Reboot + Sequel = Requel
Narrator: With each fond remembrance, we knew those encountered were not forgotten. That someday, we would see them again. […] The Reunion at hand may bring joy. It may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings. For they are coming back. At last… The promise has been made.”
Final Fantasy 7: Remake
It’s hard to resurrect dormant franchises. They had their time in the spotlight, but how do you get viewers invested after years, even decades without a new entry? Sequels are risky if an aging cast can’t recapture the magic. Reboots will piss off existing fans by throwing away the story they loved. You need an entry point that honors the past and tells a new story. You need a requel.
Requels are one of the newest types of movies, meant to revive established franchises without directly continuing the story. A good requel always has a strong sense of legacy and former characters appearing as mentors, but focuses on new characters in their own adventure.
It sounds weird, I’m sure, but you’ve seen the concept a lot in recent years. Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Mad Max: Fury Road, Halloween (2021), and Cobra Kai are all examples. So which five requels made our list? None of those so let’s find out.
Scene Select
#5 Rebuild of Evangelion: You Can (Not) Advance
Requel of: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Original Cast: Megumi Ogata, Yuko Miyamura, Megumi Hayshibara, Fumihiko Tachiki
Requel Cast: Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, Amanda Win-Lee, John Swasey
Misato: “Wings… I’ve seen them before…!”
Rebuild of Evangelion: You Can (Not) Advance
Ritsuko: “Yes. It’s just like fifteen years ago. The Third Impact is beginning. This is the end of the world.”
Some requels are promoted as remakes, then hit viewers with the plot twist that this movie is a continuation. Evangelion is one of the first requels that masqueraded as a shot-for-shot remake before showing its true colors in the sequel.
The Original: Post-apocalyptic Tokyo is under attack by giant monsters called Angels. Three teenagers, troubled Shinji, prickly Asuka, and emotionally-stunted Rei, are chosen to fight them using giant robots called Evangelions. As the Angels grow more powerful, the pilots are drawn into a shadow war by adults scheming to become gods.
The Requel: Rebuild of Evangelion slowly hints that is a requel. Viewers see damage to the moon from the original series finale. The Angels are fewer in number, but far more powerful and counter the plans that originally killed them. A new pilot who didn’t exist in the original is introduced with enough knowledge to hack Evangelions. In fact, many characters know things that they shouldn’t even suspect yet.
The final battle against Zeruel reveals the truth. One of the pilots dies fighting the Angel, enraging Shinji so much that his Evangelion becomes a god through sheer willpower. That ascension throws the original plot completely off the rails, followed by the local Jesus analogue remarking that “this time”, he’ll make Shinji happy.
Did it Live Up to the Legacy?: Yes. Rebuild of Evangelion is exactly what it says it is, a second attempt at the series that changes characters and circumstances, ultimately improving them with better visuals, more impressive fights, and an ending that creates a new story instead of regurgitating the one fans had already watched.
#4 Requel: Jurassic World
Requel of: Jurassic Park
Original Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Richard Attenborough
Requel Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins
Claire: Don’t you think [a Jurassic Park T-shirt] is in bad taste?
Jurassic World
Lowrey: I know, it was terrible. A lot of people died, but the first park was legit, you know? They didn’t rely on all these genetic hybrids. They had real dinosaurs.”
Requels need to understand their legacy. It’s one thing to refer to the original classic or for characters to reprise their roles, but following the script too closely can lead to the movie becoming a remake. This movie fell into the remake trap, but has just enough of its own identity to stand as a requel.
The Original: Millionaire John Hammond invites several paleontologists to preview Jurassic Park, a combination zoo and amusement park with resurrected dinosaurs. A hacker shuts down the security systems to steal dinosaur embryos, but accidentally frees the dinosaurs. Now the humans must escape from Jurassic Park.
The Requel: Dino park Jurassic World is struggling to attract visitors. Dinosaurs have become boring to parkgoers and a new draw is needed. Scientists create a hybrid called Indominus Rex, combining several dinosaurs into one. I-Rex escapes and starts killing for fun, causing the other dinosaurs to rampage. Can Jurassic World’s employees keep their guests safe?
Did It Live Up to the Legacy?: No. Jurassic World comes across as a rehash of the movie we’d seen before, complete with the same T-Rex saving the day and similar plot beats for the human cast. The Indominus Rex missed the point of the series by making the main threat a Frankensteined kaiju instead of a rampaging dinosaur. I will give it credit for using dinosaurs becoming unpopular as an allegory for CGI losing its luster among audiences.
#3 Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Requel of: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Original Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, James Earl Jones
Requel Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver
Rey: “The Jedi were real?“
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Han: “I used to wonder about that myself. Thought it was a bunch of mumbo jumbo. A magical power holding together good and evil, The Dark Side and the Light? Crazy thing is… it’s true. The Force. The Jedi. All of it. It’s all true.”
Disney risked a lot by making Star Wars‘ Sequel Trilogy into requels. The Last Jedi went further by deconstructing the idea of requels and Star Wars lore, forcing an awful pivot for The Rise of Skywalker when moviegoers complained. At least fans got a perfect example of what a Star Wars requel looks like with The Force Awakens.
The Original: Desert-dwelling teenager Luke Skywalker longs to leave his boring moisture farm. He discovers a droid with critical information for a rebellion against The Empire and leaves home alongside wise mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, scruffy smuggler Han Solo, and Wookie Chewbacca. But first, they must infiltrate The Death Star to rescue Princess Leia from Sith Lord Darth Vader.
The Requel: Desert-dwelling teenager Rey is meandering through life as a scavenger. She discovers a droid with critical information for a rebellion against The First Order and leaves home alongside runaway stormtrooper Finn. They are discovered by wise mentor Han Solo and Chewbacca. When Rey is kidnapped, her friends must infiltrate Starkiller Base to save her from Dark Jedi Kylo Ren.
Did it Live Up To The Legacy?: Almost. The Force Awakens sticks too close to mimicking A New Hope’s plot instead of building on it. Kylo Ren’s major plot twist was defused by revealing it in incidental dialogue. The final battle is also too climatic for the beginning of a trilogy, only ending in a draw because the combatants are separated by narrative convenience.
#2 Requel: Creed
Requel of: Rocky
Original Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith
Requel Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Tony Belew, Tessa Thompson, Sylvester Stallone
Adonis: “Mickey died, and [Apollo Creed] came and talked to you right? Talked you out of quitting, took you to L.A., trained you. Brought you back.”
Creed
Rocky: “How do you know all this?”
Adonis: “How do you think?”
Rocky: [looks closely at him] “What are you, like a cousin or something?”
Adonis Creed: “He’s my father.”
Requels always face an uphill battle. The original movies are classics that left their mark on film history. Can this upstart escape from the past’s shadow and prove its own worth? That question is the heart of this requel.
The Original: Rocky Balboa is a small-time boxer and criminal. Heavyweight champion Apollo Creed challenges him to a title fight after his intended opponent drops out. Mentored by grumpy retired boxer Mickey, Rocky trains for the fight of his life while wooing a shy, abused woman named Adrien. But can Rocky go the distance against Creed?
The Requel: Adonis Creed wants to be a boxer like his father. He tracks down Rocky and convinces the grumpy boxer to teach him. Adonis builds a reputation under a fake name while wooing progressively deaf musician Bianca. When his parentage is revealed, he’s challenged by heavyweight champion Ricky Conlan. Can Adonis prove that he’s more than his last name?
Did it Live Up To The Legacy? Yes. Creed rhymes with Rocky, but never resorts to cheap imitation. Adonis and his rise from Apollo’s shadow is the entire focus. Rocky is treated with reverence, but the screenwriters are careful to keep him from overshadowing Adonis. The iconic score is held back until it’s needed and callbacks to Rocky are always given unique spins.
#1 Scream (2022)
Requel of: Scream
Original Cast: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard
Requel Cast: Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Maddison, Jack Quaid
Mindy: “Oh my God, he’s making a requel! […] See, you can’t just reboot a franchise from scratch anymore. The fans won’t stand for it. Black Christmas, Child’s Play, Flatliners, that shit doesn’t work. But you can’t just do a straight sequel, either. You need to build something new. But not too new or the Internet goes bug-fucking-nuts.“
Scream (2022)
Any franchise can make requels, but they shine in horror. Boogiemen return after decades to resume their rampages, the undead hunt teenagers for their sins all those summers ago, and wise survivors stand ready to guard untested generations. But when horror and requels combine, our number one pick has only one question: “What’s your favorite scary movie?”
The Original: Woodsboro is menaced by a serial killer dubbed Ghostface, who murders victims that fail his horror quizzes. Genre fan Sydney Prescott is stalked by the killer, leaving her horror-savvy friends to protect her. But can Sydney trust her friends when any of them could be Ghostface?
The Requel: Troubled runaway Sam Carpenter returns to Woodsboro after her sister Tara is attacked by Ghostface. Sam and Tara’s friends discover the new Ghostface is targeting family members of the first massacre’s victims. Sam recruits Ghostface survivor Dewey to track down the killer, but she is hiding a secret linking her to the Ghostface legacy.
Did it Live Up to the Legacy?: Yes. Scream (2022) is haunted by the original in all the right ways. The characters know they’re in a requel much like the original cast knew they were in a horror movie and point out the genre’s tropes. Ghostface’s mocking phone calls are upgraded to hacked electronics. The kills are flashier, but retain the original’s ambush-predator style.
Sydney, Dewey, and other legacy characters don’t overshadow the plot. Fans see how they’ve moved on after surviving the previous massacres and matured into genre-savvy survivors, but that isn’t enough to save all of them.
What Requel is your favorite? Did yours miss our list? Tell us in the comments.
Photo by Barry Wetcher – © 2015 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Jared Bounacos has written for Movie Rewind since 2016.
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