# Sequels that are better known than the original **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2019, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798 "2019-09-25T10:43:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [September 25, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/21 "2019-09-25T15:15:45Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Most people are aware that the 1932 film _The Mummy_, starring Boris Karloff, started the Universal Studios mummy franchise. But most of the tropes in the genre come from the reboot series in the 1940s, with Tom Tyler and Lon Chaney Jr. Maybe yes, maybe no. I think that more people are familiar with Im-Ho-Tep (partly because of the use of the name more recent updates) and the search of Im-Ho-Tep for his reincarnated beloved (although that was duplicated in the 1940s sequels; it was also retold in the recent remakes) than with Kharis as the mummy’s name, or of his animation with Tana Leaves than with the Book of Thoth. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/22 "2019-09-25T15:20:54Z")
Ultima II was a great game for its time, though it hasn’t aged as well as the others. Single character, no zoom in tactical to fight as a party. There was also an alien spaceship and space travel, which for some mysterious reason never made the cut for inclusion in subsequent Ultimas. That being said, I never played the original Ultima, so Ultima II would still count in my book. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/23 "2019-09-25T16:02:47Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > To the above one might add _The Da Vinci Code_ and _The Silence of the Lambs_, which were both the second books in their respective series. But their sequelhood is much better known now that their predecessors have got their own films (_Angels & Demons_ and _Red Dragon_, respectively). I don’t think the film _Angels & Demons_ ever addressed when it took place in relation to _DaVinci Code._ I imagine there’s plenty of people who have only seen the movies who think Angels & Demons is the sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/24 "2019-09-25T16:22:08Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Mentioned by a couple people in the ‘only seen the sequel’ thread… > > Mad Max - The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome are both, IME, much better known than the original (at least in North America), and are _certainly_ far more influential. I’d say The Road Warrior almost qualifies as a remake of Mad Max rather than a sequel. Desperado the same for El Mariachi. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/25 "2019-09-25T17:24:32Z")
I guess the least well known of the Wallace and Gromit movies is the first, [A Grand Day Out.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Grand_Day_Out) Aside: > [@](#): > > Nick Park started creating the film in 1982, as a graduation project for the National Film and Television School. In 1985, Aardman Animations took him on before he finished the piece, allowing him to work on it part-time while still being funded by the school. j ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/26 "2019-09-25T17:31:36Z")
World War II ---
**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:** [September 25, 2019, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/27 "2019-09-25T17:34:48Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Does it count when the sequel takes over the series name, the way _Rambo_ took over from _First Blood_? ETA: Dang, ninjaed. Fun trivia/bar-bet fodder: Who starred in _Rambo II_? Answer: no one. There never was a _Rambo II_. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/28 "2019-09-25T17:41:36Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Fun trivia/bar-bet fodder: Who starred in _Rambo II_? Answer: no one. There never was a _Rambo II_. I think I can top that one: In the _House_ horror movie franchise there was a I, II and IV, but no III. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/29 "2019-09-25T17:51:24Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I’d say The Road Warrior almost qualifies as a remake of Mad Max rather than a sequel. Huh? How do you figure? _Road Warrior_ is what happened to Max after the first movie. Plots totally different. Bikers destroy his life, he gets Mad, ends up roaming the waste-land. Cue the second movie. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/30 "2019-09-25T17:51:46Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > And the Ultima computer games became a lot more popular with _Ultima 2: Exodus_ and (especially) _Ultima 3: Quest of the Avatar_, both of which had releases on the NES. I couldn’t even tell you anything about the first one. > > You’ve got an off-by-one error there. Exodus was the third in the series (originally branded as “Exodus: Ultima III”), and Quest of the Avatar was Ultima IV. And before _Ultima_, there was _[Alkabeth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akalabeth:_World_of_Doom)_. > [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](#): > > Ultima II was a great game for its time, though it hasn’t aged as well as the others. Single character, no zoom in tactical to fight as a party. There was also an alien spaceship and space travel, which for some mysterious reason never made the cut for inclusion in subsequent Ultimas. > > That being said, I never played the original Ultima, so Ultima II would still count in my book. _Ultima_ and _Ultima II_ aren’t really all that different. Same basic gameplay mechanics, same basic plot, but different settings. ETA: “settings” as in the world the game took place. I’d have to agree that _Ultima III_ was when the series really began to be known, though. It was the first one I played, at the time of its release. I’d seen a few friends playing the first two, and decided I wanted my own copies, and had a hell of a time finding them. _Ultima III_ was always on the shelves, though. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/31 "2019-09-25T18:04:17Z")
What about Disney’s _The Rescuers Down Under_? Maybe it just seems that way to me because the first movie came out before I was born, while the sequel came out when I was a kid. I hadn’t even heard of the original _The Rescuers_ or realized _The Rescuers Down Under_ was a sequel to anything until I was an adult. But I don’t know if that’s true for the general public, or if it’s just me, of perhaps people in my general age group. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/32 "2019-09-25T18:30:04Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I think I can top that one: In the _House_ horror movie franchise there was a I, II and IV, but no III. Maybe they were afraid of the “odd numbers suck” meme. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/33 "2019-09-25T19:34:36Z")
The sequels to the original _Friday the 13_ are probably better known than the original movie. If only because: In the original movie Jason’s _mother_ is the killer not Jason himself. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/34 "2019-09-25T20:22:12Z")
I’d wager that _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan_ is better known than _Star Trek: The Motion Picture_—not in the sense of people not knowing of the existence of the earlier movie, but in the sense of a lot fewer people knowing anything about the movie or what happens in it. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/35 "2019-09-25T20:40:36Z")
Because of the Disney film, the Black Cauldron is the second and best known Prydain book. The movie really mushes together the first two books. I’d argue Ultima IV is the most iconic. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/36 "2019-09-25T22:23:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Maybe yes, maybe no. I think that more people are familiar with Im-Ho-Tep (partly because of the use of the name more recent updates) and the search of Im-Ho-Tep for his reincarnated beloved (although that was duplicated in the 1940s sequels; it was also retold in the recent remakes) than with Kharis as the mummy’s name, or of his animation with Tana Leaves than with the Book of Thoth. The cartoon image of a dessicated guy lurching around wrapped in bandages is from the Tyler/Chaney movies. Karloff was quite spry after he was revived, and had no trouble passing for a (relatively) normal human. > [@Sitnam](#): > > I’d say The Road Warrior almost qualifies as a remake of Mad Max rather than a sequel. Desperado the same for El Mariachi. In each case, the second movie contains flashbacks to the first. In each case, the second movie makes a point of mentioning that the hero is handicapped from an injury he sustained in the first. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > I think I can top that one: In the _House_ horror movie franchise there was a I, II and IV, but no III. > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Maybe they were afraid of the “odd numbers suck” meme. 🙂 The third movie was released in Australia as _House III_, but in the U.S. as _The Horror Show._ The second and third movies had no onscreen connection to the first, just some production crew in common, and the “strange things happen in this spooky old house” motif. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/37 "2019-09-25T22:28:45Z")
Since _ **The Wrath of Khan** _ got so many reviews that were better than _ **Star Trek: The Motion Picture** _’s, I wouldn’t be surprised if more people outside Trek fandom have seen the former without ever seeing the latter. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/38 "2019-09-25T23:07:37Z")
I surprised nobody has mentioned Bill Cosby’s Leonard Part 6. I don’t know anybody who’s seen parts one through five. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/39 "2019-09-25T23:21:18Z")
Though it’s a well-known film, I’d reckon that the more current Bond films are better known than _Dr. No_ - or at the very least, it is not the best-known Bond film. ---
**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:** [September 26, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798/40 "2019-09-26T00:06:40Z")
_Batman Begins_ is not an unknown movie but _The Dark Knight_ is much better known. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-that-are-better-known-than-the-original/840798.md?page=3)