The Age of Sequels

It almost seems like every time I hear of a new movie’s release, that movie happens to be a sequel, prequel or franchise movie in its 7^th installment. Recently, I came across an article explaining that New Line/WB’s “The Conjuring” is already looking to develop a sequel even though the movie has yet to be released. At first, this information came as a surprise. Why would a movie that comes out on Friday already have a sequel? Well, I decided to take a look at some of the elements that made this post possible.

First, the director of the film James Wan is a horror guru. He’s been involved in various successful horror films including Insidious, Dead Silence and his debut film Saw. So, to say he was the man for the job would have been an understatement. Second, James Wan had the assistance from Lorraine Warren herself. Warren is the woman Vera Farmiga portrays in the film, a paranormal investigator sent to reveal and expel an evil spirit that has taken over a family’s home. The combination of experienced filmmaking and first hand accounts seem to be a great recipe for success.  Two days before its release The Conjuring has already achieved an 85% on the Tomatometer and an average rating of 7.5 out of 10, a feat rarely seen when dealing with horror films. As a result, because of the acclaim The Conjuring has received, executives began to think “franchise.”

Franchises are highly coveted by studio executives since the overwhelming successes of films like Twilight, Harry Potter, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and most of the characters featured in the Marvel films. These films have opened up a market for sequels that I do not remember existing when I was younger (cue my younger self yelling, “Sequels always suck”). Writers and directors are now spanning their worlds across several feature films, expanding storylines that should probably not be expanded like Hancock. Other movies set to have sequels are Tron, Dumb and Dumber, The Boondocks, and Bad Boys. Now, while I believe that none of these particular storylines need another movie, I still know I will watch them. And who knows, maybe they will be just as good or better, as movies like Dark Knight have proven they can be.