9 Movie Franchise Staples That Actually Came From Sequels

1. Pretty Much Everything - Star Wars

It's no secret that George Lucas made up a lot of the original Star Wars trilogy as it went on. If anything, that only made the series better, as the stories he created over these early years made them some of the most adored of all time.

However, his on-the-fly creativity resulted in a lot of things people associate with Star Wars not actually being featured in the original movie. Plenty of major story threads, such as Darth Vader being Luke's father and Luke and Leia being related (which makes that kiss in the second movie so, so weird) weren't planned from the get go, but their additions didn't directly invalidate anything that came before.

Though they may be common knowledge, it's the smaller touches added in the sequels that are the most surprising. For instance, did you know that the Imperial March - the instantly-recognisable theme for the entire Dark Side - was only introduced in Empire Strikes Back? There's so much Star Wars lore, both in the story itself and the filmic techniques, that actually appeared first in sequels, but that in no way reflects badly on the original which made everything possible in the first place.