The recent success — both critically and commercially — of “Top Gun: Maverick” solidifies the “Top Gun” follow-up as one of the best legacy sequels in recent memory.
But what is a legacy sequel, exactly? And how many other great ones are there?
Loosely speaking, it’s a sequel that usually takes place decades after the original film. It continues the story, sometimes bringing back actors and characters from the original movie and sometimes having new performers give life to a different version of those earlier characters. Usually nostalgia is played up or amplified, giving the viewers a sense of comfort, while hopefully also pushing the material to new places. They have become increasingly important to studios and producers as a way of reintroducing a dormant (but still familiar) brand and then taking that brand elsewhere in subsequent installments, spin-offs and sequels.
Only the best of the best have the delicate alchemy figured out. And, in celebration of “Top Gun: Maverick,” here are the greatest legacy sequels ever.
15. “The Craft: Legacy” (2020)
Released during the Halloween that never was, “The Craft: Legacy,” written and directed by the great Zoe Lister-Jones and produced by horror master Jason Blum, was weirdly overlooked. This, despite having a great cast (led by Cailee Spaeny and including Gideon Adlon, Michelle Monaghan and David Duchovny), a smart update of the original movie’s central narrative and core themes, plus some genuinely good twists. And it aligns with the 1994 original in subtle ways that don’t overtake this new story. (It’s also got a humdinger of a final scene that makes you wish there had been a sequel to this version of “The Craft.” Or a streaming series. Or something.) “The Craft: Legacy” is witchy good fun that deserved so much more. With any luck it’s a cult-classic-in-the-making (some spells might be necessary).
14. “Fantasia 2000” (1999)
Walt Disney had always wanted to do a follow-up to his groundbreaking 1940 film “Fantasia.” While he never saw it to fruition (partially due to the original film’s financial shortcomings and also because Walt’s interest eventually strayed to live-action and theme parks), the idea was picked up by Michael Eisner at the urging of Roy Disney, Walt’s nephew. The eventual sequel was saddled with a truly terrible name and a bewildering theatrical rollout, but it’s still very special and continues the spirit of the original film with pluck and true artistry. It’s not as out-there as the original (which in the 1960s saw a resurgence of popularity thanks to drug culture) but it is just as lovely. Besides “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” the sequences are all new here.
The clear standout of “Fantasia 2000” is the “Rhapsody in Blue” segment, directed by the great Eric Goldberg and done in the style of Al Hirschfield caricatures, but there are plenty that are memorable and gorgeously animated (including the finale, “Firebird”). Bits of a proposed third film have been released over the years. By the time another one ever comes out it’ll be another legacy sequel.
13. “Doctor Sleep” (2019)
“Doctor Sleep” aimed to do the impossible – reconcile the work of author Stephen King with the filmed adaptation of “The Shining” by Stanley Kubrick (an adaptation that King famously despised). And somehow, writer-director Mike Flanagan did it. It is a film that beautifully adapts King’s sequel novel (published in 2013), while also serving as a thoughtful follow-up to the Kubrick adaptation. Ewan McGregor plays the grown-up Danny Torrance, who must mentor a young girl with similar gifts (played by Kyliegh Curran) and keep her from a band of nomadic energy vampires known as The True Knot (led by an outstanding Rebecca Ferguson). By the time it gets to its very Kubrickian finale (taking place inside the Overlook), it has already established a mood and flavor all its own. For maximum impact, watch the director’s cut. A true horror epic.
12. “Candyman” (2021)
“Candyman” walks that fine line between being sequel and reboot that the very best legacy sequels do, actively acknowledging what came before but never feeling overtly devoted to it. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays a man living in modern day Chicago, in a sleek skyscraper where the ghetto once stood. He becomes increasingly enamored with the original story, as he discovers his own connection to the story, while a rash of similar, Candymanish murders start to occur. Stylishly directed by Nia da Costa and co-written and produced by master of horror Jordan Peele, “Candyman” stumbles a bit towards the end when making its final thesis statement (does the ghetto really need a crazy murderer?) but that doesn’t take away from the movie’s stunning virtuosity (the art gallery murders, the slaughter of some teens in a bathroom) and its tragic timeliness, aligning hopelessly with the rash of racially motivated murders that rocked the United States. “Candyman” saw its release pushed back because of the pandemic but it ended up opening exactly when it should.
11. “The Matrix Resurrections” (2021)
2003’s “The Matrix Revolutions” ended pretty definitively; both Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) have sacrificed themselves in an effort to, not exactly defeat the machines, but make an uneasy alliance with them. Another sequel, with Reeves and Moss no less, was something of a shock. But “The Matrix Resurrections” takes everything even further, with Lana Wachowski (this time working without her sister but with co-screenwriters David Mitchell and Aleksander Hemon), crafting a knowing, big-hearted follow-up that serves as a critique of reboot/legacy sequel culture. This time Neo is a famous game designer whose parent company is asking for a sequel to his most popular game series (also called “The Matrix”); Trinity is a mom named Tiffany and Morpheus is a new program who looks vaguely like the original (now played by “Candyman” star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).
While the action sequences are oddly disappointing, filmed in some kind of jittery frame rate that lacks the clarity and effortless stylization of the previous films, the movie more than makes up to it thanks to its impish sense of humor and its willingness to embrace sentimentality. As it turns out, love is more powerful than any machine.
10. “Halloween” (2018)
40 years later, evil still lurks the streets of Haddonfield, Illinois. Disregarding all of the “Halloween” sequels (another hallmark of legacy sequels: selective ret-conning), this new “Halloween” imagines a Michael Myers that had been institutionalized since the events of the first movie and a Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), mostly estranged from her family, who has turned into a survivalist, convinced one day that Michael will return for her. Shocker – he escapes the prison, thanks to some pesky podcasters (hey, it makes sense) and comes for Laurie and the rest of her family. The film fitfully recreates what made the original so great, like elegant camerawork and somehow getting John Carpenter to co-wrote a throbbing new synth score, and significantly amps up the violence and explores themes of intergenerational trauma. This new “Halloween” never gets bogged down in references to the original or empty Easter eggs. And it’s scary as hell.
Directed by David Gordon Green, a thoughtful independent filmmaker previously known for contemplative dramas like “All the Real Girls” and broad comedies like “Pineapple Express,” this new “Halloween” is downright unstoppable and spawned a new trilogy of films, with “Halloween Ends” concluding things this fall.
9. “Mary Poppins Returns” (2018)
“Mary Poppins,” released in 1964, was viewed by many as Walt Disney’s crowning achievement – or at least the very best live-action movie that Walt personally supervised. Full of unforgettable music by Richard and Robert Sherman and Julie Andrews giving one of the most charmingly iconic performances of all time, “Mary Poppins” is a true classic. While a sequel had been toyed around with for a while (a sequel in the 1980s got pretty far, with Michael Jackson tapped to play the lead male role), it wouldn’t happen until much, much later. “Poppins” obsessive Rob Marshall directs with aplomb and Emily Blunt enters the sensible shoes of Mary fearlessly; this is somehow both the character we know and have loved for all these decades and a new, expertly rendered interpretation of Poppins. (Instead of Dick Van Dyke’s chimney sweep, the new male lead/potential Poppins love interest is Jack the Lamplighter, played knowingly by Lin-Manuel Miranda.)
All the hallmarks are there – catchy songs by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman; a stunning musical sequence that mixes live-action with animation; and a sunny disposition that is still sort of depressing. Throw in a Dick Van Dyke bit part (playing a riff on a character he played in the original) and an unnecessary Meryl Streep cameo and it’s kind of the perfect follow-up. If only anybody watched it.
8. “Bill & Ted Face the Music” (2020)
“Bill & Ted Face the Music,” a famously long-in-development sequel, follows some of the tropes of a legacy sequel – chiefly the idea that the new central characters are related to the legacy characters (Samara Weaving plays Bill’s daughter and Brigette Lundy-Paine plays Ted’s daughter) and the idea of following up on a dangling plot thread from an earlier installment. But so much of what makes the movie special is the way that it zigs when you expect it to zag. The “Bill & Ted” franchise, up until this point, has been wrongly associated with teenage boy humor when it’s actually always been much more sophisticated than that (particularly the visually adventurous sequel, “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey”) and “Bill & Ted Face the Music” continues this beautifully – it’s sweet-natured and sunnily optimistic without ever being too saccharine. It imagines a world where our heroes haven’t united every nation, as they were prophesized to do; they’re middle-aged losers who are burdening their families and holding out hope that they could change the world.
It’s much sadder and more introspective than you’d think; not that this takes away from any of the comedy. There are a number of terrific gags that are silly and warm, embodied by a time-traveling robot character named Dennis played by “Barry” standout Anthony Carrigan. This one came out during the darkest days of the pandemic and for 90 minutes, Bill & Ted really did save the world.
7. “Tron Legacy” (2010)
The movie that arguably kicked off the rash of legacy sequels (the world legacy is even in the title!), director Joseph Kosinski’s long-awaited second installment in the “Tron” franchise is an audiovisual marvel, a cacophonous accumulation of sight and sound that borders on sensory overload but winds up being one of the most beautiful mainstream studio movies of the past decade (and change). Decades have passed since the original movie and that film’s main character Flynn (Jeff Bridges) has disappeared, leaving behind a young son (a perhaps overly earnest Garrett Hedlund). When he is zapped into the computer world his father created, he goes looking for his long lost dad and finds a villain with a familiar face – his father’s computerized avatar from 1982. While digital de-aging effects have evolved significantly in the past 12 years, the rest of “Tron Legacy” remains a stunning thrill – the neon-lined vistas of the digital world; the staging of motorbike chases where the bikes leave a shimmery trail behind them; the score by French electronic wizards Daft Punk, one of the all-time great pieces of movie music (made more potent by their recent break-up). And inside this very expensive light show is a mournful center about the gulf between father and sons and how the technology meant to bring us together can sometimes serve as a wedge, driving us apart.
6. “The Color of Money” (1986)
Paul Newman was Academy Award-nominated for his portrayal of pool shark Edward “Fast Eddie” Felson in 1961’s “The Hustler,” based on Walter Tevis’ novel of the same name. But he won his first Oscar for playing the same character in the 1986 sequel, “The Color of Money.” Set more than 20 years after the events of the first movie (the razor sharp Richard Price script is only loosely based on the Tevis novel of the same name), it follows Fast Eddie has he finds a new protégé in a young hustler played by Tom Cruise. Breathlessly directed by Martin Scorsese and edited by Thelma Schoonmaker, the new film emphasizes both the excitement of the pool games and the inherent sadness inside Felson. “The Color of Money” is, like “The Hustler,” as much a mournful character piece as it is a dazzling poolhall caper. Newman, the only holdover from the original film, undoubtedly deserved the Oscar, but Cruise probably should have won Supporting Actor too; he wasn’t even nominated. It’s a shame. But sometimes you win a game of pool and sometimes you don’t.
5. “Blade Runner 2049” (2017)
It’s always a fool’s errand to try and do a follow-up to a movie that is so widely beloved and whose status as a cult object has intensified and deepened every year since its release. But that’s what they did with “Blade Runner 2049” and they somehow, unbelievably, made a movie that is almost as great. Once again we are following a “Blade Runner,” a bounty hunter of sorts who is tasked with hunting down and exterminating “replicants” – lifelike robots who can blend so seamlessly into society that they are mistaken for humans. The difference here is that there’s no debate whether or not K (Ryan Gosling) is a replicant too; he is. The police force he works with cruelly taunts him and his most stable relationship is with a glittery hologram played by Ana de Armas. (There are so many levels to this story.) K uncovers a long-lost mystery between Deckard (Harrison Ford) and Rachel (Sean Young). She gave birth to a child that could upend civilization. How does a robot reproduce? (One of the movie’s big pleasures is that it doesn’t definitively answer, or even engage with, the question that has raged since the very first movie – about whether or not Deckard is a replicant.)
Director Denis Villeneuve creates a world as lush and eerie as the original film, populating it with colorful characters (including Jared Leto as a blind tech titan) and new technological elaborations, like the drone cohort that pops out of K’s flying car and, in a crucial moment, a giant holographic version of de Armas. “Blade Runner 2049” becomes richer and more complex upon each viewing, revealing previously unseen layers and fragments of visual information you might have missed. It’s a movie worth puzzling over and it’s a shame that it was initially met with such indifference.
4. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015)
The alpha and omega of what a legacy sequel can (and maybe should) be. Perhaps “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was so good because it had to be. Disney had just spent more than $4 billion buying Lucasfilm and securing the lucrative “Star Wars” brand. It wasn’t just the budget that was riding on the film’s success; an entire movie studio was at stake. Thankfully, it was a homerun. J.J. Abrams, a canny franchise rejuvenator (see also: 2009’s “Star Trek” reboot), knew to stick to what worked about the original films after three successful but creatively inert prequels – creatures made out of foam and rubber that actors can actually emote against; clear-cut lines dividing good and evil; charming, occasionally rascally characters that you can root for; and a palpable threat that the galaxy has to rally against. The resulting movie further blurs the lines of a legacy sequel by also effectively serving as a remake (is there really a difference between this movie’s Starkiller Base and the Death Star that menaced audiences in 1977?)
At turns familiar and entirely new, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” introduced us to former Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), Force-sensitive nobody Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Poe (Oscar Isaac), a rapscallion pilot working for the Rebellion, er, Resistance. Some things are still fuzzy, like how history repeated itself so specifically, but it’s hard to beat for pure entertainment value and for the way it so thoroughly, cleverly brought the franchise back from assumed extinction. What a ride.
3. “Creed” (2015)
Talk about unexpected. What could have been a cynical cash-grab, reigniting the “Rocky” franchise for new audiences by focusing on the long-lost son of Apollo Creed, the villain-turned-friend played by Carl Weathers, was instead an artistic triumph. The first commercial film from “Fruitvale Station” prodigy Ryan Coogler, “Creed” follows Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) as he struggles with his family legacy while also attempting to make a name for himself. The fight scenes are ingeniously staged; each one has a completely different aesthetic and vibe, with Coogler’s constantly moving camera always capturing the action and never losing sight of the emotion rawness that powers the very best boxing matches. To his credit, Sylvester Stallone returns in a supporting role, unafraid of showcasing both physical and emotional vulnerability. As Creed’s new mentor, Rocky wrestles with his own issues as a father and a fighter. (“Rocky Balboa,” the last movie in the main series, was released nearly a decade before.)
Everything in “Creed” feels perfectly calibrated for maximum impact, from Ludwig Göransson’s rousing score (the reconstruction of “Eye of the Tiger” is just perfect) to Jordan’s “hey, I’m a movie star” performance. Watching “Creed” in a packed movie theater was an experience that bordered on religious. There was so much hooting and hollering, clapping and crying. But it was better than going to an actual boxing match. We were all rooting for the same guy.
2. “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015)
Ostensibly a follow-up to 1985’s “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” a movie mostly remembered for a pair of absolutely bangin’ Tina Turner songs on the soundtrack, “Mad Max: Fury Road” took everything to the nth degree. Originally planned a decade earlier, it was waylaid by casting changes and monsoon weather that left the desert terrain of Australian a lush wonderland unsuitable for the movie’s post-apocalyptic setting (among other things). Miller finally got his passion project off the ground by filming in Africa, replacing Mel Gibson (by then a controversial lightning rod) with Tom Hardy and introducing Charlize Theron as Furiosa, an even more capable, one-armed road warrior. T
his is a movie that starts and never takes its foot off the gas, telling the story of Furiosa and Mad Max forming an uneasy alliance to save a group of captured girls (among them: Zoë Kravitz, Abbey Lee and Riley Keough) and bring them to a fabled promise land. Essentially a feature-length car chase with sharp social commentary and a decidedly feminist bent, “Mad Max: Fury Road” is unlike anything you’ve ever seen and are likely to ever see again. (Although Miller’s long-rumored follow-up, “Furiosa,” is expected to start shooting this year.) It’s so inventively, exactingly staged, so full of not only fury but sadness and despair and hope and rage, that the experience is unshakable. Hardy is terrific in what is essentially a nonverbal role and Theron is a revelation; all of the ass-kicking heroines she’s played in the years since (in movies like “Atomic Blonde,” “The Old Guard” and several “Fast and Furious” movies) pale in comparison to the depth and complexity of Furiosa. It was a critical smash, landing on almost everybody’s year-end best-of lists, inspiring a just-released making-of book and garnering 10 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director) and six wins, making it the most-winning movie of the night. A true feat.
1. “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022)
Discussions about a second “Top Gun” started more than a decade earlier, with Tom Cruise set to reunite with director Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer (all three were key architects behind 1986’s astronomical success). After Scott died tragically, it seemed as though a sequel would never happen. But, incredibly, it did. This time Cruise teamed up with his “Oblivion” director Joseph Kosinski and his constant partner-in-crime Christopher McQuarrie to make a movie that not only honors the spirit of the original film but surpasses it. “Top Gun: Maverick” isn’t just the greatest legacy sequel ever made, it’s one of the rare sequels that makes the original retroactively more powerful. It is as improbable as it is miraculous.
36 years later, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise) is still a captain and is tasked with training a group of new Top Gun recruits (including Miles Teller’s Rooster, the son of Maverick’s former wingman Goose) for a harrowing suicide mission behind enemy lines. Cruise’s new realism-first methodology meant that the actors went up in real fighter jets, making every action sequence even more heart-stopping. But the real surprise of “Top Gun: Maverick” is how emotional it is. Maverick, who in the original film was a cipher for the go-go-jingoism of Reagan’s America, is now a broken man, empty and alone. It’s a fascinating character study, one in which Maverick is made whole by understanding his own capacity for family. Making things right with Rooster and also Penny (Jennifer Connelly), an old flame he’s decided to reconnect with. As it turns out, your emotional connections on earth get a little lost when you’re so focused on flying above it.
Kosinski gamely takes over for Scott, recreating his aesthetic and worldview, with the sun in perpetual sunset and every perfectly etched body glistening with dewy sweat, but adds his own stamp, namely his love of symmetrical, nearly mathematic compositions a willingness to evoke the past without being slavishly devoted to it. (There’s no “Take My Breath Away” or “Playing with the Boys” on the soundtrack.) If there’s a movie, since the beginning of the pandemic, that most deserves to be seen in a theater, with the sound cranked way up and the screen pristine and gargantuan, it’s “Top Gun: Maverick.”
