Final Destination 5 may fit the bill. It is a stand alone and despite many subtle hints in the movie, it is only at the end that you realize it is a prequel to the original Final Destination. Of course to the OP, your definition of “good” may exclude this entry.
I choose to categorize Temple of Doom as “not terrible”.
House of the Dragon seems to fit the bill. It’s a TV series, not a movie though. Rings of Power on the other hand, doesn’t stand alone since many of the characters and events are referenced in LotR.
Shakespeare first wrote
The First part of the Contention betwixt the two famous Houses of Yorke and Lancaster, with the death of the good Duke Humphrey: And the banishment and death of the Duke of Suffolke, and the Tragicall end of the proud Cardinal of Winchester, with the notable Rebellion of Jack Cade: and the Duke of Yorke’s first claim unto the Crowne
(today known as Henry VI, part 2)
Then he wrote
The Whole Contention betweene the two Famous Houses, Lancaster and Yorke. With the Tragicall ends of the good Duke Humfrey, Richard Duke of Yorke, and King Henrie the sixt
(today known as Henry VI, part 3)
Then he wrote
The first Part of Henry the Sixt
The chronology of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan novels is rather fuzzy. At the end of the fourth novel, Son of Tarzan, Paul d’Arnot is a retired admiral. But he shows up in later books as a young lieutenant.
It’s been a while since I read it, but the novella The Churn is a pretty good stand-alone prequel for the book series The Expanse. Only one major character and one minor one in common with the main series, and it tells the story of how the major character ended up working in space. No real need to read any of the other books to appreciate what is essentially a sci-fi crime story.
The Chronicles of Riddick is a sequel to Pitch Black.
Both films are good (in my opinion) and neither relies on seeing the other film to be able to follow all the plot points.
Fate/Zero is a Japanese light novel (also adapted to anime TV series) that is a prequel to the visual novel Fate/stay night which had already been released. It involves many of the same characters and takes place in the same location. It was well-received. One can watch it without any prior exposure to other related works.
I think The Wide Sagasso Sea is a pretty good prequel to Jane Eyre.
Yeah, but it’s a sequel, not a prequel.
Drat. Sargasso. I even proofread!
I love Better Call Saul. It’s better than Breaking Bad. But I can’t unring the bell or watch Better Call Saul without having watched Breaking Bad. I wonder if I would have enjoyed it nearly as much without the Breaking Bad foundation.
Temple of Doom is good enough and truly stands alone. I give Munch one internet point for a solid suggestion.
While we’re on the subject, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. was pretty good.
I watched a couple of episodes of Breaking Bad, but I couldn’t get into it. Didn’t watch any more. I’ve watched the first two seasons of Better Call Saul, and liked it a lot better. I get the feeling there’s several references I’m missing, but it’s all good, man.
We all saw what you did there.
We all saw what you did there.
You’re killing me.
Go figure. I had to read the plot summaries to learn it was not a prequel. Of course, it’s obvious now that it points out the other people who were in both movies. But I learned something today!
The Vorkosigan Saga is a great example, but not Falling Free, which was an unconnected standalone. The relationship between the published order and internal chronology is complicated, but Bujold wrote 3 novels about Miles before going back to write Barrayar about Mile’s birth. I was given the advice to read in internal chronology order, and the series works very well that way.
Sure it’s a prequel! It gives the origin story of one aspect of the complex universe of the Vorkosigan books: the Quaddies. One of the quaddies is an important ally of the Dendarii crew. More generally, it shows the universe Vorkosigan is set in a couple centuries earlier, which is background to how it got the way it is. It’s tied in with the series thematically that way. There’s no common narrative thread between them, is that what you meant?
Wait?! Are we limited to movies? If not then I would say Shogun is a example for the OP.
The Man Who Sold The Moon is a prequel to Requium - written 10 years later but covering the earlier days of DD Harriman.
Then there is “To Sail Beyond the Sunset,” which manages to be both a prequel to and sequel to Heinlein’s Future History.