10 Best Movie Sequels (Not Directed By The Original Filmmaker)
1. The Empire Strikes Back
The Empire Strikes Back is not only viewed by many as the greatest Star Wars movie, not just is it viewed as the greatest sequel ever, but some people hold Empire up on a pedestal as their absolute favourite film ever.
What many more casual moviegoers might not be aware of, though, is that Star Wars creator George Lucas was not in the director's chair for this 1980 picture.
Lucas produced The Empire Strikes Back and came up with the loose story of the film, yet it was Irvin Kershner - best known at that point for helming 1976's The Return of a Man Called Horse and 1978's Eyes of Laura Mars - who served as Empire's director.
Kershner would only direct two more movies after The Empire Strikes Back, with those being 007's Never Say Never outing and then RoboCop 2. Both of those films were solid offerings, yet nothing Irvin Kershner could have ever done would've been able to match the quality of what audiences were given in Episode V.
To this day, The Empire Strikes Back remains the benchmark for Star Wars films, for sequel pictures, and for anything laced in even a semblance of science fiction or conflict. And remarkably, it's the only movie of the initial six Star Wars films not to be helmed by the legendary George Lucas.