Opinion: Sequels, Remakes and Reboots: A Lack of Originality
Over time, fans of beloved franchises have grown tired of the same stories told over and over again. They have also grown tired of sequels and remakes of older films, and reboots of popular franchises. Why is Hollywood so obsessed with making the same property over and over again, instead of making something new?
Everyone has a favorite movie or TV show they recommend to friends and family hoping to introduce them to a new favorite movie for them as well. Suddenly a sequel, remake or reboot to this movie or show they like is announced. At first this idea was regarded as genius, why end the story so soon when there are more characters or stories waiting to be told? Flash forward to today and the average movie goer would shrug at the announcement of a sequel, remake, or reboot of something they once loved. Back then another installment to an already amazing film was seen as another win for the studio or company that made it. Now it seems as though studios and filmmakers don't want to do anything new. Instead, they rely on the same already existing property and try to do a sequel, new shows, or reboot to gain more fans.
A sequel or remake is not a bad decision at first as it could work if handled with care just like the first movie. The problem currently with all these sequels and remakes is that they seem to lack the same love or care put into them. A good example of a bad sequel would be 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion. The film is heavily criticized as the worst film in the Jurassic Park
franchise.
It takes away focus from the previous film of the dinosaurs being let out into the world and instead focuses on a new plot of giant bugs eating food sources. The film is also considered as cheap nostalgia bait because of its inclusion of Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern from the first Jurassic movie.
Remakes on the other hand suffer a worse fate than sequels. Making a sequel to an already loved movie is one thing, but remaking a whole story with fresh new actors and plot lines can lead to a huge failure. A great example is 2015’s Fantastic Four. Due to its darker tone and huge mischaracterization of the superhero family, the film did not do well box office wise or critic wise. Especially with fans of the Fantastic Four and fans of the already existing two Fantastic Four films.
Dean student Molly Devine said, “I’m more of a fan of the originals than the sequels. I'm not a fan of the idea of sequels."
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Finally, we have reboots. These films or shows are very 50/50 when it comes to gaining an audience. One great example is 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The first film did pretty well both critic and audience wise, however, the sequel did atrocious. It focused on an unimportant plot involving Peter's parents, too many plotlines, and set up future villains and movies in the last 20 minutes.
While the film did pretty well financially, the feedback from critics and Spider-Man fans was enough to cancel any future sequels and spinoffs. The biggest flaw this movie has is its unnecessary sequel bait rather than telling a cohesive story. These kinds of films are easy examples of what is wrong with current Hollywood. Instead of focusing on existing IP’s and milking franchises for more content. Studios should focus more on new and creative stories and films, taking a risk is more honorable than telling the same story over and over again.
Another Dean student, Jake Kasarjian added, “I think reboots can range from the best thing ever to the worst thing ever. It really depends on the writers and that they make sure to use the source material and understand the source material. So they can put their own soul into each project rather than just make something for money."
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this article are that of the writer's opinion
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