10 Movies Released Way Too Late To Make Sense

In the 14 years between The Incredibles and Incredibles 2, the superhero genre conquered the world. These days it’s disappointing if a big capes n’ costumes movie doesn’t break a billion dollars at the global box office.

Fortunately, Incredibles 2 made twice as much money as The Incredibles and debuted to near universal critical acclaim. So if it ticks off both the major metrics for movie-making success, how does Incredibles 2 make it anywhere near this list?

Simple. It follows directly on from the original. The Incredibles and Incredibles 2 form one story in two parts, like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, yet The Incredibles was constructed as a standalone story, its threads resolved.

Originally, the Underminer’s appearance at the end of The Incredibles showcased the family, having spent the movie divided, finally working as a team. It was intended to be a hanging ending (one that brings the threads of the story together and does not require resolution), not a cliffhanger ending (one that leaves you on tenterhooks and requires resolution) - because there were no plans for an immediate sequel to show what happened next.

Yet despite the huge gap in time, Incredibles 2 makes the storytelling choice to show what happened next anyway - and it’s not the only example of this issue. The sequel continues character arcs that were completed 14 years earlier, and the overarching plot about superheroes being censured by the state is resurrected in the sequel, restoring a conflict that the first film had resolved.

The Incredibles was never intended to have an immediate narrative continuation, and it makes no sense that, after over a decade, Brad Bird and Pixar chose to go that route.