15 Most Important Film Sequels Coming In 2017

Sequels, prequels and reboots are often used as examples of the death of cinema as we know it and the movement into franchises with the focus on easy money-making. There is undeniably a lot of truth to this but that doesn't mean that films of this kind should be dismissed out of hand. There have been excellent sequels for many years and there will continue to be excellent sequels for years to come, you just need to sieve through the crap.

Next year sees the release of many a sequel, prequel, reboot, three-quel, prequel/sequel, even an eight-quel with some of the franchises showing no signs of slowing down let alone stopping. No doubt we're in for some disappointments in the year to come but there are some sequels on their way that could prove to be very important indeed.

Surely nobody expected an updated retelling of the classic tale of Paddington Bear to work and yet, here we are. Adored by audiences and critics alike the film currently stands at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes which is bonkers considering the turds that are usually left floating when updating an old children's favourite into live-action.

The sequel is showing a lot of promise, bringing back director Paul King along with the cast of the original as well as adding the talented Brendan Gleeson along with notoriously British fop Hugh Grant. With the charmingly inherent Britishness of the first film, the addition of Grant is a surprisingly positive one.

Picking up where the first film left off, Paddington 2: Get Grizzly will find our hero on the trace of a stolen present which sounds delightfully quaint.

Here's hoping that the sequel can be as surprisingly endearing as its predecessor, allowing Paddington to become a great live-action family franchise which is a sad rarity these days.

UK Release Date: 10 November

US Release Date: Not until 2018...seems unfair.