15 Incredibly Late Sequels That Took Decades To Arrive

11. Superman Returns - 19 Years

The Previous Film: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) The fourth Christopher Reeve film essentially killed the series dead in its tracks, with an anti-nuclear message forced in by Reeves and unbelievably cheap effects. Not as prolific a franchise killer as Batman And Robin due to it losing less money, it's still incredibly bad. What followed was two decades of desperate attempts to reignite the franchise, including a failed Tim Burton-helmed, Nicolas Cage-starring venture. The Late Sequel: Superman Returns (2006) The film that Bryan Singer left X-Men: The Last Stand for, Superman Returns was narratively a sequel to Superman II, writing the events of the later two sequels out of existence (a pick-and-choose approach to continuity that we'd see again, if more creatively, in Days Of Future Past). But while he can get rid of Nuclear Man, Signer can't get rid of the film he was in, meaning the gap is only 19 years. Was It Worth The Wait? Despite getting a pretty positive reaction upon release, fans have become increasingly aggressive towards the film. Singer does probably go too far down the nostalgia route, but the dislike seems a bit harsh; now we have Man Of Steel, Returns looks a lot better.