28 Movie Sequels That We All Like to Pretend Don’t Exist

Your honor, we’d like these stricken from the record
28 Movie Sequels That We All Like to Pretend Don’t Exist

This list reminds us of a very sad scene from The Godfather. When Don Corleone sees that his eldest son has been murdered, he cries, “Look how they massacred my boy,” and we know his pain all too well. Just look at what these movie sequels did to our beloved originals!

Ooh, and speaking of The Godfather, Don Corleone would be crying that same line about his beloved original movie while viewing the third installment. Yeesh. 

Grab the tissues, because we’re about to weep for some more great movies right now.

Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL DROPPED 19 YEARS AFTER THE TRILOGY. CRACKED Spielberg felt it was done after 1989's Last Crusade but George Lucas started working on the alien-themed 4th movie right away. Spielberg didn't want to make another alien movie, but in 2000, his kids pressured him to do it, and Crystal Skull was released in '08.

Blues Brothers 2000

Failed Sequels Blues Brothers 2000 If you want nostalgia, just watch the original. In 1998, Dan Akroyd teamed up with John Goodman - which seemed like a slam dunk, but it only reminded fans of how good Aykroyd and John Belushi were back in 1980. CRACKED

Predator 2: Lost in L.A.

Failed Sequels Predator 2 Predator 2: Lost in L.A. It sounds like a fictional movie in the BoJack Horseman universe, but nope. Bringing Predator from the rainforest to Los Angeles and overcomplicating the story confused fans, and it fell way short of its successful original. CRACKED

The Matrix Resurrections

Failed Sequels PC MADE PO RK 71Q The Matrix Resurrections A movie not even its creator wanted. Almost 20 years after the trilogy, co-creator Lana Wachowski came on board reluctantly, and it showed. Fans noticed the self-deprecating themes, and it kind of tarnished the trilogy. CRACKED

Basic Instinct 2

Failed Sequels Basic Instinct 2 A lot changed in 14 years. Back in 1992, the original set the bar in the erotic thrillers genre. But that had long cooled by 2006, so the sequel was behind the times of the standards set by the original. CRACKED

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter

Failed Sequels The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter A never-ending story that needed an ending after all. The German original film found massive success in the U.S, but the sequel was a step down both visually and in storytelling. Not to mention: it lost almost $20 million. CRACKED

The Rage: Carrie 2

Failed Sequels The Rage: Carrie 2 Just another teen-filled horror flick. In 1976, a blood-soaked teen drama was groundbreaking, but by 1999, we'd seen it all. Critics called it a tired, boring rehash with less horror and more annoying teen angst. CRACKED

Evan Almighty

Failed Sequels Evan Almighty The scene that launched an ark. In Bruce Almighty, fans loved Jim Carrey forcing sleazy news anchor Evan (Steve Carell) to babble on air, but why this warranted an entire Noah's Ark sequel remains a mystery. CRACKED

Grease 2

Failed Sequels Grease 2 They couldn't catch Grease Lightning in a bottle again. In 1978, Grease was Paramount's second highest grossing film (behind The Godfather). But by 1982, that '50s bad boy style felt stale. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John didn't return for it. CRACKED

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Failed Sequels X-Men: Dark Phoenix It's been done. The final installment of the Fox reboot was same- old, story-wise, as the Jean Grey turned dark plot had been done in X-Men: The Last Stand (which was itself a failed sequel). CRACKED

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Failed Sequels Sin City: A Dame To Kill For A singular style is hard to recapture. Nine years after the original, this sequel kept its great cast and style, but felt irrelevant. It lost over $25 million. CRACKED

Terminator: Dark Fate

Failed Sequels Terminator: Dark Fate We must go back and stop this movie from happening! Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and James Cameron reunited to take things too far. This sequel quickly states that the entire mission of the original two films was all for nothing. CRACKED

Shaft

Failed Sequels Shaft (2019) Shaft failed to the baton. Samuel L. Jackson's Shaft in 2000 was a critical and financial success, but in 2019, his return was outdated and unnecessary, and lost almost $15 million. CRACKED

Batman & Robin

Failed Sequels The franchise failed to land on a tone. Where fans and critics thought Tim Burton's second Batman was too dark, Joel Schumacher overcorrected with a cartoonish installment featuring the now-iconic Bat Nipples. Batman & Robin CRACKED

Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2

WORST SEQUELS EVER CUPID GIRL BB EN SUPERBABIES: BABY GENIUSES 2 Fun fact: Jon Voight seems to have lost his mind. Не was an executive producer for the first Baby Geniuses, proudly announced the sequel, and even based his Superbabies character on Josef Mengele. knbh CRACKED.COM

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2

WORST SEQUELS EVER BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2 A classy documentary director, Joe Berliner, was hired for this film. But wanting to make it marketable, Artisan screwed up his vision and made him ditch all the slow build-up for more blood and exposition- the exact opposite of the 1999 original. CRACKED.COM

Mean Girls 2

WORST SEQUELS EVER MEAN GIRLS 2 At the end of Mean Girls the Plastics realize they're, well, mean girls, and we even see Regina George becoming a better person-so of course, the crappy sequel had to ditch all that. The only continuity between both movies is Principal Duvall, played by the great Tim Meadows (God bless his soul). CRACKED.COM

Universal Soldier: The Return

WORST SEQUELS EVER UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: THE RETURN Nobody re this horrid sequel, which means there is still some sanity left in the world. If we had to one thing about it, though, it'd be the Megadeth music video. The song is pure '90s dance club industrial-rock lameness, and the video includes Van Damme and Bill Goldberg. It's awful. CRACKED.COM

Jaws: The Revenge

WORST SEQUELS EVER JAWS: THE REVENGE So this film was directed by a nobody, right? Nope. Joseph Sargent had a long career on movies and TV. In fact, he directed the two-hour Kojak pilot in 1973, which Spielberg himself credited for inspiring him to hire Lorraine Gary to play Jaws' Ellen Brody (leading to her prominent role in this fourth part). CRACKED.COM

American Psycho II

WORST SEQUELS EVER AMERICAN PSYCHO II: ALL AMERICAN GIRL The very definition of a cash-grab, this movie was supposed to be called The Girl Who Wouldn't Die, (which sounds splattery enough), but the title was changed mid-production in order to make it a loosely-connected American Psycho sequel. CRACKED.COM

Caddyshack II

WORST SEQUELS EVER CADDYSHACK II Initially excited, director Allan Arkush soon realized this trainwreck didn't even have a working script. Не also thought Jackie Mason was no match for the original's Rodney Dangerfield, that he couldn't make a convincing golf swing, and that he had less chemistry with his love interest than with the catering service. CRACKED.COM

Son of the Mask

WORST SEQUELS EVER SON OF THE MASK Sequel talk began immediately after the release of the 1994 original. Director Chuck Russell was on board, but by 1995 Jim Carrey had dropped off and the whole thing was shelved. When a 1995 Nintendo Power magazine contest offered a non-speaking role in the sequel, then, 2012's very last issue gave them the next best thing instead: money and an apology. CRACKED.COM

Space Jam: A New Legacy

WORST SEQUELS EVER G5 SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY Original director Terence Nance left the movie because of artistic differences, and was replaced by Malcolm D. Lee, who cut a scene in which Pepé Le Pew tries to pick up a bartender. Now, we get it, as Pepé was born cancellable, but why leave A Clockwork Orange's Alex and his gang of droogs, then? CRACKED.COM

Highlander II

WORST SEQUELS EVER HIGHLANDER II: THE QUICKENING Everybody knew this movie would be a disaster. As a bad omen, Christopher Lambert and Michael Ironside hurt each other while fighting with 22- pound broadswords. Lambert tried to walk out during filming, but was contractually forbidden to do so. The studio meddled so much that the director abandoned the premiere 15 minutes in. CRACKED.COM

Speed 2

WORST SEQUELS EVER SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL A major reason for Speed 2's failure was Keanu Reeves' disinterest in returning, but another, little- discussed factor was the absence of writer Graham Yost. Не came up with the Speed concept and wrote the original script- but studio suits thought they knew better, didn't call him back, and only gave him a lousy characters created by credit. CRACKED.COM

Superman IV

WORST SEQUELS EVER SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE Christopher Reeve was too inexperienced as a director to helm the entire project. Richard Donner, claims he was asked to return, and Wes Craven was hired, but didn't vibe with Reeve. Reeve suggested Ron Howard, but Sidney J. Furie was finally booked. CRACKED.COM

Staying Alive

WORST SEQUELS EVER STAYING ALIVE The Saturday Night Fever sequel has an annoying Rocky underdog story feel, which was, of course, the result of Sylvester Stallone directing. But Stallone himself only became involved with the project after Travolta spent years rejecting darkers script, then saw Rocky III and went, yes, that is what I want. CRACKED.COM

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