# What are some of the worst/wierdest lesser-known "Official" sequels to popular works? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 8, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029 "2020-11-08T03:08:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [November 10, 2020, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/61 "2020-11-10T10:56:36Z")
It might be old news here on the Dope, but **Die Hard** was, in fact, intended to be a sequel to the 1968 Sinatra movie **The Detective**. I wouldn’t call it bad by any stretch, but it sure is lesser-known that it’s a sequel. Charles Webb, the author of the novel that **The Graduate** was based on, wrote a sequel called **Home School**. Because of some unfortunate contractual loopholes, he couldn’t immediately publish it or sell the film rights. (The book was published in 2007.) Apparently, everything about **The Graduate** that was appealing came from either Buck Henry or Mike Nichols, so we should maybe count our blessings. Webb died earlier this year. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/62 "2020-11-10T13:28:55Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Apparently, everything about **The Graduate** that was appealing came from either Buck Henry or Mike Nichols I’d argue that most of what was appealing about _The Graduate_ came from it being 1967. Like _Easy Rider_, it’s a movie that fit its era but hasn’t aged well. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/63 "2020-11-10T13:35:50Z")
_Love Story_ was a major hit in 1970. Which is why they attempted a sequel, _Oliver’s Story_, in 1978. But lightning didn’t strike twice. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/64 "2020-11-10T14:02:48Z")
Smokey and the Bandit 2 was very bad based on the ratings but they did bring back almost all of the main cast - Gleason, Reynolds, Field, etc. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/65 "2020-11-10T15:34:31Z")
About a year after the first Star Wars movie, the authorized sequel novel [Splinter of the Mind’s Eye](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Splinter_of_the_Mind%27s_Eye) came out. It was written by Alan Dean Foster, who ghost-wrote the novelization of Star Wars. It involved an adventure with Luke & Leia and Darth Vader on a swamp planet. The interesting part was that for 90% of the novel Luke was secretly lusting after Leia, and they were in love and making out by the end of the novel. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/66 "2020-11-10T15:57:07Z")
Yeah, I read that. It was pretty clear at the time that Foster had written the Star Wars novelization\*. In the Star Wars novelization, Emperor Palpatine is just a befuddled old practically senile man who gets used as a figurehead by the guys who want an Empire, not the evil Dark Lord of the Sith he would become in the films. They really had no idea where they were going with the characters, despite what Lucas claimed about it all being plotted out in advance. \*He was starting to become the King of Novelizations, with Dark Star and the Star Trek Logs already under his belt. And with his character Flinx who has similarities to Luke. Besides, the style’s the same in the two Star Wars books. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/67 "2020-11-10T16:07:37Z")
Yeah, I read that… ---
**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:** [November 10, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/68 "2020-11-10T20:10:12Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > He was starting to become the King of Novelizations, with Dark Star and the Star Trek Logs already under his belt. No kidding. According to Wikipedia, Foster has written forty-two novelizations. There’s a novelization from the TV series _Maude_? ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/69 "2020-11-10T20:39:37Z")
There’s a novelization to the 1993 Jean Claude van Damme film _Hard Target_ !!! (It is not by Alan Dean Foster though.) [https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Target-Movie-Robert-Tine/dp/0425138615](https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Target-Movie-Robert-Tine/dp/0425138615) Edit: I started a new thread about the weirdest novelization/movie tie-in product you have seen. [https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-novelization-or-tie-in-product-you-have-seen-for-a-movie/925245](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-weirdest-novelization-or-tie-in-product-you-have-seen-for-a-movie/925245) ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/70 "2020-11-10T20:51:47Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > 1993 Jean Claude van Damme film _Hard Target_ With Wilford Brimley playing a backwoods Cajun! Haven’t seen that movie for a while! ---
**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:** [November 10, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/71 "2020-11-10T20:52:45Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Smokey and the Bandit 2 was very bad based on the ratings but they did bring back almost all of the main cast - Gleason, Reynolds, Field, etc. I don’t think that is lesser-known, though. It’s pretty famous that they made sequels. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/72 "2020-11-10T21:10:15Z")
the now confusing as hell timeline of halloween there was 5 (number three was just a retitled movie that had nothing to do the series) movies that really stretched the story to the breaking point by the end Well after 10 or so years after the last they revived the series and said ignore anything but the first 2 movies with “Halloween h20 and then ressercution” and even later they had rob zombie remake the first two original …and then made last years movie which i haven’t seen… ---
**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:** [November 10, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/73 "2020-11-10T23:26:23Z")
Yes, Halloween is right up there with the Terminator and X-Men franchises in terms of confusing timelines. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/74 "2020-11-10T23:42:05Z")
**King Kong** (1933), a masterful classic, followed hastily by **Son of Kong** (late 1933), a pathetic effort. Not sure how “lesser known” SOK is, but it deserves to be forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/75 "2020-11-10T23:48:17Z")
There was a 1998 American direct-to-video animated, musical adaptation of _King Kong_ titled _The Mighty Kong_. I actually just learned today about searching Wikipedia for information as well. (It might not be a sequel but it definitely seems weird and lesser known.) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Mighty\_Kong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mighty_Kong) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/76 "2020-11-11T02:15:28Z")
and they just announced a new one “halloween kills” and announced what’s the official end of the series “halloween ends” [https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/entertainment-celebrity/halloween-kills-cast-jamie-lee-curtis-is-back-to-battle-michael-myers-plus-more-ogs/ss-BB1aSB61?li=BBnb2gh&ocid=SK2DDHP](https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/entertainment-celebrity/halloween-kills-cast-jamie-lee-curtis-is-back-to-battle-michael-myers-plus-more-ogs/ss-BB1aSB61?li=BBnb2gh&ocid=SK2DDHP) ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/77 "2020-11-11T04:44:06Z")
[quote=“dorvann, post:33, topic:925029”] The 1998 film _Soldier_ starring Kurt Russell is set in the same universe as the 1982 film _Blade Runner_ --it is **not** a sequel though, it is more of a spin-off. I don’t think most people know both films have that relation. [/quote] That’s rather fascinating… [quote=“gdave, post:34, topic:925029, full:true”] As I understand it, _Soldier_ ’s screen writer, David Peoples, who was also the co-writer of _Blade Runner_ , has said that he intended it to be in the same universe, but there’s no actual official connection. [/quote] My friends and I came out of Soldier and assumed it was a different kind of sequel. We nicknamed it “Snake Pliskin returns in Escape from the Garbage Planet.” –G! ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/78 "2020-11-11T12:10:56Z")
Lots of good nominations but I don’t see any mention of the _Cloverfield_ franchise. _10 Cloverfield Lane_ was only a sequel in “spirit” and _The Cloverfield Paradox_ was abysmal. Apparently, the originally rumoured sequel _Overlord_ evolved into something else entirely during rewrites so the tie-in was abandoned. It would be nice to see what happened after the events of the original film and Cloverfield Lane someday though… ---
**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:** [November 11, 2020, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/79 "2020-11-11T13:23:21Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > **King Kong** (1933), a masterful classic, followed hastily by **Son of Kong** (late 1933), a pathetic effort. Not sure how “lesser known” SOK is, but it deserves to be forgotten. As someone raised on the constant reshowings of _Son of Kong_ on WOR TV out of New York\* (long before they started the Thanksgiving Day Ape Marathons), I take exception to this. RKO basically screwed over the production team by demanding that they put out a sequel on practically no budget and very little production time (and this while Cooper and many of the bunch were trying to put together their epic movie **She** ). Stop-motion animation, in particular, takes _time_. Nevertheless, they had their marching orders, and Ruth Rose quickly cobbled together a script that stretched the time between animated effects. they re-used sets and props from the previous film, and used dinosaurs whose scenes had been minimized or cur from _Kong_, while hastily throwing together new models for the Son of Kong and the two monsters that he fights 9the weird dragon-lizard and the Cave Bear). In the case of the new models, it shows – the Cave Gear, in particular, is awful. But, if you can get past the padding, the effects are great and the movie is watchable. Hell, it’s a lot more watchable than that awful 1976 movie that Dino de Laurentiis promoted. There was another notable sort-of remake of Kong that is practically unknown, using _puppets_! Some of the Kong team worked on it, and it featured a guy in a gorilla suit as Kong (I think it might even have been Charles Gemora – Hollywood’s go-to gorilla guy in the 1930s and 1940s). The Fayt Wray puppet was a Mae West copy. The film was partially made, but never finished. It was called **The Lost Island**. > **[Kong (The Lost Island)](https://kong-the-eighth-wonder-of-the-world.fandom.com/wiki/Kong_(The_Lost_Island))** > > A puppet film about King Kong. Kong was not actually dead, and disappeared back to Skull Island. Ann, Denham and Driscoll went after him, and Ann was captured again. The story from then on is the same as the original. Kong was played by Charles... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wTWiO_xlros/maxresdefault.jpg "33. The Lost Island (1934) KING KONG REVIEWS - King Kong meets Thunderbirds") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTWiO_xlros) [https://www.clubdesmonstres.com/best/htm/lostisland.html](https://www.clubdesmonstres.com/best/htm/lostisland.html) > **[Kong count #1 – Honorable mentions](https://maserpatrol.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/kong-count-1-honorable-mentions/)** > > Well, after counting down all year, Kong: Skull Island is finally out! The Maser Patrol crew will be assembling a full review in coming days, but if you want a short version: “Go see it!̶… \*well, actually Secaucus, NJ. But it was an independent NYC station, effectively ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029/80 "2020-11-11T15:17:49Z")
And then, of course, there is [King Kong Lives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_Lives), the sequel to the 1976 _King Kong_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-of-the-worst-wierdest-lesser-known-official-sequels-to-popular-works/925029.md?page=5)