10 Movie Sequels That Keep Getting Teased (But Probably Won't Happen)
These movies absolutely deserve sequels, so what's taking so long?
It’s only natural for fans to want to see the continued adventures of their favourite characters and worlds after the credits roll on a great movie. Some film series feel complete after just two sequels, rounding things off in a nice, neat trilogy. By contrast, some movies are best left to stand on their own, with creators refusing to continue a story if they feel it’s been completed.
Then there are those that stand awkwardly in the middle, with the potential for further instalments that have been kept back by studio interference, rights issues, or creative differences.
These are the sequels that never seem to see the light of day, with fans having waited anything from a few years to a decade or more. While examples such as Bill and Ted Face the Music, as well as horror sequels like Scream and Candyman, have proved that it’s never too late to bring these stories back to life, the following examples show little sign of progress - no matter how many vague updates are announced.
Here, then, are ten movie sequels that will likely never happen, even though they are constantly teased.
10. RoboCop Returns
When you think of disappointing sequels to classic movies, the second and third of the RoboCop trilogy spring to mind pretty fast. Without Paul Verhoeven, the razor-sharp satirical wit, memorable characters and stylised violence of the original was followed by nonsensical plots, mindless action and a resounding lack of intelligence.
Bizarrely, the third film had a PG-13 rating and was marketed towards families, taking the property about as far away from Verhoeven, Neumeier and Miner’s original vision as possible.
25 years, several TV shows and a remake later, RoboCop Returns was announced in 2018, with District 9 helmer Neill Blomkamp attached to direct. It was intended to be an R-rated direct sequel to the 1987 original, ignoring the events of 2 and 3. This was hugely exciting news, and Blomkamp even stirred rumours that the original film’s star Peter Weller would return, although Weller never confirmed this.
Unfortunately, the movie seems to have been stuck in development hell since Blomkamp left the project in 2019, to be replaced with Abe Forsythe, director of Little Monsters. Three years later, and there’s been no news, causing fans to grow less hopeful to see Robo’s return as time goes by.