers Sector 7 (eagc7 Stop Motion); takes place within the same Continuty of the Eagc7 Transformers/Marvel Stop Motion Series but have no reference to its predecessors