Beware of The Dark Side…
With a handful of highly anticipated sequels having been released this past year such as “Incredibles 2” and “Deadpool 2” and a few coming soon like “Halloween“, we’ve decided to look back on some sequels, prequels and/or followup films that caught audiences off-guard with how much darker they were than their predecessors. The three following films definitely had some unexpectedly grim content that had us wondering if we could ever trust a film franchise again.
Since we’ll be delving into some key plot points, here is an official SPOILER ALERT!!!
“Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
Nowadays, we all know about the big twist that occurs in the third act of “The Empire Strikes Back”, but imagine experiencing this moment in the theatre back in 1980! It was a revelation that had kids and adults alike stunned, making us all contemplate the grey area between the light and dark sides. This scene aside, the whole movie is much more ominous than its optimistic predecessor, complete with more mature themes and more shadowy settings. The cliffhanger ending in particular leaves our heroes defeated with one fan favorite’s fate up in the air. Ever since, whenever any sequel has tried to up the darkness since, it’s referred to as “The Empire Strikes Back†of the series.
“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)
Going into “Infinity War,†fans knew that a few characters would have to die at Thanos’ hands. Given the limited casualties in the previous “Avengers†movies, though, many figured that Marvel wouldn’t go overboard. So you can imagine our surprise when the film opened with the death of Loki and halfway through Gamora fell to her demise. Then there’s the ending where Thanos snaps half of the universe out of existence, including major characters like Black Panther, Spider-Man, and most of the Guardians of the Galaxy. No, you can’t kill Groot twice! While it’s left uncertain if some or all of these characters will return, the MCU doesn’t get much darker than this.
“Logan” (2017)
After two PG-13 “Wolverine†movies that were more angsty than they were dark, fans finally got the hard-R representation of the character they’d always wanted to see. With a barrage of f-bombs, gritty violence, and the deaths of multiple major characters who aren’t brought back to life, it’s actually hard to believe that “Logan†was made by the same studio as the more colorful “X-Men†films. Whether you choose to view it as a sequel or a standalone outing, this is by far the darkest installment in the “X-Men†film franchise, drawing heavily from the “Old Man Logan†comic arc. Unlike some other hardcore superhero movies, though, “Logan†earns every piercing moment.
Vote HERE on which movie sequel you think is the darkest of all time!
And to find out the complete list, check out the video below for our pick of the Top 10 Unexpectedly Dark Movie Sequels