Sequel-Boot Completely Explained (Sequel-Reboot)
Sequel Boot Completely Explained
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Is this hybrid of a sequel and a reboot the best of both worlds, or just an attempt to please everyone? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re taking a look at a new way to revive dormant film franchises that isn’t quite so new after all. Call them direct sequels, requels, or in our case sequel-boots, this trend gained prominence with 2018’s “Halloween,” and we’ll probably be seeing more in the near future. If you’ve been to the movies lately or even just opened up your favorite streaming service, you’ve probably noticed that sequels, reboots, remakes, and franchises are all the rage. Whether it’s the latest installment in a cinematic universe or a remake of a much-beloved film, movies with name recognition seem to vastly outnumber ones based on an original premise. Big franchises that require a lot of “homework” can be intimidating to audiences, and as successful as some remakes have been, they also risk alienating fans of the original. This is where the sequel-boot comes in by attempting to draw in new and old audiences alike. The idea is simple. Say you’ve got a venerable film franchise you want to reintroduce, maybe one with a history of less-than-stellar sequels. A sequel-boot acts as a direct sequel to the original film in a franchise, disregarding all the previous sequels to wipe the slate clean. The idea is to evoke the original without directly remaking it, hopefully drawing upon what made it good in the first place. One of, if not the earliest examples, comes from Toho’s decade-spanning “Godzilla” franchise. While the series started out as a more serious and mature allegory for nuclear proliferation, it became increasingly silly as time went on and spectacle became more marketable than subtext. After the series petered out in the late 70s, the producers decided to bring it back in the 80s. But rather than wiping the slate clean with a remake of the classic film, 1984’s “The Return of Godzilla” acted as a direct sequel to the 1954 original. Since then, similar tricks have been pulled to revive American franchises. The “Halloween” franchise has tried it a couple of times, first with “Halloween H20” in 1998, which acted as a direct sequel to the original two films, and then again in 2018 with a film that followed the original film only. The “Terminator” franchise has also tried to get in on the action, pulling a sequel-boot first with “Terminator Genisys” and more recently with “Terminator: Dark Fate,” both of which drew on the original two films and ignored everything else. Of course, it isn’t always so clear cut. Just because a certain entry in the franchise doesn’t go addressed by subsequent films doesn’t automatically mean a sequel-boot is happening. For example, the third entry in the “Elm Street” franchise makes zero mention of the events of part 2, instead picking up with a whole new cast of characters. This doesn’t make it a sequel-boot by our definition, it just makes “Elm Street 2” kind of a black sheep. Similarly, “Superman Returns” doesn’t directly confirm or deny that “Superman III” happens in its timeline, leaving its place in continuity rather nebulous. So why go to all this trouble then? Sequel-boots allow filmmakers to revitalize dormant franchises in a way that draws in new viewers without alienating fans of the property. Remakes of classic movies are often met with scorn by the established fanbase, and casual audiences just don’t have the time to get all caught up on some long-running franchises to catch the new installment. Sequel-boots are an attempt to please both by drawing on the franchise’s core history, but not depending on it. The style also allows franchises to sweep old mistakes under the rug and create a new continuity for the series that cherry-picks the best elements and jettisons the rest. That time your horror movie icon went into space? Gone. The time you killed off the hero in a lame way? No longer canon. In this way, sequel-boots can be a good way for franchises to clean house. The success of 2018’s “Halloween” means that this cinematic trend will probably be applied to more fan-favorite franchises in the future, but it remains to be seen if that’s a good thing or not. The idea certainly has the potential to breathe new life into our favorite movie franchises, but it may also just be a matter of time until it overstays its welcome.
