10 Films That Worked As Prequels And Sequels

6. 300: Rise Of An Empire

Director Zack Snyder chose to not return to direct the 300 follow-up, instead going to work on the Superman reboot Man of Steel. Without his direction, 300: Rise of an Empire is all over the place with its timeline.

The film's story happens before, during and after the events that transpired in 300. The plot not being in one set time period is a central reason why it faced much criticism when it was released in 2014, with others scrutinising the film's creative direction.

It had to deal with the issue of the main charismatic protagonist Leonidas dying at the end of the first film. As a result, it swapped Gerard Butler for Sullivan Stapleton as Greek leader Themistocles.

Initially it leans on giving King Xerxes a backstory where he watches his father Darius die and mourns him, with it being revealed how the new character of Artemisia (Eva Green) became one of his generals. It then skips forward in time to the Battle of Artemisium that was concurrent with the Battle of Thermopylae unfolding in the original 300 film. It then skips forward again to The Battle of Salamis that occurred after the events that transpired in the first 300 film.