I’ve read that the last line in the first movie was meant as a joke. When it was a hit, they made more.
The Connery James Bond movies originally ended with a plug for the next one in the series - so when I saw Goldfinger when it first came out, it said watch for Thunderball.
However, it is interesting to distinguish those movies part of a natural series (like the Bond movies and the Star Trek movies) vs. those which are not complete without the sequels, like Star Wars. Yes, ANH has a real ending, but the Empire is out there and Vader is alive, so Lucas’ intention of making three in the middle series is clearly evident.
The most obvious “tune in next time!” movie ending I’ve seen in the last few years was Lost in Space from 1998 or thereabouts. The open ending is especially jarring considering how wretchedly awful the movie is; it’s obviously intended to get you excited for the next installment, but it actually provokes the response, “What makes you think I’d want to sit through another two hours of this shit?”
I always thought that Spiderman was made with a sequel, I mean werent all 3 of them planned before they filmed the first one? But it ended with unanswered questions, ones that would entail a sequel at least.
I’d suggest changing the topic of the thread to “Has there ever been a movie that did not already have a sequel in the works where a sequel was clearly in mind?”
But Doc put Jennifer in the car at the end of the first movie, and then put her to sleep at the beginning of the second when the writers realized they had nothing for her to do. If they were planning the second movie at the time, Jennifer would have never gotten in the DeLorean.
According to the commentaries and interviews, there was never any plan to do a sequel to Back to the Future until after it had become a huge success. Doc coming back at the end was just supposed to be an ending joke.
Judge Dredd was intended to have a sequel. The comic’s principal villains, the Four Dark Judges, had been kept back for the “inevitable” sequel, but it wasn’t made because the original did badly at the box-office.
I know I am in the minority here but I found enough stuff to like about that movie that I hoped they WOULD do a sequel, and do a better job with the second one. Doesn’t look likely, though.
I really wanted to like the movie more because I loved the show when I was a kid.
Well, obviously, at the end of Manos: The Hands of Fate when it says THE END and then there’s a pregnant pause and then there’s a question mark… well, clearly this meant that the film producer wanted to leave room for a sequel.
Later movies have the lame “James Bond will return” at the end of the credits.
Every James Bond movie before the 90’s had also the title of the next James Bond Movie. However, one movie was wrong in the prediction! Which movie was wrong?
Would it be The Spy Who Loved Me? The producers had intended to make The Spy Who Loved Me next, but the success of Star Wars led them to switch the order and make Moonraker instead.
Yumblie, I suspect you may need to re-emphasize the difference between “open ending” and “no ending.” There are plenty of movies that have an ending that could lead to a sequel being made- it’s a very common film-making tactic, allowing for the franchise to take off if the first film rakes in cash at the box office. Already stated examples include Back to the Future and (euugh) Lost in Space (and on a similar “euugh” level, the Americanized Godzilla movie from a few years back). I would actually suggest that Star Wars fits in this category as well, as the primary conflict in that film centered around the first Death Star, which is successfully destroyed at the end. The Empire Strikes Back, on the other hand, clearly indicates a sequel, as it ends with more unresolved conflicts (Han’s capture, Rebellion in retreat, Luke’s revelation about Vader, etc.) than it actually begins with (“oh no, the Empire’s found us”).
The LOTR films are AFAIK unique in that they were not only pitched as a trilogy (though temporarily reduced to a duology during their time with Miramax), but were carried out as one complete story. The Matrix was similarly pitched as a trilogy, but was initially deemed too risky of a venture. The Wachowskis were given leave to make the first film, with no guarantee regarding the latter two, and so the first Matrix film was designed to (more or less) stand alone a la Star Wars: one self-contained story that left plenty of room for a sequel should the franchise take off. In actuality, I think it was actually much closer to “requiring” a sequel than Star Wars, as the continued presence of the “evil empire” at the end was made far more explicit than in Star Wars: Neo’s challenge to the Machines versus the victory celebration on Yavin.
I have been waiting patiently for the sequel to Doc Savage: Man of Bronze with Ron Ely. The end of that movie left one to believe that there would be a sequel but it never happened. :eek: :eek: :eek:
