While some cynics may complain that sequels are inherently ruining creativity in Hollywood, returning to the same world, characters, or premise of a successful film is never a bad thing if it’s done with the same level of creativity and affection. There’s often a good reason that sequels get quickly developed and greenlit; audiences want to see more of a good thing! In fact, some of the greatest movies of all time are sequels, such as The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Before Midnight. The Godfather: Part II and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingare the rare two movie sequels that actually won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
2022 was certainly a major year for movie sequels, as two highly anticipated franchises that fans had been anticipating for what felt like forever were finally released in theaters. Top Gun: Maverickflew past everyone’s expectations; it was an exhilarating experience for those that had never seen Tony Scott’s original film from 1986, but for those that grew up loving Top Gun, the new film was even more impactful. The same could be said of James Cameron’s highly anticipated sequel to Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water. Cameron had to live up to the expectations of topping the highest grossing film of all-time, but shockingly, Avatar: The Way of Water had an even more emotional story and a more fully fleshed out world than its predecessor.
If Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick represent the best of what sequels can be, 2023 has raised some doubt in the minds of movie fans. Mediocre sequels like Fast X, Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny may have caused some cynicism, but that isn’t to say that the year has been entirely dominated by disappointments. In fact, many of the highest-grossing films of the year are sequels, and excitement for Dune: Part Two is growing stronger, even if it is now confirmed that it will not debut at the Venice Film Festival before making its theatrical debut this fall. Here are the best movie sequels of 2023 so far, ranked.
Evil Dead Rise
The Evil Dead franchise has always worked because each sequel is completely different tonally from its predecessor. The original 1981 The Evil Dead is a nasty, low-budget isolation thriller that has some truly disturbing moments, and 1986’s Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn amps up the humor, gore, and theatricality for an equally exhilarating experience. Army of Darkness took the series in a very light-hearted direction, so it was nice to see that Evil Dead Rise represented a return to the saga’s true horror roots. While not quite as entertaining as the original trilogy, Evil Dead Rise certainly made Sam Raimi proud by having buckets of blood and carnal mayhem.
Extraction 2 was one of the more surprisingly great sequels of the year, because 2020’s Extraction wasn’t very good to begin with! Chris Hemsworth’s character Tyler Rake felt like a parody of an action hero, yet the new Netflix sequel managed to actually add some depth to the previously lifeless character, and featured some of the year’s best action sequences.
Scream VI
The Scream franchise has a pretty good track record when it comes to sequels, as each new installment has found interesting ways to commentate on the franchise’s past. Scream VI did a great job at tying all the films together, yet found interesting ways to commentate on the state of popular culture.
Creed III
Michael B. Jordan proved himself as a director with this epic new installment in Adonis Creed’s journey that faces him against an old friend (Jonathan Majors) who has returned with a vengeance. The anime-inspired boxing scenes in particular were a major highlight of Creed III.
Magic Mike's Last Dance
While not quite as dramatic as the original Magic Mike or as fun as Magic Mike XXL, the third installment in this strange series, Magic Mike's Last Dance, did a great job at looking at what life has been like for performers like Mike (Channing Tatum) in the wake of the pandemic.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Marvel has been on a low streak recently with disastrous sequels like Thor: Love and Thunder and this year’s conclusion to the Ant-Man trilogy. However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was the most emotional Marvel film since Avengers: Endgame, particularly in how it handled the backstory of Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper).
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
How do you top perfection? Even though Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has been regarded as one of the greatest animated films ever made, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse managed to complicate Miles Morales’ coming-of-age story, and became the only comic book movie to introduce a “multiverse” concept that actually worked.
John Wick: Chapter 4
John Wick; Chapter 4 is an operatic, gorgeous sequel that reflected on the nature of death, chivalry, and vengeance. Not only is it the best John Wick film so far, but perhaps one of the greatest action movies ever made.
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