Top 10 WORST Movie Prequels

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the prequels that are all kinds of awful. These are the films that can’t hope to match the originals and were unnecessary to begin with. Which prequel do you think should have never seen the light of day? Let us know in the comments.

#10: “Fantastic Beasts” franchise (2016-22)

Expanding on the Wizarding World of “Harry Potter” far beyond Hogwarts sounded like an idea filled with possibilities. Unfortunately, the “Fantastic Beasts” series majorly lost its direction. Starting off on a lighter touch with a story about Newt Scamander and his magical pets, it veers into a dark, soulless rendition of the Wizarding War. By the trilogy's end, Newt is more of a bystander than the protagonist. Instead, we watch a family drama about the Dumbledores that isn’t fantastic or has anything to do with beasts. The weird combination of magical creatures and a major global conflict just doesn’t resonate. It didn’t help that behind-the-scenes controversies dampened things, as the series petered out with a less-than-favorable conclusion… unless they actually make two more of these…

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

1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” leaves enough interest in the titular character for viewers to contemplate his backstory. After watching “Oz the Great and Powerful,” you’d prefer not knowing much about him. Along with the main character’s smug, insufferable attitude, the prequel simply delivers rehashed versions of material seen in the original film. We’re not given enough justification to see how these characters end up as they are when Dorothy comes to Oz. The movie inadvertently gets us to side with the designated villains instead, as the protagonist never wins the audience’s sympathy. It turns out that the mystery behind the Wizard of Oz was always the most appealing thing about him. A peek behind the curtain takes all the mystique away.

#8: “The Thing” (2011)

1982’s “The Thing” starts off with the eponymous antagonist arriving from a Norwegian research center. The 2011 prequel takes us back to these events. A malicious force is discovered that gradually starts to eliminate the people who discovered it. However, apart from the ending, this film doesn’t have much to tie the story together. “The Thing” does confirm that the entity is of alien origin, but that’s not something it dwells on too long. For the most part, it follows the same template as the original. Watching people getting killed by the mysterious being is a lot more chilling in the 1982 movie because we don’t know what it is. The prequel doesn’t carry the same fear factor, settling for recycled scares that just don’t land.

#7: “The Scorpion King” (2002)

Fans were intrigued by Mathayus the Akkadian after watching a snippet of his origins in “The Mummy Returns.” Those looking for a gritty, ruthless expansion of his story were disappointed when the prequel basically ran in the opposite direction. “The Scorpion King” is an overall wacky film filled with goofy one-liners among a plethora of comedic sequences. It plays into the fast-talking persona that The Rock was known for at the time. However, the character of Mathayus doesn’t resemble how he is in “The Mummy Returns,” causing a huge disconnect between that entry and the prequel. While it’s serviceable for breezy, silly fun, it doesn’t care enough to answer the main question of how Mathayus becomes the dreaded Scorpion King.

#6: “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” (2009)

The original entry tells us most of what we need to know about the Vampire-Lycan conflict, making “Rise of the Lycans” pretty unnecessary. Seeing how the conflict between vampire Viktor and Lycan Lucian started would have been interesting if the first film hadn’t centered around it. Even on its own, the movie’s drab, lifeless visuals are difficult to follow. The camera filter and cinematography can be a real hurdle for the viewing experience, worsened by the sullen tone of the story. Most of the brutality fails to contribute to the plot and seems tacked on for the sake of the R-rating. And without the series protagonist Selene in a major role, a solid hook to the movie is missing throughout its runtime.

#5: “300: Rise of an Empire” (2014)

Elements like slow-motion, distinct visual filters, and action set pieces made Zack Snyder’s “300” a commercial success. It’s as if the developers behind “Rise of an Empire” decided to do the exact same thing and hoped no one would notice. The movie is both a prequel and sequel, depicting antagonist Xerxes' rise in power and the aftermath of his battle with Leonidas. The story is difficult to get into since people just seem to kill each other after every couple of scenes. The brutality is even more jarring thanks to frequent slow-mo sequences that seem to go on forever. By the end, viewers will be more inclined to count the number of onscreen deaths than to keep up with the plot that lacks depth anyway.

#4: “Pan” (2015)

The bizarre title of this prequel is telling enough that this is a bland film. Where the original “Peter Pan” uses things like pixie dust, mermaids, and evil pirates to make Neverland feel exciting, “Pan” throws much out with no fun or charm to back it up. You can also be forgiven for not caring about Peter himself, as the protagonist feels like an afterthought in his own story. Although the actors do their best, the abundance of special effects and action scenes sucks the life out of their characters. The movie plays too close to contemporary young-adult blockbusters like “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent,” trading away “Peter Pan’s” sense of wonder for a whole lot of CGI.

#3: “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)

It’s a shame that a movie with so much potential ultimately fails. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” has a talented cast, only for the characters to drop out one by one before it becomes a cliche revenge story. Everything from the doomed romance, callbacks, and many betrayals is predictable from the get-go. Strangely enough, the intro sequence does a much better job of being a prequel than the rest of the film, as Wolverine becomes interchangeable with every other action hero the longer the runtime goes. And with horrible CGI and a complete butchering of Deadpool’s character, the movie is a mess all around. With “Days of Future Past” later erasing this film’s events, it looks like even the “X-Men” series realized “Origins” is better left forgotten.

#2: “Exorcist: The Beginning” (2004)

As great as “The Exorcist” is, not many people were clamoring to see an origin story. “Exorcist: The Beginning” looks into Father Merrin’s past encountering the demon Pazuzu in Africa. However, the links between the original and prequel are loosely defined. Much of the central arc centers around Merrin’s crisis of faith, which doesn’t balance well with the film’s direction. “The Beginning” lacks the subtlety that the 1973 entry offers, delivering a very obvious and gory horror experience. After all, there’s only so many times a jump scare works before it starts to get mundane. Its critical failure was best summed up by “The Exorcist” author William Peter Blatty. He called watching the prequel a “humiliating professional experience.” Honestly, we can’t disagree.

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

“Dumb and Dumber” is praised for its slapstick quality, mainly due to the winning combination of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. Without them, Harry and Lloyd’s antics can be mind-numbing and this prequel proves why. Set during their high school years, the main characters befriend similarly wacky characters while dealing with an evil principal. Of course, the story was never supposed to be important, as the film mainly banks on juvenile humor. Lacking any creativity or wit, the jokes are flat and ridiculous no matter which scene you’re watching. Its most impressive achievement is somehow stretching out the cringe comedy for 85 whole minutes. While 2014’s “Dumb and Dumber To” was also poorly received, that sequel seems Oscar-worthy next to how bad the prequel is.