Top 20 Movies That Are Secretly Sequels

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for films that you might not realize continue or tie into existing stories. What other films were you surprised to learn were actually sequels? Let us know down in the comments.

#20: “Be Cool” (2005)

Fans of “Get Shorty” may be surprised to learn that the 2005 film “Be Cool” is a veiled sequel to the 1995 gangster comedy that starred John Travolta and Danny Devito. In fact, both movies are based on Elmor Leonard novels, which were released almost a decade apart. In “Be Cool,” Travolta and Devito reprise their “Get Shorty” roles, with mobster Chili Palmer transitioning from Hollywood film production to a career in gangster rap. Critically panned, “Be Cool” hasn’t had the same shelf life as its predecessor, with fans and critics citing boring dialogue and a lackluster plot among other complaints.

#19: “This is 40” (2012)

Considered a sort-of-sequel to the 2007 film “Knocked Up,” “This is 40” focuses on two supporting characters from the aforementioned flick, with no mention of the previous film’s protagonists or plot. Both Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann return to play married couple Pete and Debbie, with the plot focusing on the many responsibilities and challenges the husband and wife face as business owners and parents on the cusp of turning 40-years-old. While neither Seth Rogen nor Katherine Heigl of “Knocked Up” make an appearance, both films are written and directed by Judd Apatow, with the director’s own daughters portraying Paul and Debbie’s kids.

#18: “Graffiti Bridge” (1990)

A standalone sequel to the 1984 film “Purple Rain,” “Graffiti Bridge” sees the character The Kid, played by Prince, returning for a whole new chapter. Set a few years after the events of “Purple Rain,” The Kid is now part-owner of a nightclub willed to him by the character of Billy from the first film, but must contend with rival Morris Day and his group The Time, who also return. Promoted as the must-see sequel to “Purple Rain,” “Graffiti Bridge” was despised upon its release, which is likely a big part of the reason the film itself has been forgotten.

#17: “Queen of the Damned” (2002)

You probably know the 1994 film “Interview with the Vampire,'' starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, but did you know that movie had a sequel? The 2002 film “Queen of the Damned” is technically a continuation of “Vampire’s” plot, with both movies being adaptations of author Anne Rice’s series “The Vampire Chronicles”. “Queen of the Damned” spends much of its runtime exploring the ancient origins of the fanged characters, with many returning roles from “Interview” being recast, including lead vamp Lestat. The movie met with scathing reviews that described it as campy and muddled. The tragic death before the movie’s release of Aaliyah, playing the titular queen, was another shadow over the troubled adaptation.

#16: “Star Trek” (2009)

When director J. J. Abrams announced his cinematic reimagining of the Star Trek universe, series diehards responded with a range of reactions. What no one was expecting was a clever tie-in to the original Star Trek TV series that would mark the film as a spiritual sequel of sorts. This occurs toward the end of the movie when a marooned Captain Kirk, played by Chris Pine, has an encounter with an older version of Spock, with Leonard Nimoy returning as the famous Vulcan. It’s a shocking reveal that feels right at home with the film’s sci-fi themes. Nimoy’s appearance helped make the movie feel truly “Star Trek”.

#15: “Split” (2016)

Director M. Night Shyamalan is no stranger to delivering third-act twists, but the filmmaker went the extra mile at the end of his 2016 film “Split.” In a pre-credits scene that shows several characters discussing The Beast, played by James McAvoy, a waitress makes mention of a similar evildoer locked up years before. In a left-field shock, David Dunn, played by Bruce Willis, tells the waitress the criminal’s name is Mr. Glass. Dunn was the protagonist of M. Night’s 2000 film “Unbreakable,” thereby making “Split” a sequel and second entry in the “Unbreakable” series. The 2019 film “Glass” would bookend the trilogy.

#14: “21 Jump Street” (2012)

Here’s another great example of a cinematic adaptation unexpectedly paying homage to its TV roots. Toward the end of the film, buddy cops Morton and Greg, played by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, are in a heated stand-off with a vicious biker gang. But it just so happens that two of the gang members are actually Tom Hanson and Doug Penhall in disguise. Both Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise reprise their iconic roles from the “21 Jump Street” TV series. While Hanson and Penhall don’t fare too well in the movie, the appearance of both characters makes the 2012 film a years-later sequel to the TV show.

#13: “10 Cloverfield Lane” (2016)

A 2008 found footage film, “Cloverfield” would re-spark interest in giant monster movies. But not until 2016’s “10 Cloverfield Lane” did fans of the original get a direct sequel. The movie follows Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character Mary, who wakes up in an underground bunker with John Goodman’s Howard and John Gallager Jr.’s Emmett. A key part of the story is Howard and Emmett’s insistence that the world outside has been rendered uninhabitable. Mary eventually discovers that the Earth has indeed been transformed, and in a way that makes “10 Cloverfield Lane” a spiritual sequel to the 2008 original.

#12: “My Summer Story” (aka “It Runs in the Family”) (1994)

Since it came out over a decade after “A Christmas Story,” MGM initially decided to call this sequel “It Runs in the Family” in order to distance it from the holiday classic. However, after becoming a huge financial disaster, MGM retitled the home video release “My Summer Story.” Following the further adventures of young Ralphie Parker, this sequel had all the main actors re-cast, apart from Jean Shepherd as the narrator and Tedde Moore (teddy) as Ralphie’s teacher. Although “A Christmas Story 2” was released in 2012, further erasing “My Summer Story” from the public’s memory, neither film was able to resonate with critics or audiences like the original.

#11: “The Chronicles of Riddick” (2004)

A sleeper hit in 2000, “Pitch Black” had the early makings of a cult classic. This action-packed sci-fi/horror hybrid put Vin Diesel on the map, leading to his roles in blockbusters like “The Fast and the Furious” and “xXx.” Given Diesel’s newfound superstar status, it made sense to make Riddick the title character of this “Pitch Black” sequel. It didn’t hurt that Riddick was the most interesting character in the movie, not to mention the biggest badass. With its larger budget and kickass leading man, this sci-fi adventure flick whetted our appetites for more inter-planetary mercenary chases. Even in complete darkness, Riddick steals the spotlight.

#10: “Patriot Games” (1992)

Before Tom Clancy was known for video games, his popularity soared thanks to his series of novels featuring Jack Ryan. This CIA analyst has appeared in five thrilling action flicks so far. Since four different actors have portrayed him, you probably never realized these movies were at all related. Jack Ryan was first portrayed by Alec Baldwin in “The Hunt for Red October,” but the character wasn’t heavily prominent in the marketing for that film. Thus, nobody seemed to notice when Harrison Ford was recast as Ryan in the 1992 sequel, “Patriot Games,” which was so critically and commercially successful that a follow-up with Ford came out 2 years later. But with that being Ford’s last time in the role, it’s safe to say Ryan is a man of many faces.

#9: “The Jewel of the Nile” (1985)

Before Robert Zemeckis thrilled the world with his "Back to the Future" series, he proved his worth with the adventure comedy "Romancing the Stone". The story of a romance novelist who gets involved with kidnapping plots, treasure hunts and dashing smugglers became a huge award-winning success. Rushed sequels were not that common in the ‘80s, but thrilling adventure films had become a dime a dozen thanks to a little movie called "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Although the main cast of “Romancing the Stone” all returned to the big screen a little over a year later, and “The Jewel of the Nile” did find some box office success, critics were less than pleased with the sequel’s plot holes – and talk of a follow-up to that eventually fell through.

#8: “The Two Jakes” (1990)

Believe it or not, there is actually a sequel to Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” …and it’s called “The Two Jakes.” In addition to directing, Jack Nicholson reprises his role as an older detective Jake Gittes. Although the film actually received fairly decent reviews, mainstream audiences were confused by the title, which seemingly had no connection to its predecessor. On top of that, many film buffs felt that a follow-up to “Chinatown” simply didn’t need to exist. As a result, “The Two Jakes” tanked at the box office and a third film titled “Gittes vs. Gittes” never saw the light of day. That’s not a joke…

#7: “The Devil’s Rejects” (2005)

After Rob Zombie’s directorial debut, “House of 1000 Corpses,” developed an instant cult following among horror fans, so a follow-up was expected. Zombie clearly loves horror, and his first project was a love letter to ghoulish and gory ‘70s grindhouse classics, such as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” “The Devil’s Rejects” follows the first film’s family of murderous maniacs, now on the run for their heinous deeds. The style considerably shifts, as we now find ourselves in a kind of the “Hills Have Eyes” road-trip nightmare, with a “Bonnie and Clyde” criminals-on-the-run scenario. Although both films are now beloved cult-classics, not everyone realized they were witnessing the same psycho family on screen, especially since Zombie likes working with the same actors for his various projects.

#6: “The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2)” (1981)

Though it’s now considered one of the greatest action movies of all time, audiences weren’t to blame for not knowing “The Road Warrior” was a sequel to “Mad Max.” While the first film was making its rounds at the time, and slowly gaining cult status, the apocalyptic road-revenge movie had not fully reached American shores until 1981, at which point Mel Gibson was still an unknown Australian actor. Originally titled “Mad Max 2,” the sequel was retitled “The Road Warrior” for North American release. Fortunately, a prologue that featured footage from the first movie was included at the beginning of the film, so poor moviegoers unfamiliar with Max Rockatansky wouldn’t be confused.

#5: “US Marshals” (1998)

1993’s action thriller “The Fugitive”, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, is an acclaimed classic. But a lot of people don’t realize that there’s a sequel. Tommy Lee Jones reprised his role as United States Deputy Marshal Sam Gerard in “US Marshals”. The movie references Harrison’s “Fugitive” character Richard Kimble, although he doesn’t appear. Of course, both films are really cinematic reworkings of the 1960s “Fugitive” TV series. Unfortunately, “US Marshals” received mixed reviews, with most considering it an unworthy sequel - which helps explain its relative obscurity.

#4: “The Color of Money” (1986)

Although “The Hustler” was a classic of ‘60s cinema, young moviegoers in the ‘80s likely flocked to see “The Color of Money” because it starred Tom Cruise. In the film, Cruise plays a young pool hustler and the protégé of an aging Paul Newman. Newman reprises his role as Fast Eddie, who’s now older and looking for an apprentice to take under his wing. The 1986 drama was a big success, finally earning Newman his first Academy Award. Unless you were over the age of 25 at the time, though, chances are you had no clue these two films were connected – or that the first one even existed – with the contrast being even stronger due to the fact that the first was black-and-white and the second was in color.

#3: “Desperado” (1995)

In the case of Robert Rodriguez and his big screen sophomore effort, “Desperado,” audiences were unaware the surprise hit was a sequel due in part to the change in language. Both films follow the nameless mariachi and his run-ins with drug gangs, but “El Mariachi” was entirely filmed in Mexico and in Spanish by the American-born Rodriguez with a barely-there budget. But even so it became an indie-film legend. The sequel, however, had a major studio budget, and Antonio Banderas’ rising star power. Therefore, the original title of “El Pistolero” was changed at the studio’s request. Even the final installment in Rodriguez’s Mexico Trilogy, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” was released with many audience members unaware of its connection to the previous films.

#2: “Army of Darkness” (1992)

Horror fans were anxiously awaiting the return of Ash in one of the most anticipated sequels of the ‘90s, especially with the bizarro ending of “Evil Dead II.” Since Ash would be flung to the 14th century to fight the undead, a bigger budget was needed. Therefore, the third film had major studio backing, thanks to the underground success of the “Evil Dead” films. Sam Raimi’s initial title of “The Medieval Dead” was refused, as was “Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness.” At the behest of Universal Pictures, the film was released simply as “Army of Darkness,” in order to allow the film to stand on its own, making fanboys scratch their heads – though its positive critical reception and cult status proved that they still hailed to the king, baby!

#1: “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)

Anthony Hopkins delivered an iconic performance as Hannibal Lecter in 1991’s Academy Award-winning film “The Silence of the Lambs”. But he wasn’t the first to tackle the role! Lecter was first portrayed by Brian Cox in the 1986 film “Manhunter.” Based on the Thomas Harris novel “Red Dragon,” Lecktor appears as an incarcerated murderer who assists FBI profiler Will Graham in tracking down a killer known as the Tooth Fairy killer. While both films were praised for their impressive acting, excellent direction and compelling scripts, “Silence of the Lambs” garnered the bigger critical acclaim of the two pictures.