# Has there ever been a good prequel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455 "2010-07-21T12:25:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/21 "2010-07-21T16:42:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Batman Begins_ Eh, I wouldn’t classify this as a sequel so much as a **reboot**. I nominate _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_. Sergio Leone’s pièce de résistance. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/22 "2010-07-21T16:48:31Z")
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days was fairly decent. Tom Berenger is a good enough actor and resembled Paul Newman, to boot. William Katt was OK, before getting typecast as the Greatest American Hero. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/23 "2010-07-21T17:04:33Z")
I thought The Scorpion King wasn’t bad for what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/24 "2010-07-21T17:38:10Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > What’s it a prequel to? > > I haven’t seen it, but I bet _Tremors 4: The Legend Begins_ (set a century before the events in the first three films, with Michael Gross playing an ancestor of his established Tremors character) **has a few laughs in it**. It does and I thought it was a good movie as far as the Tremors franchise goes. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/25 "2010-07-21T17:58:08Z")
How about _The Muppet Movie_? Is that a prequel? ---
**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:** [July 21, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/26 "2010-07-21T18:01:56Z")
> [@](#): > > What’s it a prequel to? All the other Batman movies? If it’s a “reboot” rather than a prequel, what’s the distinction? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/27 "2010-07-21T18:07:23Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If it’s a “reboot” rather than a prequel, what’s the distinction? There was no obligation to follow the continuity of any earlier \*Batman \*movie, and they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/28 "2010-07-21T18:15:42Z")
_Caprica_ isn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/29 "2010-07-21T18:17:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > All the other Batman movies? If it’s a “reboot” rather than a prequel, what’s the distinction? Well, there’s no connection between Christian Bale’s Batman/Bruce and the Batman/Bruce as portrayed by Keaton/Kilmer/Clooney, nor any connection between Heath Ledger’s Joker (in the _Batman Begins_ sequel) and Jack Nicholson’s, nor Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Face and Tommy Lee Jones’. The various origin stories are at odds and no attempt was made to link them. The events of _Batman Begins_ (and _The Dark Knight_) cannot be plausibly argued to eventually lead to the 1989 _Batman_. If there’s no distinction to be made, then the Robert Downy _Sherlock Holmes_ must be considered a prequel to all other Holmes films in which the character was older (i.e. portrayed by Christopher Lee, Jeremy Brett, Basil Rathbone, etc.) Some of the _Animatrix_ shorts could be considered prequels (specifically _The Second Renaissance_, parts I and II) and were kinda cool. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/30 "2010-07-21T18:26:21Z")
The “Old Republic” era of the Star Wars setting could be called a meta-prequel, and has some pretty good stories in it. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/31 "2010-07-21T19:34:36Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > _Caprica_ isn’t bad. Now that you mention it, the recent Battlestar Galactica is a very good prequel I know It’s a stretch but the new BSG took place 150,000 years ago while the original 70’s BSG took place in modern times. “All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again”. Clearly the remaining humans on Caprica rebuilt to become the cheesy 70’s characters in the original show. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/32 "2010-07-21T20:01:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > All the other Batman movies? If it’s a “reboot” rather than a prequel, what’s the distinction? I guess I thought we had more or less ruled out “reboots”. I mean, it has no connection to any other Batman movie and it introduces the Joker at the end…who was killed in the 1989 Batman movie. Actually, what is it a prequel to? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/33 "2010-07-21T20:24:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > How about _The Muppet Movie_? Is that a prequel? Heh, the Muppet Movie is the Muppets getting togeather to watch a movie within a movie that’s stars the Muppets and is supposed to depict how the Muppets got togeather to start their television show, which itself is a behind the scenes view of a fictional TV show staring the Muppets . I never really thought how meta the whole thing was until now, but I’m not going to even start to try and disentangle whether that counts as a prequel or not. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/34 "2010-07-21T20:38:48Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Heh, the Muppet Movie is the Muppets getting togeather to watch a movie within a movie that’s stars the Muppets and is supposed to depict how the Muppets got togeather to start their television show, which itself is a behind the scenes view of a fictional TV show staring the Muppets . I never really thought how meta the whole thing was until now, but I’m not going to even start to try and disentangle whether that counts as a prequel or not. I’d call it a prequel, with a framing gimmick. ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/35 "2010-07-21T21:18:01Z")
The Barber of Seville? I actually don’t know in which order the stories were written, but Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” came before Rossini’s “Barber”. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/36 "2010-07-21T22:05:10Z")
Escape from the Planet of the Apes? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/37 "2010-07-21T22:14:08Z")
_The Magician’s Nephew_, arguably the best of the Narnia books. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/38 "2010-07-21T22:17:28Z")
I loved _Red Dragon_. Everyone put in a great performance, and the story was pretty interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/39 "2010-07-21T22:30:23Z")
> [@Stauderhorse](#): > > I loved _Red Dragon_. Everyone put in a great performance, and the story was pretty interesting. Hmmmm. Is it really a prequel? I’m on the fence here. While it is true that Red Dragon the movie was made after Silence of The Lambs - Red Dragon the book came first. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455/40 "2010-07-21T22:30:42Z")
_The Hobbit_ has its admirers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-good-prequel/547455.md?page=3)