Top 10 Unnecessary Origin Stories

Script written by Ty Richardson

Top ten unnecessary origin stories

Do we really need a movie to explain every piece of information like how Character A met Character B? Or how science works in a sci-fi flick? Anyways… Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Unnecessary Origin Stories.



For this list, we’re taking a look at prequels and origin films that we simply did not need, whether it was for over-explaining things or they were just plain bad.

#10: “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)

It's no secret that “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is practically despised on a universal scale. The writing was abysmally cliché, the story was terribly uninspired, and worst of all, Deadpool was anything but Deadpool. Critical potshots aside, what puts this movie on the list is the time of its release. By this point, three “X-Men” movies had already come out with the Adamantium Man in tow and were far more entertaining to watch. Who didn’t know Wolverine already? “Origins,” on the other hand, felt like a lazy attempt to keep the franchise going while the studio scrambled to figure out what to do next. Had the movie been somewhat decent, maybe fans would have been a little more forgiving. But, it wasn’t, so they weren’t.

#9: “Hannibal Rising” (2007)

Part of what made “The Silence of the Lambs” so terrifying was Hannibal Lecter’s menacing presence and mysterious past. Thanks to Anthony Hopkins’ performance, audiences were chilled to the bone from his disturbing demeanor. The story could have ended there, but alas, here we are with “Hannibal Rising,” a prequel focused on how Hannibal became an infamous serial killer. Unfortunately, the movie put Hannibal into a sympathetic light by making him an anti-hero, which destroyed how we perceived the character. Judging from the film’s box office numbers, nobody was asking for Hannibal Lecter’s origin story.

#8: “Dracula Untold” (2014)

With the Marvel Cinematic Universe exploding in the 2010s, everyone tried jumping on the bandwagon and developing their own “cinematic universes.” However, if “Iron Man” was the massive plate of steaming cheese fries to start the MCU buffet, then “Dracula Untold” was Universal’s serving of a few stale mozzarella sticks. With dull action and sheer negligence on the appeal of Dracula as a character, “Dracula Untold” felt like another “I, Frankenstein” - a sad attempt to revitalize classic characters into edgy action heroes. Universal thus decided to have “The Mummy” serve as the new launching point for their Dark Universe and we all know how that turned out.

#7: “Prometheus” (2012)

On the surface, “Prometheus” looked like it was bound to be another hit in the “Alien” franchise. Ridley Scott helming the project as director - check. Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba as part of the main cast - check. Astounding visual effects with a story focused on where the Xenomorphs came from - check. So, what went wrong? Well, let’s put it this way - prequels and origin stories typically serve to explain things and explain them well. “Prometheus” only ended up bringing more material to the table that only stirred up more questions. In other words, it did what a prequel shouldn’t do and left us wondering if we really needed this.

#6: “Catwoman” (2004)

Honestly, a Catwoman movie sounds like an excellent idea, which makes it a shame that the one we got in 2004 was such a disaster. In addition to cheesy dialogue and bizarre cinematography, “Catwoman” put on a spectacle of negligence to its own source material, creating its own character with an entirely different backstory than Selina Kyle’s. Wait... if it isn’t Selina Kyle or any of the other comic book characters who’ve donned the persona, then this isn’t a Catwoman movie! What was the point of making a “CATWOMAN” movie if you aren’t even using a character that audiences would be familiar with!? Ugh, this was just frustrating…

#5: “Oz the Great and Powerful” (2013)

On paper, “Oz the Great and Powerful” seemed to be an excellent choice for a film. After all, an origin story would be an effective way to reintroduce the franchise to newer audiences. Unfortunately, the project was not thought-out well. The entire movie consisted of James Franco going around and swindling everyone, eventually causing one of the good Witches to become the Wicked Witch of the West and basically invading Oz to become its ruler. The character comes off as a total jerk, leading us to wonder why he was chosen as the focus for an origin movie. Not even director Sam Raimi had interest in making a sequel. So, what was the point in any of this?

#4: “The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior” (2008)

“The Scorpion King” was already a pretty unnecessary origin story, not to mention one of the lesser entries in the “Mummy” franchise. And somehow, they managed to top themselves by making a terrible prequel to a terrible prequel. With ugly visuals, awful writing, a predictable plot, and production value that screams “cheap,” “Rise of a Warrior” had absolutely no reason to exist. The reviews for this direct-to-video movie made the first “Scorpion King” look like a masterpiece by comparison, leaving many to wonder who thought continuing this series was a good idea. And can you believe there were three more sequels made AFTER this!?

#3: “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd” (2003)

If you aren’t going to involve the original cast and crew, then why bother making a sequel or even a prequel? That was precisely the question that was asked when the world was given “Dumb and Dumberer,” a prequel that showed how Harry and Lloyd became best friends. Well, if you’re genuinely curious to find out, you get your answer early on in the movie. The rest of the 85-minute flick is bloated with bad jokes and annoying gags. All in all, “Dumb and Dumber” was not the type of movie that needed an origin story, and remembering this mess suddenly makes “Dumb and Dumber To” seem much more digestible.

#2: “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018)

With “Star Wars” going through an insanely aggressive resurgence in the late 2010s, no one could have expected an origin story for Han Solo to become a box office bomb. Some might say “Solo’s” failure stemmed from too much “Star Wars” content while others would point to the film’s mediocre quality. While those would be plausible causes, another factor could be that audiences didn’t care. Did we really need a look into the smuggler’s early years? Did we really need an explanation for how Han met Chewie? Was it really necessary to see the Kessel Run? Nope, and yet, Disney thought we needed to... for some reason.





Before we get to the most unnecessary origin story, here are a few Dishonorable Mentions…



“Maleficent” (2014)





“Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power” (2005)





“Butch and Sundance: The Early Days” (1979)





“Monsters University” (2013)







“Pan” (2015)

#1: “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas” (2000)

Despite being a lousy movie, the 1994 movie adaptation of “The Flintstones” made nearly $300 million over its relatively low budget. Clearly, enough people knew the modern stone age family to see the movie. And yet, Universal would go on to make one of the worst prequels ever in 2000. “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas” focused on developing backstories for the show’s main characters, like how Fred met Wilma and how they adopted Dino. However, it relied too heavily on coming up with explanations and forgot to be a good movie. Besides, “The Flintstones” has been around since the 60s and is known by millions of people to this day. Did we really need an origin story?