Now that the official date for the 2023 Oscars has been set for March 12, all eyes will be on this year’s final contenders. But while Oscar glory usually leads to bigger and better things, that doesn’t always mean the year’s winners will deliver sequels.
In fact, a variety of popular Oscar winners have never returned with sequels — a problem many fans wish they could fix. Not every film lends itself to a comeback, and whether it’s out of fear that they won’t be able to recapture the magic of the original or simply the filmmaker’s desire not to, some Oscar winners are perfectly prepared for more. .
Forrest Gump (1994)
Tom Hanks won his second Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the ultra-naive but ridiculously accomplished Forrest Gump. The Robert Zemeckis film told the remarkable story of Gump’s life, from his early childhood through his eventful final years.
Although the film was very detailed in its accounts of Gump’s life, a return to Gump’s world and the adventures he found himself in over nearly thirty years could certainly be worth it. Hanks also remains a fan favorite, so seeing him back in character might indeed be a welcome move.
Lost in Translation (2003)
For her second film, Sofia Coppola wrote and directed lost in translation, a quasi love story that places its protagonists (Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson) in Japan. The film remains arguably Coppola’s best, winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Coppola dismissed previous questions about the possibility of a sequel, but there’s no denying that lost in translation ended with many questions regarding the lives of Bob (Murray) and Charlotte (Johansson). by Richard Linklater before sunrise The trilogy proved that minimalist storylines can be worth revisiting, which means a return to life for Bob and Charlotte certainly wouldn’t be a nonsensical concept.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Dark but very engaging from author Steig Larson The girl with the dragon tattoo was initially a trilogy of books, with a Swedish-language film adaptation delivering all three films in 2009. An American remake by David Fincher was released in 2011.
While the original plan had been for Fincher to lead the three Dragon Tattoo movies, only the first episode materialized. Sony took things in a totally different direction with the 2018 release of The girl in the spider’s web. Although billed as a sequel, the film does not pick up where Dragon Tattoo left out, unlike its legitimate sequel, The girl who played with fire.
Hustle & Flow (2005)
Few blockbuster movies have a struggling rapper as their protagonist and even fewer have turned that success into Oscar glory. Craig Brewer Bustle and flow was supposed to be a trilogy that followed protagonist DJay’s story of getting rich, but 17 years later, no such follow-up exists.
Given the subject of Bustle and flow and the many directions a sequel could go, it’s very odd that Brewer still hasn’t delivered. All the elements that made the first film so successful are still the recipe for success 17 years later, and the number of fans waiting hustle and flow 2 is surely enough to justify a return to the world of DJay.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Having made a name for himself with his debut in 1992 reservoir dogsQuentin Tarantino became a worldwide phenomenon after the release of pulp Fiction. Considered by many to be his greatest film, a sequel seems particularly unlikely given Tarantino’s retirement plans.
pulp Fiction The ending leaves several characters’ lives open to further exploration, with Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) a particular source of great fascination for fans. Moreover, because pulp Fiction doesn’t follow a traditional storytelling style, a second film made in the same style could be an effective but subtle sequel.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
This horror novel-turned-big-screen adaptation follows a young couple whose plans to have a baby are corrupted by a group of Satanists. Roman Polanski’s hit film ends with the arrival of Satan’s son, but audiences only ever see him as a baby.
But Rosemary’s baby author Ira Levin delivered an official sequel in 1997, to date the original film has not received a theatrical follow-up. There’s a long way to go to introduce audiences to the now grown-up version of Satan’s son, and in the hands of the right filmmaker, he could achieve considerable success.
Ex Machina (2014)
Novelist-turned-filmmaker Alex Garland made his directorial debut with this 2014 sci-fi gem. The plot follows computer programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) as he spends a week at the home of Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), the CEO of the world’s largest internet company.
Things at Nathan’s turn out to be far more difficult than Caleb could have ever imagined, and by the end of the film, the AI robot Ava has left a trail of murder and manipulation in its wake. The chance to see what Ava became of after leaving Nathan’s compound for the city seems to provide endless sequel possibilities.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
After a freak attack in the English countryside, the life of American backpacker David Kessler (David Naughton) is irrevocably changed. Considered by many to be the greatest werewolf movie ever made, An American werewolf in London perfectly balances comedy and horror.
Although David dies at the end of the film, why and how the werewolves came to roam rural England remains a mystery. New characters might be introduced in a sequel, as David had a brother and sister in America. In 1997 An American werewolf in Paris was released, but its plot had little to do with the original, leaving a direct sequel untried.
The Fighter (2010)
Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale star as brothers Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and Dicky Eklund (Bale) in this Oscar-winning true story about Ward’s fight to become the light-welterweight champion of the world.
In recent years, Wahlberg has actually talked about not only wanting a sequel to The fighter take off but also to make a third film. Ward had a string of fights against Arturo Gatti in the early 2000s that are considered legendary by boxing fans.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
Combining live action and animation, Robert Zemeckis Who Framed Roger Rabbit? enjoyed considerable success upon its release. The film imagines a world in which cartoon characters live real lives in Hollywood’s Toontown while a sinister plot threatens to destroy them all.
Sadly, Bob Hoskins – who played Eddie Valiant, passed away in 2014. Despite that loss, there’s still plenty of room for a Roger Rabbit sequel, particularly because the original film ended in sort of a happily ever after fashion. Within the bustling world of Toontown, there’s an almost endless supply of possibilities, making this 1988 hit the first for more.
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