Sequels Gone Wrong: When Movie Magic Turns Sour
Who hasn't been disappointed by a sequel that completely ruined a favorite character arc? You've got your "good" sequels, where characters level up and the story unfolds brilliantly, and then you have the ones that just make you shout, "What were they thinking?"
Maybe a sequel wasn't planned when the original came out, but some films go from heartfelt to messed-up in a flash. These sequels show what happens when directors and writers disrespect the work of the previous Movies or the fans who are actually there to appreciate the whole storyline!
When Star Wars Got Messy: The Saga of Han Solo
Remember the Original star wars? Han Solo was such a cool character: rogue, sarcastic, with a love for smuggling but eventually choosing the right side. By the time we saw the final film, Han had completely flipped from a self-serving space scoundrel to a heroic member of the Rebel Alliance. It was beautiful!
But then came "The Force Awakens", and that's where the magic got messed up! Apparently, in the time that Han spent with Leia, all that development vanished! Now he’s back to smugging because, well, the explanation for his character’s shift made no sense to anyone, especially when you realize that they have a son to fight for.
Fast & Furious: The Big Mishap With Gisele
Let's talk about Gisele - the fierce woman with no qualms about jumping in to save the Fast family, even if Dom doesn't fully commit to being "The Guy". In the series, it looks like she learns how to love. That big, sad scene where she seems to die to save Han, while tragic, was totally badass.
But Fast X was so off the mark. They had Gisele reappear – it felt super random. Now we've got this big mess where she's somehow working for Cipher, and we have to pretend that her sacrifice never happened, so she can join in on more action! There’s supposed to be some new, fancy backstory, but honestly, it doesn't even begin to make up for making us think Gisele actually died!
Toy Story: A Bad Ending for Woody and Buzz
Toy Story did the right thing: Woody realized that he could love a kid beyond the original owner. He did that for Andy, giving a perfect sendoff for a well-loved character who's trying to evolve! He’d moved onto a new life with Bonnie, which made everyone happy.
However, when Toy Story 4 arrived, they really messed with Woody’s journey, and Buzz Lightyear ended up a sad, confused character! Suddenly, Woody was back to that whole "I'm only a toy for Andy" attitude. That’s bad! What’s more messed up? We get to see them saying goodbye to each other in a really emotional moment that, after the release of "Toy Story 5", doesn’t make any sense.
Those Franchise Blunders That Really Make Us Cry!
Think about your favourite Movies: Jean Grey becoming super-powerful, only for that arc to go dark and destroy all the goodness she represented. Then John Connor being a victim, a person manipulated by a bad force instead of the iconic leader that audiences embraced. These franchises tried to make those stories super shocking or emotional but failed completely, with results that felt out of place for fans.
A new “star wars" movie came out – “The Last Jedi.” In the original series, Luke's character developed beautifully; he started out nervous and eventually mastered those Jedi skills! The whole thing about "he’s going to train the next generation" got turned upside down with "The Last Jedi". Fans who believed Luke was destined to become the legendary, wiser Jedi master (because you know he was always hopeful), were treated to a version that was jaded, sad, and gave up on everything.
Characters We Lost: It’s Not a Good Ending
Movies and their characters have so much potential for creating emotional bonds with the fans. When those connections get wrecked, or they mess up those amazing journeys with terrible endings that make no sense, it really throws a whole bunch of us into the "What Was I Thinking?" phase! You can imagine all those times we cried at those movies we thought would have amazing finales but got disappointed! Sometimes, sequels are awesome, and there’s a lot of magic, but other times it just doesn’t go the way we expected!
Hopefully, more films in the future will consider a characters' journey and won't just take those story twists to push their agenda instead of keeping us engaged with a story we love.
