1. The Scrapbook
Description:Perhaps the hardest, and at the same time the easiest, sequel to write is the one that's already half written. You see, during the development of the first installment we had to cut a lot of gems that were just too much for one film. While they could have been extremely awesome in the context of the first film, they were unfortunately excised because they were only slowing things down. However, that mega success is most assuredly a green light for another go, and since those bits are just going to go to waste why don't we just reuse them? Really...what's the worst that could happen?
The Right Way:The worst that could happen, if you do it right, is that you're just going to keep setting the bar higher for each subsequent film. You realize that the material you have in front of you is a really good starting off point, and maybe you can even pepper other bits cut from the film inside of the narrative. But ultimately, it's going to take more than connecting scenes to make this puppy run. You need to recapture the soul and the essence of the last outing, making everything flow as if it were supposed to be that way all the long. This is the ultimate landing to stick when it comes to a sequel, and if you can do it at least once, you are a legend.
(Example: Toy Story 2. Squeaky, the Buzz Lightyear video game, and Woody's nightmare about being thrown out. That's all that was used from the Toy Story 1 scrap pile, and incorporated into a new story about an over-zealous toy collector looking for the perfect set. The Pixar team realized that what made Toy Story 1 so brilliant was it covered something that Adults could identify with and Children could learn from, through the eyes of a Toy. Three perspectives mixed into one playing field, and with that mash-up in mind, the writers created a story that was as special, poignant, and funny as the first film.)The Wrong Way: If you do this wrong, however, may the Gods have mercy on your soul. Doing this wrong would most likely entail re-treading way too much of the first film's material. On top of that, you're going to be tempted to stray too far away from the original, as you want to do something different. Well, that's good thinking, but if you want something completely different, you're in the wrong department. You are beholden to the original when making a sequel, and doubly so when you're using something that was originally written for it in the first place. You can't just take something the scraps of the first film, retrofit them for a new adventure, and then (as if this wasn't a bad enough idea) set this adventure BEFORE the previous adventure. It's pretty much Alchemy. (
Example: Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom. The mine cart chase, the opening airplane caper, and the battle through Shanghai were all deleted from Raiders of the Lost Ark. From those elements we were given a sequel that, so far, sounds like it's doing things right. However, there was something missing. Something important that should have been picked up on in the script stages: the characters were missing their souls, both figuratively and at one particularly harrowing point literally. Temple of Doom tried to jump from the fun Adventure that Radiers was and plunge into a darker, Horror tinged film. Plus, it made its central hero into a villain without rhyme or reason, but mostly just to provide the film with some length. Good thing this was a Prequel though, as we can both delete this and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comfortably from our memories and not lose anything, as well as make it legally binding that George Lucas can no longer be involved with any sort of Prequel activity of any kind.)
So there you have it. The floor is turned over to you, What Culture Republic. What say you about the sequel types presented? Were any missed? Help build the Field Guide below in the Comments!