Sequels have long been part of Hollywood’s practices, but they appear to have become even more obsessed with them in recent years. Some of the biggest movies every year now are sequels, spinoffs, reboots, or remakes, and there is no sign that this will slow down. Just last year Avengers: Infinity War - the third Avengers film, but nineteenth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall - set almost every box office record in the books.

As much as these sequels have the potential to be big hits, there is also a long history of these films not living up the hype. In some cases, a bad sequel can end the franchise, while some still manage to make billions of dollars at the box office. Thankfully, there are also several sequels that not only lived up to the hype of the original, but are actually better. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is a prime example of a sequel surpassing what came before, and there have been numerous films to do what Empire did after.

In the latest Screen Rant video, we take a look at fifteen movie sequels that were better than the original. The list includes some classic examples like Terminator 2: Judgement Day and The Godfather: Part II, as well as some more recent showings of excellence with Logan, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and many more. Check out the full list in the video below:

Thanks to the comic book movie boom over the last decade, this genre alone is responsible for many of these sequels. The MCU can fairly easily claim that Thor: Ragnarok, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Infinity War are better than their direct predecessors, while the middle entries of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and Fox’s original X-Men trilogy are viewed as superior.

As great as the film’s on this list may be, many of them could potentially be topped before too long. Marvel Studios will release Avengers: Endgame in a few months, and expectations are already high that it will at least match the quality of Avengers: Infinity War. The Fast and Furious franchise is gearing up for the ninth film to begin filming, and there’s even the Hobbs & Shaw spinoff coming this year that could be the best of them all. Plus, with two more Mission: Impossible movies coming from Christopher McQuarrie, he too could top what he just did with Fallout.

Of course, even if the films on our list that have sequels coming remain the best of the franchise, fans won’t be too disappointed as long as these sequels are still quality entertainment. Not every sequel has to be better than what came before after all. But, in the cases of these aforementioned movies, they were able to do just that.

MORE: Why A District 9 Sequel Hasn’t Happened (Yet)

  • The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26