A-List | 10 Movies That Actually Need a Prequel

If you dream of a day when you can live in Panem to see how The Hunger Games kicked off its genocide tour, good on you because a prequel is coming. (And meh.) It’s no secret Hollywood is running out of ideas for blockbusters. Indie movies prove original concepts and scripts are alive and well, but for movies to get that true promotional support, it’s retread city.

And honestly, it’s getting a little slim in the pantry, if you know what I’m sayin’.

So, if Hollywood isn’t too busy rummaging through Hanna-Barbera old Saturday morning cartoons or pilfering through 1970 TV shows that had a decent following, we have a list of films that may actually deserve an origin appeal.

Here are 10 movies that actually deserve a prequel.

10. Transformers

So much has been said about this cataclysmic ‘War on Cybertron’ but we have set to see someone tackle that. We have six movies in the franchise, including Bumblebee, and have a tease of about five minutes. Imagine the VFX porn we could get with this prequel. What would that look like for two hours?! (And since it’s on Cybertron, no Shia LaBeouf. Win-Win.)

9. The Goonies

Kids or non-cinephiles, look it up. This is an absolute classic and one of the original “scavenger hunt” or “explorer” films. For the fans, how did One-Eyed Willie become this renowned swashbuckler pirate anyway? Shoot, how did he lose his eye and how do this group of misanthrope kids from Astoria come to know his legend in the first place? Oh yeah: Why do Goonies “Never Say Die”? These questions are long overdue for an answer.

8. The Princess Bride

Few movies have been regaled like this Rob Reiner classic. Truly, it was fun for the whole family. The narration with the great Peter Falk and Fred Savage. The whimsical storytelling of Wesley’s journey. And the great adventures of the Pirate Roberts. Imagine what it would be like discovering Inigo Montoya’s quest, why the six-fingered man killed his father, and just how did he want him to prepare to die? Inconceivable!

7. I Am Legend

Just how did he become “the last man on Earth”? Did Robert Neville fall asleep in his bunker for about…oh, three months…when suddenly he goes outside to get his paper and is greeted by these bloodthirsty mutants? What happened? What was this man-made virus anyway and who made it? Better yet, how did Neville fight it? This would be worth making and definitely worth seeing.

6. Willy Wonka

This film has been romanticized for decades. It was remade once and pretty much sucked. Yet, what made Willy Wonka the Mad Hatter of Confection in the first place? Why make the Golden Ticket? And for the love of Peter Dinklage tell us where the Oompa Loompas call home?! This could either be an adult or child movie, but his origins should be told, as only Gene Wilder would want it.

5.  Mad Max

If you don’t know the story of Max Rockatansky, you’re not alone. He is a police officer in Australia of the distant future. War, famine, and critical resource outages led to a collapse of society. Add to that, his wife and child were murdered by a ruthless biker gang. No wonder he became “mad” and is this silent loner — he’s hell-bent on vengeance. Who wouldn’t want to see that?! Someone get this to George Miller, pronto!

4. Tombstone

“Well, well. How the hell are you?” Precisely, Wyatt. Who wouldn’t want to know how the enigmatic gentleman Doc Holliday and the gentle enforcer Wyatt Earp came to be friends anyway? Imagine the history and storytelling that could happen showing those two paths connecting in Tombstone, Arizona. Smell an Oscar?

3. Inception

Now that Christopher Nolan is a household name, and can pretty much write anything that a production house would put into motion, what about a movie that showcased how the device was built? What demented thought went into that? And, how did they start entering dreams anyway? Imagine what the first (acid) trip into someone’s psyche would look like. This needs to happen.

2. The Matrix

How did the War with the Machines happen anyway? We were sitting in “The Desert” with Morpheus and Neo and saw a post-apocalyptic scene, but how did it get there? Come to think of it, how did Neo even want to find some mythical cat named Morpheus anyway? What made him rise to power with his metaphysical theories? And agents?! Please. We have questions, people! We demand answers. (But no petitions, okay?)

1. District 9

Neill Blomkamp delivered arguably one of the most original takes on the age-old tale of aliens coming to Earth we have ever seen. It was mesmerizing, namely to meet the Prawns. Where did they come from? Why did they choose this remote South African town? Why was their planet dying? Their exodus to our planet for refuge would be fascinating. A sequel has been clamored about for years, but I think a prequel would be a box-office hit too.