10 Movies Everyone Thought Were Sequels (But Weren't)
3. War, Inc.
2008's little-known action-comedy War, Inc. was assumed by many to be a direct sequel to the much-loved 1997 cult classic Grosse Pointe Blank, and with damn good reason.
Like that movie, War, Inc. stars John Cusack as an assassin who is beginning to question his career path, while real-life sister Joan Cusack plays his assistant, Dan Aykroyd appears in a supporting role, and the style and tone are basically identical.
Yet War, Inc. isn't an official sequel in any capacity, most likely for legal/IP reasons, though given that Cusack both co-wrote and produced the film, it's not terribly surprising that the similarities are apparently deliberate.
According to Cusack himself, Disney had little interest in producing a Grosse Point Blank sequel - likely due to its middling box office performance - and so Cusack implanted many of his own ideas for the follow-up into the script for War, Inc.
Basically, he got to make the sequel without incurring any legal trouble. It's just a shame that War, Inc. falls far short of its inspiration's brilliance.