Sometimes a story is so good, so compelling, so transcendental, that it needs to be revisited. This usually takes place during a different time or era than when it originally released, capturing the original audience and gaining a new band of spectators. In such a situation, the subject matter is the same as an earlier film or version but idistinctly, it is not a remake or a linear continuation of the original plot like a sequal or prequel would be. Rather, the requel, as the term has been coined, focuses on new characters while also sometimes bringing original “legacy” characters back to transition the story into its new realm, a passing of the torch so-to-speak.
Requels are the new norm in entertainment and there have been several franchises to pass the baton to a new generation of characters and storytelling. Here are five requels that define the subgenre.
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5 Halloween (2018)
Universal Pictures
The Shape, better known as Michael Myers, made another comeback in 2018 after a few Rob Zombie remakes. As part of the original storyline, forty years after the events of the original Halloween in 1978, Laurie Strode, who survived Michael’s horrific killing spree in the very first movie, lives a life confluent with post-traumatic stress and in-wait of the killer’s return.
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The plot of this film follows the “rules” of being a requel in that it continues the story but not directly, while also introducing new characters like Laurie’s daughter, Karen Strode, and grandaughter, Allyson, who both question Laurie’s sanity and choice of a reclusive lifestyle that includes an armory of weapons and deathtraps. These new characters have defining roles in the story and ultimately, leads the story in lock-step with Laurie, making her fate and theirs a package deal.
4 The Matrix Resurrections
Warner Bros. Pictures
“What is the Matrix??” Morpheus so eloquently asked. At the time, in 1999, it was this question that permeated most movie-goers thoughts as they went into theaters to discover the answer. But soon that question was answered and then a saga redefining the sci-fi genre of filming making and storytelling would take place, unleashing two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, that would bring the trilogy to a close. In the finality of the the last installment, viewers came to understand that the protagonist, Neo, had to make the ultimate sacrifice to free everyone and that it was his choice to do so. And much like Neo, the creators of The Matrix franchise, the Wachowskis, were given a choice: To make more Matrix movies or not? The answer to that question was a resounding ’no’, and they vehemently denied the possibility of there ever being more.
But then after much pressuring from Warner Bros., a fourth installment was annouced and made, and while it is indeed the fourth movie of the franchise, it is definitely a requel to the series. In The Matrix Resurrections, Neo is no longer himself, he is once again Thomas Anderson, but this time he is a video game designer who has created a game titled, The Matrix. The plot unfolds as Thomas Anderson tries to make sense of his reality, which is blurred by his subconscious and the realism of The Matrix game to him. This is further complicated by his meeting Tiffany, who is really Trinity, and his undeniable connection to her. The Matrix Resurrections stands out as a requel in that not only does it use its legacy characters to continue the story from the previous films, but the story itself is literally about a re-telling of those characters through a different lens. Not to mention, new characters are introduced that fit seemlessly into both the previous trilogy’s storyline and the new one.
3 Scream (2022)
Paramount Pictures
Ghostface returns after 25 years to terrorize a new set of young adults who are in some way connected to the original killings in the first film. The set up for this movie screams (pun intended) requel and once again, like in all of the franchise films, Scream is very much aware of itself: One of the new characters, Mindy Meeks-Martin, who is one-half of a niece/nephew twinship that has Randy, an original character in Scream (1996) and the sequel, explains the current Ghostface killings as a requel, putting the story and the characters into the requel themselves.
Scream (2022) also uses its legacy characters from the previous four films - Sidney, Gale, and Dewey - as part of the story. Each one plays a part in how the new characters navigate through the horror of what’s happening again in Woodsboro. While the legacy characters’ contribution to the overall story is evident, they also help to facilitate the permenance of the new core group of characters that undoubtedly will lead the franchise into its new era.
2 Mad Max: Fury Road
Warner Bros.
Originally meant to be a direct continuation and sequel to previous Mad Max films starring Mel Gibson, Mad Max: Fury Road was conceptualized as early as 1987. But with varying degrees of interference ranging from development hold-ups, the September 11th Attack, the Iraq War, and finally controversies surroundig Mel Gibson, the film was delayed considerably.
Fury Road wouldn’t come to fruition until 2015 and the film itself changed from being a sequel to a requel. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the scarcity of water and pretrol fuels rivaling factions of people, the titular character of Max joins forces with a new character, Imperator Furosia, against a cult leader on a long road full of extravagant battles. The film places the original character of Max in a familiar setting while surrounding him with new characters that both rival and support his place in the film. Mad Max: Fury Road offers something unique when it comes to requels in that it doesn’t directly tell the audience its origin and connection to previous movies in the franchise. Instead, it alludes to it and audiences know that there’s backstory because of the face-guard like mask that Max is imprisoned in for most of the film.
1 Creed
MGM/Warner Bros. Pictures
Rocky Balboa was supposed to be the last film in the Rocky franchise. However, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, brought on Ryan Coogler to pen a spin-off series. By 2015, Creed was made, starring Michael B. Jordan with contributions from Sylvester Stallone, who would once again portray Rocky.
Creed, at its core, exemplifies what it means to be a requel. The plot follows the illegitimate child of Apollo Creed, Rocky’s dear friend and boxing compatriot who died in the ring in Rocky IV, and his path toward redemption, acceptance, and self-actualization. Adonis is a hard-knocked character and as a character resembles the character of Rocky alot, which works perfectly as Sylvestor Stallone uses his character to become Adonis’s mentor. As a requel, Creed takes parts of the subplots from the original franchise to create a new path and thus, new characters, each charting their own course in the overall story but still intimately conntected to old.
