Prequels and Sequels

I kid, I just like the gif. But I do prefer prequels.

When are sequels and prequels great to do? What makes a great sequel or prequel?

I believe a lot of us think about expanding our stories, whether it’s in the form of a sequel or a prequel, we definitely think about it.

To be honest, it’s really easy to do either or, but it’s not easy to make it great or even make it “work.”
What do I mean by that? Well, the more you expand on lore, the more issues that might arise and possible chances of you forgetting previous things and maybe eventually diving into a few plot holes and making some inconsistencies here and there.
Obviously that’s something that is just easy to fall into. Especially as a one-man/woman/gorgeous creature-team. It’s not easy to keep track of everything and it’s even worse if you’re not an expert in a certain area and you kind of have to whip things out of your ass.

Having clear lore and being able to answer every possible question means a lot to us creators. Honestly, I think this is where prequels and sequels are nice to do. Some times you can answer questions and make a whole new adventure out of it. You can dive into a character’s past and show them how they were before OR you can dive into their future and show the audience a new path and maybe a new side to said character, OR just show off a brand new world that’s still within the lore and show new characters. There is honestly a lot you can do as a creator, but unfortunately, it doesn’t mean we can pull it off.

I’ve always been a fan of prequels, I really enjoy seeing the BEFORE and not so much the AFTER. I like to dive into characters’ past, figure out what happened to them, get answers as to how they got to where they are in the original story. I just like to see how they become, or even if I get to see maybe older characters who still belong to the same world… Something like in Avatar: The Last Airbender. So many of us can agree how great of a show that was. Absolutely gorgeous in every way. However… I’ve heard a lot about how people didn’t care for the sequel but I also heard that a lot of people loved it. But you know what I would have loved? To get prequels into the lives of every Avatar before Aang. I think that would have been great. They didn’t have to make an entire set of series dedicated to each Avatar, but instead they could have done it in seasons. I would have loved to see how the world changed over time in more detail through the eyes of previous Avatars.

Lore and backstory is honestly just such a treat for me.

You know what movie series I love? The Alien Franchise. Such a great fucking franchise. Chef’s kiss to it all. However, obviously we all have issues with certain movies.
Such as I really disliked Alien: Resurrection. It started to feel like they were milking it. I mean, the third movie felt like the start of the milking, but the 4th? Oof.
I hear a lot of people also prefer Aliens over Alien, but honestly, Alien is my favorite.
You know what prequel movie of the Alien franchise I loved and hated? Prometheus. Why? Because even though the idea, the lore, was super intriguing, it was also very unsatisfactory. Alien: Covenant as well. It just seemed like there was so much potential, but then it all seemed to kind of just… not turn out as great as I would have thought?
If I’m being honest, I think revealing where the “aliens” come from was a bad idea. I just like the idea that it’s an alien life, it could have come from anywhere. It was just something that we didn’t really need an answer on. Also, humans trying to find their creators? That’s cool and all, but… the answers were just so… blegh.

There just comes a point where obviously when one story does well, you kind of want to piggyback off of it and keep it going, however, if you don’ watch out, it starts to get ridiculous. Kind of like when Supernatural. The seasons just kept going and going to the point where, a lot of the viewers and long-time watchers, kind of became numb to the show but we still watched it because we loved it. It was a part of us, almost like family.

More examples, I Know What You Did Last Summer, if you saw the sequels, it was kind of dumb. Just completely unnecessary.


Anyway, that’s all I have to say. How do you know when it’s good to make either a prequel or sequel? How can you pull it off? Do you have either in mind for your current story? I know I do!

ALSO, I want to take a break from doing Sunday articles from time to time, and I figured, why not ask YOU GUYS, if you have anything? Seriously, if you have ideas for articles, feel free to PQ me or email me at SNOWYWISP @ HOTMAIL (DOT) COM with your article.
Keep in mind to be respectful when you talk to your audience, and by that, don’t insult them by saying that “if they’re not doing “this” then clearly they’re dumb.” kind of situation. I like the idea of uplifting and not demeaning others in articles.

We’re here to offer advice, tips, and just have a good conversation. Not to lecture, demean or insult. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful week!