Movie Sequels You Never Thought Would Happen... But Did

From the unlikely to the utterly unwanted

We might be living in an age where cinema seems dominated with sequels, but that doesn't mean that all sequels are a given.

Whether the gap between the previous movie was impossibly massive, or the original film was just so shoddy that it didn't warrant a revival, here are the sequels we didn't ever think would happen.

1. Jurassic World (2015)

The combined facts of 1) how much people love Steven Spielberg's seminal 1993 movie Jurassic Park and 2) how disappointing and undercooked its two sequels had been meant that a fourth film seemed out of the question.

But 22 years after the original, Jurassic World came and (questions of quality aside) conquered to the tune of $1.67 billion.

2. T2 Trainspotting (2017)

At its release in 1996, Danny Boyle's Trainspotting was a fiery, furious and original Brit culture blast which made stars of Kelly MacDonald, Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle. Perfectly capturing a moment in time, it was a non-judgmental exploration of drug culture in all its highs and lows.

No one expected a sequel - not only because low-budget Scottish dramas don't usually get sequels, but also because getting the cast back together seemed unlikely (especially since Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor fell out over the director replacing the actor with Leonardo DiCaprio on The Beach).

Reunite they did though, for a 20-years-on follow up that was faithful, but really just made us yearn for the original.

3. Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Independence Day was a huge hit for Roland Emmerich in 1996, a proper blockbuster which made a heap of money, was loved by fans and critics and even won an Oscar for its effects.

So it was a surprise that there wasn't sequel a lot sooner. Talks began for a follow up in 2001 but the sequel wasn't finally fully greenlit by Fox until 2014.

Emmerich and Devlin had been working on various iterations of the script – which was at one point planned to span two more movies to form a trilogy (they would be called ID4 Forever parts 1 and 2) - but didn't settle on the final format and title for Resurgence til much later.

The movie eventually landed not with a bang, but with a whimper.

4. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road was a long-time resident of Development Hell, having started pre-production in 1997, which was still 12 years after the third movie, Beyond Thunderdome, was released.

In the meantime, the series' star Mel Gibson had his well-documented fall from grace. And even when Fury Road did finally go ahead with Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, it spent an epic two-and-a-half years in post-production.

And what do you know? It very much didn't suck, being nominated for ten Oscars and winning six.

5. Scream 4 (2011)

Series star Neve Campbell literally phoned in her performance in 2000's Scream 3, spending most of the film talking to the increasingly small cast down a phone line from her distant office. Allegedly, this was due to scheduling conflicts, but sorry Neve, we've studied your filmography and we're really not sure what was more pressing.

Still, she clearly came around to the idea of playing Sidney Prescott again, even if it took 11 years to get there.

6. Dumb and Dumber To (2014)

Dumb and Dumber was released in 1994 at the very height of Jim Carrey-mania (between The Mask and Batman Forever), but the fate of the would-be franchise seemed sealed thanks to disastrous 2003 prequel When Harry Met Lloyd (which neither Carrey, Jeff Daniels, or directors the Farrelly brothers were involved with).

Against all odds, a sequel uniting the original cast and filmmakers did eventually go into development, but its problems didn't stop there. Carrey threatened to pull out, apparently because he thought that Warner Bros. were displaying a lack of enthusiasm for the project.

It turns out that he was right, but Warner passed the project on to Red Granite Pictures and Universal, and Dumb and Dumber To eventually crept into being. It fared better than the prequel, but only just.

7. Bad Santa 2 (2016)

The follow-up to the cult 2003 Bad Santa was one of those movies that was discussed so many times without ever seeming to progress anywhere. Star Billy Bob Thornton started talking about it in 2009, but despite report after report about talks and plans, it was another seven years in the making.

Judging by the critical and financial pasting the mean-spirited Bad Santa 2 took, they probably wish they hadn't bothered.

8. Now You See Me 2 (2016)

The burgeoning Now You See Me franchise is an enduring puzzle that is beyond our capacity to comprehend. Both have attracted an impressive cast (including Mark Ruffalo, Lizzy Caplan, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Daniel Radcliffe) and made over $300 million each.

But despite attracting some great actors, the first film is a by-word of mediocrity, and we've never met anyone who admitted to loving it. But somehow, a second movie was made (and a third one is in the works). How?