After the successful cinema release of Top Gun Maverick, I was left wondering about all the other movie sequels that took a long time to be released. Nowadays it feels like movie franchises are popping up everywhere, but there are some iconic sequels that took a long time from their predecessor.
Welcome back to another Gizmodo Movie Night, this week we have picked five sequels that took way too long to come out.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Avatar: The Way of Water
Yes, I know, technically the Avatar sequel is not out yet, but that just means that the time we have to wait is even longer.
Arguably the world’s most famous film (hate it or love it), Avatar was released in 2009 to incredible success and has dominated global charts ever since.
Although no one really asked for an Avatar sequel, we are getting one… 13 years later. Talk about a sequel that took too long to come out.
We are also getting another four films, so that’s fun for us, again, not that anyone asked for that many Avatar films.
I mean, hey, I’m keen to see how the technological advancements in the film industry have helped bring Avatar into 2022. You can already tell it’s going to be visually stunning just from watching the trailer.
Avatar is currently streaming on Dinsey+.
The Incredibles 2
One of the greatest animated films ever made came out way back in 2004. Yes, I’m talking about The Incredibles.
Then 14 years later, we were blessed with another brilliant animated film, The Incredibles 2.
Some may think that The Incredibles sequel took too long to come out, but there was actually a pretty valid reason as to why we had to wait 14 years for it.
According to IGN, The Incredibles writer-director Brad Bird said the reason for the large gap between the two films was because they wanted to wait for a good storyline. He also said that the creative team didn’t want to just make a sequel for the sake of making a sequel for money.
Honestly, I’m glad it took as long as it did to come out because it gave us all time to cherish The Incredibles, but also bring the animation into a new decade with a good storyline that felt true to the original, yet gave us something new to work with.
The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2 are currently streaming on Dinsey+.
Blade Runner 2049
In terms of movie sequels that took too long to come out, I think everyone would agree that Blade Runner 2049 takes the cake.
35 years is how long Blade Runner lovers had to wait before they could watch the movie’s sequel. That’s one hell of a long wait time to be sitting there in anticipation.
To be fair, the movie itself does take place 30 years after the original, but that’s also just an easy way to bring the film into a modern context.
There doesn’t seem to be much of a reason as to why it took so long for the sequel to be made besides simply the fact that they wanted to milk it for a newer audience.
Some people also think that 35 years was a long time to wait for a sequel that ultimately ended up disappointing them.
I wasn’t alive when the first Blade Runner came out, so I wasn’t a hardcore stan to the original. But watching Blade Runner 2049 was actually a pretty decent experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the cinematography and the technological revolution of the film from the original.
Blade Runner 2049 is currently streaming on Binge. Blade Runner is currently streaming on both Stan and Binge.
Mad Max Fury Road 2015
Does it count as a sequel if it’s a revisit after a trilogy has already been made?
Either way, Mad Max: Fury Road is going on the list because, wowza, did this sequel take a long time to come out.
Not only was Mad Max: Fury Road released 30 years after the last film, the movie itself apparently spent a long time in production for various reasons.
There are too many things to list about what went wrong with trying to create this film. I mean, there’s a whole Wikipedia section detailing all the problems they ran into that spanned 25 years.
I think the wait for this sequel was worth it because Mad Max: Fury Road is absolutely incredible and one of the most exhilarating movies I’ve ever seen.
Mad Max: Fury Road is currently streaming on Stan.
Jurassic World 2015
While the newest Jurassic World was just released in cinemas, the gap between the last Jurassic Park series and the 2015 sequel is extensive.
14 years may not feel like a long time to wait but for many Jurassic Park lovers, it was excruciatingly long.
Some people might think that having a sequel to the franchise was unnecessary but it was only a matter of time before one was made with all the new advancements.
In fairness, I think Jurassic World was a good movie that gave a fresh update to the iconic franchise. It was cool to see the dinosaurs in much better resolution than the originals.
Should it have been a stand-alone sequel? Perhaps, but that’s not what we are here to talk about.
Jurassic World is currently streaming on Binge.
Gizmodo Movie Night is our fortnightly roundup of movie and TV recommendations for the weekend. If you’re ever stuck and looking for inspiration, check out our list and see what’s in store.
Stay tuned for the next edition of the column and check out our last one which was dedicated to all the on-screen queens that we adore.