Hollywood has fallen in love with movie prequels. The first one I really remember would have been The Godfather II, which was an amazing film to follow on the heels of the original. And while not quite a prequel, I think it helped to foster the idea that movie stories can move backward in time as well as forward. Probably the most popular prequel would have been The Phantom Menace, which is not the same as my saying it was good, just that it was popular. And the recent Star Trek would also be considered a prequel despite how awful that one was.
Before I get started on a rant let’s focus on the question this week: What movie story would you like to see have a prequel? I often think about re-casting movies or casting television shows as movies, but I have only recently started to think about prequels. Here is my brief list:
- Star Wars, but this time done in a way that doesn’t leave me feeling empty inside
- The Karate Kid (imagine a young Mr. Miyagi growing up in Okinawa)
- Roadhouse (who wouldn’t want to see a young Dalton bouncing at a bar while in High School?)
If I am certain of one thing in life it is that whatever studio decides to make the Karate Kid prequel is the same studio that is going to be given a license to print their own money.
Honorable mention prequels: ‘Casino Royale.’ As a James Bond fan I was glad to see the original story come to life (it was the 1st book), and it was ‘modernized’ well (such as text messages vs. 1950s telegrams). They kept the story accurate. For another (lame) prequel how about ‘Ferris Bueller’s First Day Off’? He could be skipping school in the 7th grade or something.
How about a Maltese Falcon prequel. All the adventures leading up to Sam Spade could be fun.
I would love to see a prequel for “The Princess Bride”. I think Inigo’s back story is amazing. Especially as described in the book. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love that character.