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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.


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 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.”
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