4 Sci-Fi Movie Sequels That Nobody Wanted

More often than not, a successful movie is going to lead the studio behind it to want to produce a sequel. They see that a film was a hit with critics or was a massive box office success and they want more. While that makes sense on paper, a lot of films, especially in the sci-fi genre, don’t actually need sequels. In many cases, fans of the previous films don’t even want a follow-up to be released. Although they loved the original, they appreciate it as a standalone story and don’t want a sequel to ruin the experience. It’s unfortunate, but there have been far too many cases of a sci-fi movie getting a sequel that nobody, not even the most hardcore fans, asked for. The end result is usually a box office flop, a critical failure, or something that somehow makes what came before it retroactively worse.

In a few of these cases, some fans don’t even recognize the new installment. This isn’t about sequels that were simply disappointing, like most Jurassic Park follow-ups, Men in Black: International, or some Star Wars movies. While they weren’t great, fans did clamor for more stories in those worlds. These are the lackluster sequels that pretty much nobody needed more of.

4) The Predator

1987’s Predator is a sci-fi classic that’s still held in high esteem today. Predator 2 is quite different, yet still good, and 2010’s Predators is a very underrated sequel. When you add in the AVP spin-offs, it felt like there wasn’t really a need to tell more stories set in this universe. However, 2018 saw the release of The Predator with Shane Black in the director’s chair and while he’s a good choice for that role, the end result was a misfire.

The Predator relied too much on quips and lacked what made the past movies so special, further adding to why it wasn’t needed or requested. It was poorly received by critics and underperformed at the box office. That said, Prey also seemed unnecessary in 2022, though it managed to reignite the franchise, with Predator: Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands showing that there was still a lot of life in the series. Those films go a different route, which was the freshness that the franchise needed, unlike what The Predator provided.

3) Solo: A Star Wars Story

Even with the disappointing reactions to many entries in the prequel and sequel trilogies for Star Wars, those were indeed stories that audiences wanted to see told. Longtime fans were desperate to know more about the galaxy far, far away. That said, there was one Star Wars movie that people didn’t care to see, which was Solo: A Star Wars Story. The 2018 prequel was designed to tell the origin tale of everyone’s favorite outlaw, Han Solo.

A big aspect of what makes Han Solo so cool is the air of mystery he has. We know everything about Luke, Anakin, Leia, and the franchise’s other major characters. Han’s past only being hinted at was part of the fun. There are some characters where knowing less is more and Han is one of them. Solo: A Star Wars Story ended up being a solid romp, with Donald Glover and Emilia Clarke stealing the show; it just wasn’t needed. Nobody was clamoring to learn where Han Solo got the dice that he kept in the Millennium Falcon.

2) Terminator Salvation

One of the greatest duologies in the history of cinema is The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The James Cameron films are fantastic and go perfectly together. While Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines disappointed many, it still has its merits, and it’s easy to understand why fans wanted that third entry. Once that didn’t live up to what came before, the series should’ve stopped. Instead, 2009 brought us Terminator Salvation, which tried to breathe new life into things.

By that point, most people were content to stick with the Terminator stories they knew and loved, especially as a trilogy. A fourth installment that didn’t include the involvement of James Cameron or a role for Arnold Schwarzenegger was high on the list of things people didn’t ask for. It didn’t help that Terminator Salvation was a flop with critics (alongside its underwhelming box office intake) and has only led to more unneeded sequels.

1) Independence Day: Resurgence

Independence Day is one of the most beloved films of the ’90s. It is endlessly rewatchable, was a monster blockbuster hit, and is just a blast of an action sci-fi movie that feels timeless. It’s one of those great films that stands perfectly on its own and never needed a sequel. However, 20 years after its release, Independence Day: Resurgence arrived as a follow-up that not a single fan seemed to want. There wasn’t any need to tell another story in this world.

On top of not being needed, Independence Day: Resurgence also didn’t bring back Will Smith, who is a huge part of the first installment’s success. The movie was missing his charisma and without it, the sequel had no chance to live up to the original. Even director Roland Emmerich expressed that he regretted making the movie without Smith. A lot of fans of the original didn’t watch this sequel and they didn’t miss out on anything of note.

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