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A sequel is a work of Fiction in Literature , Film , and other creative works that is produced after a completed work, and is set in the same "universe" but at a later time. It usually continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings, although this is not always the case. For example, if the main character dies at the end of the first work, a new character (such as a son or daughter) may take up the role in the sequel. A sequel is somewhat different from a Series , in which the same character appears in a number of stories, although some Media Franchise s have enough sequels to begin to resemble a series. The popularity of sequels comes about in large part because it is less risky to build on a known success than to gamble with new and untested characters and settings. But also, audiences often beg for more stories about a certain character or setting. Sherlock Holmes was so popular in fiction that Arthur Conan Doyle was unsuccessful in his attempt to kill off the character and gave in on demands to bring him back. CHARACTERISTICS OF SEQUELS Often movie sequels are criticized as artistically inferior, and accused of simply repeating the story of the original film. However, sometimes a sequel gives an opportunity to address weaknesses in the original. For instance, the film '''', which is considered one of the best films of the series. Other examples of sequels which are widely considered as good as or better than the original include ''''. There are some common plot issues regarding sequels. Often when the original movie involves a character resolving a conflict, it is difficult to arrange the plot so that the characters face a similar problem. Other series do not share this problem like the James Bond series which simply has the character assigned to a new mission in each film. Sometimes, the original film deliberately has story developments that a sequel could develop into future stories, such as in the film '' Spider-Man ''. In that film, Peter Parker rejects Mary Jane Watson 's love without explaining himself to protect her from his enemies while MJ is left with a suspicion that he is Spider-Man. If no sequels were produced, that development could have been treated as simply a tragic ending for the hero. However, with the film's success guaranteeing sequels, this ending provides the basis for a continued Story Arc in which the troubled relationship between the characters forms an important basis of future film plots. With the recognition of the long-term profitability of successful film series, most major films where sequels are expected have the major talents like the Director and main actors contractually obliged to participate in sequels. This increases the chance of the sequel being produced with at least the equivalent quality of the original film. In and Serious Sam II . PREQUELS, INTERQUELS, AND THREEQUELS, AND CHRONOLOGICAL DISTANCE ''Main article: .'' A related word, '' is the best-known film that has multiple prequels. A prequel can often avoid the plot problems associated with having to deal with the consequences of the original. An example of this involves the '' Planet Of The Apes '' series of movies, where the entire earth was destroyed in '' Beneath The Planet Of The Apes ''. The succeeding movies were technically prequels as they took place before the original two films and explained the events that led up to the original film. Prequels often have the problem of maintaining dramatic interest when the outcome is known, and often gather interest by attempting to show aspects of familiar characters that were not seen in the original. The word '', though it was the third ''Lion King'' film to be produced. A of the words "three" and "sequel". A threequel comes after the sequel, but a so-called "four-quel" does not exist ("four" does not Rhyme with the "see" sound in "sequel"). Common usage for further parts of a series is simply "the fourth", "the fifth", etc. The word distant in a chronological sense refers a long chronological interval between entries in a series. The term '''distant sequel''' is used to describe a work that portrays events that happen long after those of a previously completed work. The term '''distant prequel''' is the opposite of that. (2003) are distant sequels. MEDIA FRANCHISES ''Main article: Media Franchise .'' In some cases, the characters or setting of an original film or video game become so valuable that they develop into a Media Franchise . Generally a whole series of sequels is made, along with Merchandising and Endorsement s. Multiple sequels are often planned well in advance and actors and directors often sign multi-film deals to ensure their participation. Some franchises are accidental, such as the Ma And Pa Kettle series of films (the title characters of which broke out of the 1947 film '' The Egg And I ''), and some are pre-planned, such as '' The Lord Of The Rings '' trilogy. The most profitable film franchises include '' Star Wars '', James Bond , Harry Potter , and '' The Lord Of The Rings ''. Long-running franchises were common in the studio era, when Hollywood studios had actors and directors under long-term contract. Examples include Andy Hardy , Ma And Pa Kettle , Bulldog Drummond , Superman , Tarzan , and Sherlock Holmes . The longest-running modern film franchises are James Bond , Godzilla , Friday The 13th , and Star Trek . {Link without Title} In such cases, even lead actors are often replaced as they age, lose interest, or their characters are killed. MEDIA SHIFTING Sequels (along with prequels, interquels, and the like) are most often produced in the same medium as the previous work (that is, a film sequel is usually a sequel to another film), but this is not always the case. Author '' is a sequel to the Video Game '' Final Fantasy VII ''. The novels in the '' Star Wars '' Expanded Universe are sequels, prequels, and interquels to the films. Whether these alternate-medium sequels are considered Canonical varies. ''Advent Children'' was produced by the same company responsible for ''Final Fantasy VII'' and is therefore canonical, but other sequel or prequel films based on video games, such as '' Resident Evil '', are not. The novels in the Star Wars Expanded Universe are considered canonical by Lucasfilm , the films' production company, though this is often debated amongst fans. Likewise, the ''Blade Runner'' sequel novels are authorized and officially considered canonical, but the issue is also a topic of debate amongst fans. Sometimes sequels are produced without the consent of the author or studio of the original creation. These are often dubbed Informal Sequel s, unauthorized sequels, or illegimate sequels. An example would be the film '' Return To Oz '', which was designed to be a sequel to the MGM film '' The Wizard Of Oz '' despite being produced with no connection to MGM studios. TITLING OF SEQUELS Titling sequels has always been something of a problem. For marketing purposes, it is important to make it clear to potential audiences that the sequel is related to the original. But for creative purposes, it is important to make clear that the sequel is a new story that explores new territory. In the early years of film, sequels were generally given titles similar to the original and usually made use of the main character's name. When the William Powell - Myrna Loy mystery '' The Thin Man '' ( 1934 ) turned out to be a hit, the studio produced several more films featuring the characters, such as ''The Thin Man Returns'' and ''The Thin Man Goes Home'', even though the original "thin man" was the subject of the mystery and not the detective. After the success of ''A Family Affair'' ( 1937 ), there came a whole series of films starring Mickey Rooney reprising the Andy Hardy character in titles such as ''Love Finds Andy Hardy'' and ''Andy Hardy Meets Debutante''. The James Bond franchise, however, stuck to the titles of Ian Fleming 's novels until they ran out, then fashioned new titles with similar forms, none of which use the name "James Bond" or a number. While numbered sequels are extremely rare in literature, they became very popular in films and video games in the '', and many others. The habit of numbering sequels later carried over into video games. Numbers in the titles of sequels usually indicate the order in which the sequel was produced, regardless of the chronological events in the story. For example, the video game '''' was the third title in the ''Devil May Cry'' series to be produced, though it is a Prequel that takes place before the events of '' Devil May Cry '' and '' Devil May Cry 2 ''. However, as sequels came to be perceived as routinely inferior to the originals, the numbering of sequels became the butt of numerous jokes. '') is simply the third in the '' Naked Gun '' comedy series. ''Leonard Part 6'' had no predecessors, while '' History Of The World, Part I '' was made with no intention for a sequel. And ''X-Men 1.5'' is a special edition DVD of the film '' X-Men ''. Throughout this period of numbered sequels, like-named sequels remained somewhat popular, and sometimes the original film was renamed when it was released on '', a title that would likely have doomed it on its original theatrical release. Similarly '' Raiders Of The Lost Ark '' ( 1981 ) is known in its current video release as ''Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark'' to better align it with its sequels. With the rise of pre-planned film franchises such as ''''. SEE ALSO
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