9 Sci-Fi Movie Sequels That Insulted Great Characters
Some of us never came back from Emo Peter Parker.
The near endless possibilities offered up by sci-fi as a genre means all sorts of sequels, prequels, alternative timelines etc. are on the cards.
If done correctly, these can be a brilliant addition to a property and further flesh out characters, plot points and the world of the IP. When done badly, though, these pictures can completely undermine what has come before.
Focusing solely on characters here, however, so often sequels in particular have led to a beloved character being bastardised. Over the decades, we've seen so many sequels take all of the good work done to establish a character, and then take a giant dump all over that work in a way that completely betrays that character and the moviegoers who have invested so much time and emotion into these characters.
Again, this is something that seems painfully prevalent in the sci-fi genre - which comes hand-in-hand with the aforementioned propensity to serve up sequels. With each followup, there's always that element of risk as to whether something or someone will ultimately end up tarnished.
With all of this in mind, then, here are nine examples of great sci-fi characters who were done dirty in sequel offerings.
9. John Connor - Terminator: Dark Fate
To be fair, you could make a very valid argument that John Connor had already been done a disservice in Terminator Genisys - that movie revealing that John was really a Terminator - but the handling of John Connor in Terminator: Dark Fate had fans rightly in uproar.
It was long known that Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger would be reprising their Sarah Connor and T-800 roles in Dark Fate, yet many were wondering whether Ed Furlong would be back as John Connor. Given how Dark Fate ignored any post-T2 entries in the franchise, it only seemed natural that John had to be a part of this most recent Terminator offering.
When news broke that, yes, Furlong would indeed be returning as John Connor, franchise fans were excited to see what role the character would have to play in Dark Fate. Unfortunately, the answer to that question came merely a matter of minutes into the movie - with a scene showing John being assassinated on a beach back in 1998.
Having waited 28 years to see Furlong return to the Terminator franchise, it was a huge slap in the face to the actor himself, the character of John Connor, and fans to see what John's ultimate fate was.