Last year, a photo appeared on Twitter of a movie theatre marquee with the ‘Currently Playing’ listings posted in large black letters. “The 90s called and they want their movies back,” the meme claimed as the sign listed Toy Story 4, Men In Black, Godzilla, Aladdin, and Child’s Play. These remakes, reboots, and sequels emphasized the cultural craving for nostalgia but whether that’s due to Hollywood’s famous lack of originality or our desire for comfort due to the current state of the world is not clear.
The quality of each is, to put it politely, hit-or-miss but still more long-awaited sequels are being announced all the time. Whether they’ve been in development hell for decades, dormant for years, or slowly ticking away behind the scenes, these sequels will not only bring about the nostalgia factor but will make movie-goers feel like it’s the 1990s again!
Years since the original: 32
The riches-to-rags tale of Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy, The Nutty Professor) was a massive success in the 80s, debuting at No.1 at the Box Office and bringing home £28, 409, 497 opening weekend.
In 2017, a sequel was announced, and original cast members Murphy, Arsenio Hall (The Arsenio Hall Show), James Earl Jones (The Lion King), Shari Headley (The Preacher’s Wife), and John Amos (Die Hard 2) would all be returning. The plot would follow Akeem as he discovers that he has a son in America (Jermaine Fowler, Sorry to Bother You) and tries to groom him to become an heir to the throne of Zamunda.
Initially scheduled for a summer 2020 release, Paramount decided to skip that, given the current state of the movie industry, and sold the film to Amazon Prime Video who will release it in December. As of yet, no trailer or promotional materials have been released for the film but, often, with streaming titles, the advertising schedule is significantly shorter.
Years since the original: 34
Initially slated for a summer 2020 release, Top Gun: Maverick sees Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible) return to the pilot’s seat as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell as he gets set to train a bunch of fresh Top Gun graduates for a dangerous new mission. Amongst them is Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller, F4ntastic Four), the son of Mitchell’s late best friend Nick Bradshaw (A.K.A. Goose) as well as new characters played by Jay Ellis (Insecure), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Jake Pickering (Hollywood), and Glenn Powell (Hidden Figures). Rounding out the cast is Val Kilmer (Batman: Forever) returning as Iceman, Mitchell’s former rival, and Academy Award winner Jennifer Connolly (A Beautiful Mind) as Mitchell’s love interest.
A trailer for the film premiered at San Diego Comic-Con last year, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Top Gun: Maverick was moved to Summer 2021. That means the wait for the high-altitude action is ongoing. Still, when next summer hits cue the homoerotic volleyball games!
Years since the original: 24
Michael Jordan is pulled into a hole in the ground and is asked play in an intergalactic basketball game which will decide whether the Looney Toons remain free or if they’re damned to a life of eternal slavery. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, right? Yet, Space Jam was one of the most popular children’s films of the 1990s and also became the highest-grossing basketball film of all time. The idea sprung from two Nike ads in the early 90s that saw Jordan appear alongside Bugs Bunny, which makes sense in a corporate cart-before-the-horse-kind of way.
Now, Warner Bros. is hoping those 90s kids that loved the original have kids of their own. This time around former N.B.A. player Lebron James is set to appear alongside Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Sylvester, the cat. Also joining him is Don Cheadle (Avengers: Endgame) in a villainous role but the plot is still under wraps
Years since the original: 39
In 2016, after they acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, Disney announced their plans to move forward with a fifth Indiana Jones film with Steven Spielberg back in the director’s chair and Harrison Ford reprising his role as the whip-cracking archaeologist. However, the film was delayed more than once, and a series of different writers came in to take a crack at the script (including, the son of Raiders of the Lost Ark writer, Jonathan Kasdan). Others suggested the delay was due to the production team waiting for de-ageing technology (supposedly to use on Ford) to get to a point where it was feasible to use. After 2019’s The Irishman it was finally ready.
A date of 9th July, 2021 was decided on by Disney but, in February this year, Spielberg revealed he would not be directing the upcoming film (supposedly due to commitments to his West Side Story remake) making it the first in the series not to be helmed by him. James Mangold (The Wolverine) stepped in to replace him while Spielberg remained a “hands-on” producer. As of now, Ford is the only actor officially attached and it is unclear whether Shia LeBeouf, who appeared in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and, at the time, was rumored to be a successor to Ford, will appear or if any of the original cast will be returning at all.
Despite no other casting announcements, it seemed like production was closing in as Harrison Ford told CBS This Morning in April that he was due to start filming “soon”. However, COVID-19, script issues, and the fact they don’t seem to have a cast yet, it’s likely the film will be pushed back further than 2021.
Years since the original: 19
Returning for a sequel after 19 years; What? Like it’s hard? Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is coming back to our screens as the pink-loving-Chihuahua-owning lawyer. First confirmed by Witherspoon via Instagram in 2018, the project was delayed due to a script rewrite. Then, earlier this year, it was announced that Witherspoon’s A Wrinkle in Time co-star Mindy Kaling (The Office) would pen the script for the sequel alongside Dan Goor (Brooklyn Nine-Nine). The pair, with their combined experience, seem like the perfect duo as Kaling’s latest feature, Late Night, focused on women in the workplace while Dan Goor has put a successful comedy spin on the crime-procedural with his sitcom.
As of 2020, Witherspoon is confirmed to be returning alongside Jennifer Coolidge as Paulette, as well as Alanna Ubach and Jessica Cauffiel as Elle’s sorority sisters. It’s unclear if other cast members, like Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums), Holland Taylor (Hollywood), or Selma Blair (Hellboy) will be returning. However, some of the cast recently reunited for charity over on the Hello Sunshine YouTube channel so getting the gang back together might be on the cards.
The film was due to start shooting this past summer but, as is the case for a lot of current productions, filming was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and earlier this month Universal set a release date of May 2022. So until then, fans around the world will have to practice their bend-and-snap in anticipation.
Years since the original: 28
Sister Mary Clarence, the Motown singing nun in the Witness Protection Program, is one of Whoopi Goldberg’s most beloved characters. Goldberg herself has been vocal about wanting to revisit the character but told fans that Disney wasn’t interested. Recently, they seemed to have changed their mind as Goldberg announced on The View that a third Sister Act was indeed happening and it was later revealed it would be released on Disney+. It’s likely the change of heart was part of their commitment to establishing the streaming service which, across all sectors of the corporate workings at Disney, has become a priority.
It’s unclear what the plot of this third film will be or who, outside of Goldberg, from the original cast will return. Some of the cast reunited in 2017 for a special performance on The View to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the film and it seemed like both Wendy Makkenna (Mary Robert) and Kathy Najimy (Mary Patrick) were up for returning. As for others, like Maggie Smith or Harvey Keitel, it is yet to be announced.
Years since the original: 36
A fourth Beverly Hills Cop film has been stuck in production hell for nearly 20 years. After the third film in the franchise failed to perform at the Box Office in 1994, Paramount decided not to progress with any further sequels. The film’s star, Eddie Murphy who played the wise-cracking cop Axel Foley, took up the task under his own production company and set about trying to fund the fourth film.
In 2006, blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer (The Pirates of The Caribbean franchise) teamed up with Murphy to produce an R-rated sequel with Brett Ratner, set to direct. Ratner, who was, at the time, known for the comedy-action flick Rush Hour is now more famous for allegations of sexual assault and harassment by seven actresses including Olivia Munn as well as his homophobic abuse of Ellen Page on the set of X-Men: The Last Stand.
The project never came to fruition, however, and plans for a fourth film were once again shelved. Instead, Murphy pursued a TV adaption of the film focusing on Axel Foley’s son, but it fell apart when Murphy refused to commit to a recurring role on the show.
After another failed attempt to set up a sequel, Paramount announced in 2016 that Bad Boys for Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had replaced Ratner. Then Murphy told journalists that, after Coming 2 America, Beverly Hills Cop 4 was next up on his schedule. With Coming 2 America premiering later this year, expect updates on this sequels production and release date as Murphy starts to do press for the film.
Years since the original: 20
What happens if you set the Steve McQueen classic The Great Escape on a chicken farm? Well, in 2000 Aardman Animations answered that question with Chicken Run. The story followed Ginger (Julia Sawalha, Absolutely Fabulous) as a hen set on leading her friends to freedom when she meets Rocky (Mel Gibson, Braveheart), a cocky-American rooster who claims he can fly. Their plan to escape becomes more imperative as the farm’s owner, Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), decides that collecting eggs is no longer enough. Now, she wants to make chicken pies.
In June 2020, Netflix announced they negotiated the rights to produce a sequel, and principal photography would start in 2021. Sam Fell, who directed the stop motion film Paranorman, signed on to direct and revealed the plot would follow Molly, the chick of Ginger and Rooster, who longs to get out of the safe place she has grown up in.
Before the film has even started filming, it has already garnered controversy. Firstly, Aardman announced that Gibson would not return to the role of Rocky after Winona Ryder revealed, in The Sunday Times, the horrific antisemitic comments he made towards her (though this is not the first example of Gibson’s racist and abusive behavior). Without Gibson, Sawalha revealed on Twitter that Aardman also planned to recast her claiming that she now sounded “too old”. The actress posted that the decision was “ageist” and shared a video of her reading her original lines showing clearly that very little had changed. At the time of publication, no official decision had been made regarding Sawalha’s return.
Years since the original: 27
Is there a Halloween movie more beloved than Hocus Pocus? The story of three comedic witches returning to Salem to terrorize a teenage boy and his friends has become to Halloween what Home Alone is to Christmas. The film has hit icon status, and its cast (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) have fielded questions about a potential sequel for years now.
The film, which received mixed reviews and below-average box office returns when it was first released, earned a significant following due to its annual showings on ABC and Disney Channel. In the past 27 years it has grown to become a staple of the spooky season and, every year, fans dress up as the characters with intense precision. Then, in 2020, it returned to theatres taking nearly $1 million in the first weekend of October (likely due to the lack of new content being available.) Not only that but the cast reunited (in character) for a special Halloween event due to air on 30th October as well as in a short Instagram video urging fans to vote.
Adam Shankman (Hairspray) has signed on to helm the sequel and Jen D’Angelo has been hired to write it. Midler, Parker, and Najimy have all said they are open to returning to their roles as the Sanderson Sisters with Midler even telling Entertainment Tonight that she “can’t wait to fly!” To date, no deals have been made.
Just like Sister Act 3, Hocus Pocus 2 is a project being put together for Disney+ with a release date yet to be announced.
Years since the original: 19
Before he died in 2016, director Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) told Larry King that he was working on a sequel to his 2001 film, which saw a regular American teenager find out she was the heir to the throne of a fictional European country. After his passing, news of the potential sequel went quiet until January 2019 when, during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Anne Hathaway told Andy Cohen that a script for a third film existed and that they were “working on it”. She also told Cohen that Julie Andrews was also interested in returning, but they wanted to make sure it was “perfect” before they made anything official. This was echoed by Andrews in a 2020 appearance on The Talk.
It seems many of the original cast members are eager to return including Heather Matarazzo as Mia’s best friend Lilly, Mandy Moore as the mean girl Lana, and Chris Pine as the devilishly handsome Nicholas Deveraux.
The project, which has yet to officially greenlit by any studio, could find a home on Disney+ (as others have on this list) and with Hathaway’s recent success with The Witches on HBO Max (the film received mixed reviews but Hathaway received unanimous praise for her performance as the Grand High Witch), means that the movie going to a streaming site isn’t outside the realms of possibility. Here’s hoping an announcement is just around the corner.
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