# Can a sequel have a sequel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506 "2010-02-18T19:13:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/1 "2010-02-18T19:13:07Z")
IMDb is listing a project currently in post-produstion that they’re (temporarily, I assume) calling _"[Meet the Fockers Sequel](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970866/)._" But _Meet the Fockers_ was itself a sequel to _Meet the Parents_. Isn’t this third film actually a second sequel to _Meet the Parents_, or is it proper to call it a sequel to _Meet the Fockers_? Is your aswer different depending on circumstances? For instance, I could see making the argument that _The Scorpion King_ could be considered a sequel to _The Mummy Returns_. Discuss. (Though I’m not so much interested in whether you think there _should_ be another Focker movie. That’s for another thread!:)) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/2 "2010-02-18T19:16:23Z")
Given that the root of sequel comes from the same source as _sequential_, I would think anything following a previous work could be considered a sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/3 "2010-02-18T19:54:35Z")
Are TV spinoff series considered sequels? if so, then All in the Family begat Maude, which begat Good Times. Then you have the entire Star Trek franchise. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/4 "2010-02-18T19:58:55Z")
In my mind, describing something as a sequel means it picks up the same story and characters sometime after the thing it is a sequel to. In this sense, _Empire Strikes Back_ is the sequel to _Star Wars_ and _Return of the Jedi_ is the sequel to _Empire Strikes Back_. _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home_ had a film sequel, _Star Trek V: The Final Frontier_. It also had a book sequel, _Probe_. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/5 "2010-02-18T20:04:00Z")
The original Star Wars FPS’s went like this: Dark Forces Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Not entirely without reason, either, IMO… Jedi Knight didn’t have much in common with Dark Forces except for the main character and general setting - while both FPSes, the first was basically a Doom clone and the latter added a lot of extra gameplay features, like third person lightsaber combat, force powers, 3D models, etc. Jedi Outcast was much more similar to Jedi Knight. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/6 "2010-02-18T20:17:40Z")
**Superman Returns** drew on specific plot elements from **Superman II** , and nothing from **III** or **IV**. Most of the **Lethal Weapon** and **Friday the 13th** sequels drew on lore that wasn’t in the original installments. And **Army of Darkness** took its jokey tone from **Evil Dead II** , not the original. I’m really scraping bottom with these examples, but most movie franchises really don’t find their voice until the second or third installment; not many 007 movies proceed from **Dr. No** , but almost all of them proceed from **Goldfinger** or **Thunderball**. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/7 "2010-02-18T20:27:45Z")
Let’s not forget Final Fantasy X-2 However, those games do not connect to one another plot wise usually. FFX-2 was the first actual sequel to a storyline. ---
**Author:** ![Umbriel2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/4af34b/32.png) [@Umbriel2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel2)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/8 "2010-02-18T20:43:36Z")
Along the lines of the game succession **magnusblitz** points out, if the movie referenced in the OP actually focused more on characters introduced in _Meet the Fockers_ than on characters from the original, I’d argue it was better referred to as a _Fockers_ sequel than a _Meet the Parents_ sequel. Though every film in a “franchise” is technically, as **KneadToKnow** points out, a sequel to its immediate predecessor. I recall that when _Rambo III_ was released my friends and I insisted that it was mistitled – since the succession had been: _First Blood_ _Rambo: First Blood, Part II_ The next film should have been called something like: _Desert Storm: Rambo II, First Blood, Part III_; with each successive film picking up a new title and advancing the previous ones one notch. Sadly, no movie franchise has yet adopted our methodology. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/9 "2010-02-18T20:50:45Z")
> [@Umbriel2](#): > > I recall that when _Rambo III_ was released my friends and I insisted that it was mistitled – since the succession had been: > > _First Blood_ > _Rambo: First Blood, Part II_ > > The next film should have been called something like: _Desert Storm: Rambo II, First Blood, Part III_; with each successive film picking up a new title and advancing the previous ones one notch. Sadly, no movie franchise has yet adopted our methodology. I like this! We could have had: _Meet the Parents Meet the Parents II: Meet the Fockers Meet the Parents III: Meet the Fockers II: Meet the Second Cousins Once Removed_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/10 "2010-02-18T21:03:00Z")
To use an example from the OP, the Mummy series ran like this: _The Mummy_ (1999) - introduced the current characters _The Mummy Returns_ (2001) - brought the characters from _The Mummy_ back for a sequel and introduced the new character of the Scorpion King. So it’s a standard sequel. _The Scorpion King_ (2002) - Based on the character of the Scorpion King. So it’s a sequel to _The Mummy Returns_ but has no direct connection to _The Mummy_. _The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior_ (2008) - Based on characters from _The Scorpion King_ so again it’s not really a sequel to either _The Mummy_ or _The Mummy Returns_. _The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor_ (2008) - Breaks out of the Scorpion King timeline and goes back to the characters from _The Mummy_ and _The Mummy Returns_. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/11 "2010-02-18T21:11:00Z")
Horror films do this too Nightmare on Elm Street Nightmare on Elm Street 3 “Dream Warriors” NOES 4 “The Dream Master” NOES 5 “The Dream Child” NOES 6 “Freddy’s Dead” NOES 7 “New Nightmare” Freddy Vs. Jason Friday the 13th also does this, we’re up to what now, F13 part 28; Jason Is Laid Off And Goes On Unemployment? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/12 "2010-02-18T21:16:32Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > **Superman Returns** drew on specific plot elements from **Superman II** , and nothing from **III** or **IV**.. An excellent example, which occurred to me while I was at dinner and came back to mention. Also, the TV series _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ was, as I understand it, intended by its creators as a sequel to the script Joss Whedon wrote for the movie, rather than the movie that was actually released. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/13 "2010-02-18T22:03:55Z")
Don’t forget the Nerd’s analysis of chronology. NSFW(bad language) [It covers movies and games.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEVzPCY2T-g) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/14 "2010-02-18T22:07:42Z")
I should point out that he totally calls the title of the fourth Rambo(in Europe, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-sequel-have-a-sequel/529506/15 "2010-02-18T22:10:37Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > But _Meet the Fockers_ was itself a sequel to _Meet the Parents_. Isn’t this third film actually a second sequel to _Meet the Parents_, or is it proper to call it a sequel to _Meet the Fockers_? Who’s going to stop them?