The Only Sequel That Matters in 2019

 

The Only Sequel That Matters in 2019

***The following is hugely biased and mainly meant for entertainment purposes***

Normally, as the year comes to a close, I sum up my most-anticipated movies of the impending year in a top ten list, but not this year. 

2018 was a bit lackluster, but 2019 is set to be a stacked year. Often it’s easy to pick out a select few films I’m really looking forward to, and fill in the rest of the top ten with curiosities or hopeful ones. Often, my picks are for sequels or reboots to franchises I’m already familiar with. I looked back on previous anticipation lists, as well as favourites of the year lists, and figured out that on average, only half of the films I list as my most-anticipated end up being among my favourites. 

This coming year is a little different for many reasons. If you do a quick search of 2019 movies, something will become immediately apparent: most of the big releases are sequels. This is no surprise; Hollywood has become focused on making sequels, remakes, and reboots over original films for years now. I’m sure there will be at least a few originals next year that will sneak up from obscurity and become favourites, but I’m focusing on the sequels, because only one of them is important. 

So the question becomes, which sequel should all eyes be on in 2019? Let’s break it down. 

We’ll start with some of the less massive follow-ups. We’ve got Glass, Happy Death Day 2U, John Wick 3, and Zombieland 2. Any of those? Well, Glass is the sequel to both 2017’s Spilt and 2000’s Unbreakable, both helmed by M. Night Shyamalan, who saved the reveal that the two movies were connected until the very end of Spilt. In Glass, the characters from both films come together in what looks to be a rather unconventional superhero crossover. I’m definitely interested in it, especially after finding Spilt was a surprisingly entertaining film, but given Shyamalan’s track record, there’s still some justified apprehension. Happy Death Day 2U is, in short, not a sequel anyone should be concerned with. John Wick 3, while I am curious about it, isn’t something I’m overly hyped for, despite having thoroughly enjoyed both John Wick and John Wick 2. So of the four I just mentioned, it must be Zombieland 2 that represents the one sequel that matters next year. 

I love the first Zombieland. Like, a lot. It never fails to make me laugh-out-loud. I had sort of wondered about a sequel, but when Amazon did their re-casted Zombieland series, I thought there was no chance. And yet, now here comes the sequel, with everyone returning (minus Bill Murray), including the writers and director. As much as I’m hoping it lives up to the first movie, this isn’t a sequel I was really begging for, nor is it one everyone else should be highly anticipating. Let’s keep going. 

For whatever reason, 2019 will see the release of many animated movie sequels. How many? The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, The Secret Life of Pets 2, Toy Story 4, The Angry Birds Movie 2, and Frozen 2.

Wow. Seriously. 

When I started constructing this look at 2019 sequels, I didn’t even realize how many of them were animated features, but that’s a lot! I don’t think they should be messing with the near-perfect Toy Story trilogy by making it a quadrilogy, the trailers for LEGO Movie 2 have been underwhelming, and I do not care about follow-ups to Frozen, Angry Birds, or Secret Life of Pets. How to Train Your Dragon, though, intrigues me, as I loved the first one, and may have loved the second one even more. 

There’s even a stop-motion sequel set for next year: A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, and no, I’m not making this up, either. Farmageddon? Farmageddon! Jiminy Cricket, that’s a great title. This Shaun the Sheep sequel is not one I’m all that hyped for just yet, though, and none of these animated films are the holy grail of sequels next year. 

Something weirder, maybe? Did you know a new Men in Black is coming out? Men in Black International, starring Thor and Valkyrie—I mean, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. No more Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Even though I didn’t really like Men in Black II or III, I’ll miss seeing those guys chasing down alien scum and cracking jokes along the way. I’m sure Chris and Tessa will be funny in their own right and do a fine job and it’ll be a fun movie, but Men in Black isn’t something I’m interested in anymore. Thanks anyway, Sony. 

A major horror movie sequel that a lot of people are anticipating is IT: Chapter 2. The first IT was a big surprise last September. It frightened and entertained audiences, but for those who read the book or saw the 1990 miniseries, it was clearly meant as a part one. The conclusion will hopefully live up to Chapter 1, and though I’m eagerly awaiting IT, it’s not the one sequel that matters next year.  

The sequel that matters does belong to a franchise that I’m a huge fan of. So maybe it’s Terminator? That’s right, though it hasn’t been heavily advertised yet, a new Terminator movie is on the way. The as-of-yet-untitled Terminator 6 (though it’ll probably be called Terminator: Phoenix) will erase from the timeline the disappointing sequel Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the also disappointing post-apocalyptic Terminator Salvation, and the horrendous reboot Terminator Genisys, continuing from where Terminator 2: Judgment Day left off. In addition to Schwarzenegger coming back as the Terminator once again, Linda Hamilton is back as Sarah Conner (a la Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in the latest Halloween). 

The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day are two of my favourite movies of all-time, and I used to say Terminator was one of my favourite franchises. Used to. So what happened? Three strikes and you’re out? Not exactly. I really don’t like Terminator 3, but it does have a couple redeeming factors. I actually didn’t hate Salvation, though it wasn’t nearly as good as it could have been. And then there's Genisys, which really rubbed me the wrong way, especially with the way it recreated parts of the old films and tried to reset everything. Now here we go again, Terminator 6 is another reboot, only this time ignoring the sequels fans don’t like as much, as if that’s supposed to make it OK to do the exact same thing over again. I may or may not see it, because I liked what the director, Tim Miller, did with the first Deadpool, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Linda Hamilton return to her most-famous role, but I’m pretty tired of the whole “I’ll be back” shtick. So no, Terminator 6 is not the #1 sequel to watch in 2019. 

We are getting closer, it is an action movie. Rambo V: Last Blood? Yeah, it’ll be cool to see Sylvester Stallone back in his other most-iconic role aside from Rocky Balboa, in what I have to guess will be the final installment in the franchise based on that title. Nope, this still isn’t the sequel we’re looking for. 

If you look back on my most-anticipated lists of each year, usually a superhero movie (or two, or three) are to be found, so is the most-important sequel of next year a superhero movie? Not a bad guess. We’ve got two entries in the X-Men franchise coming, New Mutants and Dark Phoenix—both of which I believe were originally intended for 2018 release, but oh well. Nope, don’t care about either of those. Ah-ha! But Spider-Man: Far From Home has to be it! I absolutely loved Spider-Man: Homecoming, I really am excited for another Spider-Man movie that will probably not suck, but it’s still a few notches down from a handful of other, even higher-profile sequels.

Am I trying to trick you? Maybe I mean Captain Marvel, which isn’t technically a sequel, but does fit into the overall continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Hah! Like Captain Marvel would be my most-anticipated anything of next year. The trailers have been so average I think it might be the first MCU movie I miss in the theater since this whole thing started back in 2008. 

Alright, enough messing around. Surely the sequel I must be looking forward to the most is a Marvel movie, right? Avengers: Infinity War was one of the best superhero movies to date, and it left off on a devastating cliff hanger, to be resolved in Avengers: Endgame.

Look, I’m anticipating the fourth Avengers movie as much as the next fan, but I’m also fully prepared to be let down, because when you set up a cliff hanger of that magnitude in a world where characters regularly return from the dead and defy death and get out of impossible situations, I don’t see how any of the consequences of Thanos’ universe-killing snap can remain permanent—especially when there’s so much more money yet to be squeezed from these properties. So no, it’s not Avengers: Endgame. 

That only leaves one more possibility, right? Of course! The wrap-up to a trilogy that I’ve been following quite closely and have written at length about on this blog, a story that started a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

Star Wars: Episode IX is going to bring the new sequel trilogy to a close, in what will surely be a most splendid, crowd-pleasing extravaganza that will bring the fans back together again. No, I’m not actually being sarcastic. OK, maybe a little.

Despite the initial excitement over The Force Awakens, which has since devolved into “wait, wasn’t it just the same as A New Hope?” the hype around Star Wars has wavered significantly, especially with the divisive eighth episode, The Last Jedi, which I have talked about quite a bit. I wouldn’t say I’m a defender of it, but I rather enjoyed it, and I’ll leave it at that. A problem I had with it, though, is it tried to do way too much in one movie, and felt more conclusive than a middle chapter of an intended trilogy should feel, so where that leaves us for Episode IX is anyone’s guess, but a clear sign of Disney panicking was when they reeled J.J. Abrams back in to have him direct it, even after he said he didn’t want to do another one after Episode VII, but hopefully he’ll make it a satisfying conclusion to this wobbly three-part storyline. 

There you go, I’ve talked about all the major sequels coming out in 2019, leaving off with the year-defining one. 

Except I’m not done. 

What could possibly top Avengers Endgame and Star Wars Episode IX? There’s only one thing. Are you ready? 

It will be the biggest sequel of the year, and that is…

GODZILLA.

Truly. This is actually the one. 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the sequel to the 2014 American reboot, Godzilla. Not that many people were impressed with the reboot—murky cinematography, dull characters, simple plot, and worst of all: there wasn’t enough Godzilla. While I understand the criticisms, I actually really enjoyed Godzilla, but agreeably, it left a lot to be desired, especially if you’ve seen many other Godzilla movies, or monster movies in general. 

So now with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, we have, what I believe, will be the perfect sequel. The cast is much better, with a couple supporting characters returning from the first movie, but new main characters, all played by great actors. Previous Godzilla director Gareth Edwards took a conservative approach to the monsters, only showing select glimpses of them and cutting away from the action until the very end—something that irked more viewers than anything. King of the Monsters is directed by Michael Dougherty, who knows monsters and the horror genre, and created what I believe is the best Halloween-themed movie ever, Trick r’ Treat. While his last directorial effort, Krampus, was a bit of a letdown, it was still a visual and auditory achievement. Godzilla: King of the Monsters will undoubtedly have better visuals (cgi, cinematography, camera angles) and show a lot more of the monsters than before. Even as someone who liked Godzilla, I found the MUTOS monsters subpar, especially in comparison to the roster of classic Godzilla villains, but with King of the Monsters, we get fan-favourites Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah, all of whom I’m sure will be adored by North American audiences less familiar with the Japanese films.  

But why this movie? Why is this the sequel over all others that matters the most? 

From a personal standpoint, I love Godzilla, probably more than any other franchise currently active. It has pleased me more times than disappointed me, which says a lot, given there are currently 35 movies featuring the giant monster. But even taking my fandom out of the equation, if you look at all the 2019 sequels coming out, and consider most of them will not exceed their predecessors, Godzilla: King of the Monsters seems poised to make the biggest improvement in terms of following up what came before. Yeah, I’m sure Avengers: Endgame will be awesome, but will it really top the sheer scope and shock of Infinity War? Will Spider-Man: Far From Home be as fun as Homecoming? Will Episode IX really bring the new Star Wars trilogy to a wholly satisfying close? 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters has to do a few things right in places the previous Godzilla stumbled, but it will also be setting up the sequel for the following year, Godzilla vs. Kong (which is probably going to be my most-anticipated sequel of 2020, though at the moment, all I need is Godzilla and Mothra and Rodan and King Ghidorah in the same movie and I’ll be happy), so it’s a lot to juggle, but I think the greater ambition will pay off. 

Godzilla: King of the Monsters will, I hope, achieve what every sequel to a reboot hopes to achieve: win over new fans, please the old fans, pay respect to what came before, make something new, and entertain the hell out of as many viewers as possible.

“Long live the king.”