# Minor character in a work of fiction that you would like to see have their own spin-off **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [June 24, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162 "2026-06-24T23:02:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/61 "2026-06-28T16:01:59Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Sorry, gotta weigh in in defense of _Merry Wives_! Going by [the number of performances](https://www.shakespeareances.com/wherewill/Play_Popularity_Index.html), which is the closest thing we have to an objective measurement of which plays resonate with audiences, it doesn’t suck; it’s comfortably in the top 1/3, just ahead of _Othello_ and _King Lear_. I think that the comedies in general get played more than the tragedies or histories, because they’re easier to sell to the public. When a Shakespeare company does two plays in a season, it’s always either two comedies, or one comedy and one history or tragedy. And Othello, in particular, is probably very underrepresented, just because you can’t cast it color-blind. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/62 "2026-06-28T16:08:27Z")
Fair enough – the list is definitely skewed toward comedy and away from the histories, which is a shame, since the history plays are awesome! Still, “easier to sell to the public” is basically “audiences like this play” by another name, and in the case of MWW, I think there is genuinely a lot to like. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/63 "2026-06-29T01:53:47Z")
One of the reasons I wish _Firefly_ hadn’t been cancelled prematurely is because you just **know** that Shepherd Book had a helluva backstory – though I guess he wasn’t exactly a minor character. But I’ve often wished for a prequel featuring him. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/64 "2026-06-29T02:14:33Z")
My other idea is a sequel to _Make Way for Ducklings_. The Mallard chicks have all grown up and formed an organized crime family operating in the Boston Public Garden; extorting protection from the squirrels, running liquor in the swan boats, that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/65 "2026-06-29T02:15:31Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I have plans for a hit broadway musical, _Cold_. It’s the story of a misunderstood, rebellious iceberg who leaves home to seek his fortune and is hit by a huge, reckless ocean liner. Interestingly, I had a plan for writing tales from the perspective of the "villians’'. A father dragon gets up and has a nice breakfast with his loving family. Then out into the world to forage (or whatever dragons do,) only to becarelessly slain by a knight to prove his knightliness. Or a kindly old lady living in the woods, who get set upon by reckless children calling her a witch. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/66 "2026-06-29T02:18:52Z")
The comic books explained his backstory quite well. It probably would have made an interesting movie, but it would tank at the box office. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/67 "2026-06-29T03:12:26Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > One of the reasons I wish _Firefly_ hadn’t been cancelled prematurely is because you just **know** that Shepherd Book had a helluva backstory – though I guess he wasn’t exactly a minor character. Sadly- they killed him off in the Film. But there is a Dark Horse comic that goes into his background- _Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tal_e. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/68 "2026-06-29T13:58:51Z")
Many people don’t know that there is a famous criminal in the book; Richard Nixon is one of the passengers on the swan boat. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/69 "2026-06-29T15:15:23Z")
I just now thought of one. From the movie “Clerks”, during the “stupid customers” montage, there’s one guy who says, “What do you mean you’re out of ice? You mean I’ve got to drink this coffee _hot?!?_” We follow him as he pursues his dreams of Iced Coffee, becoming a billionaire as he turns out to have been on the cutting edge of a whole new trend in coffee sales. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/70 "2026-06-30T16:28:50Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I just now thought of one. From the movie “Clerks”, during the “stupid customers” montage, there’s one guy who says, “What do you mean you’re out of ice? You mean I’ve got to drink this coffee _hot?!?_” How about the roofer who turned down a job because it was too dangerous, and gave it to a friend of his, who was then killed. What an asshole; probably went far in life. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/71 "2026-06-30T16:30:24Z")
It’s been a while; was that roofer a character in Clerks? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/72 "2026-06-30T16:39:05Z")
Yes, he’s the one that overheard their conversation about all the contractors dying on the Death Star 2. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/73 "2026-07-01T07:57:56Z")
I don’t want them to have their own series, but I do wish Murtogg and Mullroy from _Pirates Of The Caribbean_ would appear in other movies. [![](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disneyvillains/images/0/0f/Murtogg%26mullroydisneyvillains.jpg) ](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disneyvillains/images/0/0f/Murtogg%26mullroydisneyvillains.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/74 "2026-07-01T11:54:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That Falstaff guy from Shakespeare’s histories was hilarious. He should get his own whole play! And he’d make a great superhero! > **[Volstagg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volstagg)** > > Volstagg the Voluminous is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers and supporting cast of Thor. He is known for having multiple children. These include, but are not limited to, Hilde, Rolfe, and the adopted Midgardians Kevin and Mick. > Ray Stevenson portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017... ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/75 "2026-07-01T11:58:20Z")
[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThoseTwoGuys](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThoseTwoGuys) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/76 "2026-07-01T15:56:51Z")
Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/78 "2026-07-01T18:42:03Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1031448/12): > > Al Neri. Check out his back story re-cap in the novel via Wiki: [Al Neri - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Neri) Yeah there is a lot to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Cachalot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@Cachalot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cachalot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/79 "2026-07-07T01:40:37Z")
I’m not entirely sure he qualifies as a “minor character” but I would like to see Spenser’s protegee Zebulon Sixkill get his own stories. In my opinion, this would have been a better choice for taking the franchise forward after Parker’s death than the series of ghost-writers who didn’t understand the characters they’d been handed.. In the book Sixkill was fleshed out enough to be interesting, but there was plenty of room for a new author to make him his own. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/80 "2026-07-07T15:01:58Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > We are re-watching [“The Night of”.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2401256/) Such an amazing production. On the surface, it’s a ‘police procedural/who-done-it’ but it’s done very well. We just binged that show a little while ago and loved it. Thanks for the mention! I agree that the Mortician would’ve been an interesting spin-off character. Or Freddy Knight, the prisoner/fixer/supplier. Or Box, the detective. In fact I thought the main character, Nasir, was one of less interesting characters overall. We really enjoyed the show, though, and kept thinking about it days and weeks later. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162/81 "2026-07-07T15:11:22Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > I agree that the Mortician would’ve been an interesting spin-off character. Or Freddy Knight, the prisoner/fixer/supplier. Or Box, the detective. In fact I thought the main character, Nasir, was one of less interesting characters overall. > > We really enjoyed the show, though, and kept thinking about it days and weeks later. Nice to hear you enjoyed it. My wife and I had the same experience the first time we watched it of talking about it weeks afterwards. Interesting that you mention that Nasir was one of least interesting characters, because thinking about it, you are right. He just kind of serves as a vehicle we ride on throughout the story. I loved Box - such a fascinating character. I think it would be challenging to write a series around him because he always has his head down buried in books and facts. Unlike Columbo, say, who is always interacting with people. But it could be made to work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minor-character-in-a-work-of-fiction-that-you-would-like-to-see-have-their-own-spin-off/1031162.md?page=5)