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Prequels and Sequels – Weigh In

Maggie
Image by Moshe Harosh from Pixabay

Last night I was thinking about the original three Star Wars movies. They were classics written in order (I am assuming) and released in the order in which they were to seen. I loved the movies and I did not find myself with lingering questions about the backstory or origins of any of the characters. Then the prequel came out, I never saw it.

I found myself wondering if I wanted to watch all the Star Wars movies, where should I begin? There were many opinions, some of which I did not read because the articles definitely had warnings they contained spoilers. The interesting thing was, people did not agree. Some suggested watching in an order other than by chronological release dates. Some said the prequels had spoilers of the original films.

So, as a reader or viewer, where do you stand on prequels? Are there times when a book leaves too many questions and you want more of the backstory? Do you want prequels to stand on their own? Being a huge Broadway fan, I loved the musical Wicked, but if I had never seen it I still would have loved The Wizard of Oz. Are prequels a marketing tool to cash in on a successful story?

As a writer, have you written a prequel? If so, why? Did it seem necessary or did you realize there was much more to tell than made sense in one book? Are prequels a tool to prevent too many flashbacks in a story? If you write a series or sequels, do the preceding stories automatically become prequels?

I remember taking some Master classes with well known authors and a few talked about keeping timelines and character spreadsheets to prevent mistakes in their writing. I can see where a series could get complicated quickly. I am famous for changing character names in a simple story let alone a series.

I am interested in your opinions both as a reader/viewer and as a writer.

(If you have thoughts on  the order in which to watch the entire Star Wars catalogue, I would be interested in your opinion on that as well. Just no spoilers please!)

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35 thoughts on “Prequels and Sequels – Weigh In”

  1. We all learn history, or geography, or any subject, in discrete sections. We may learn about the Second World War without needing the full background of the First World War, and without reference to any history of individual countries. We later learn of the rise of ship building or industrial strength. We may never learn the full story, and it doesn’t matter that we don’t. Surely, the mind is such a powerful tool that we can assimilate knowledge presented to us, and add, or amend, our thoughts later.

    Another analogy. If we meet new neighbours we quickly learn their names, where they’ve moved from, what work they do. We don’t need to know who their grandparents were, where they were born etc, but we may do so later.

    In short. It doesn’t matter. Prequels make extra money!

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  2. No opinion on Star Wars, as I only saw the first one & decided it wasn’t my thing. I do love Weird Al’s parody song about it though. Mostly I’m not a fan of sequels & prequels. They seem tacked on simply in order to make more money from a successful franchise. The Sopranos prequel was meh. The Breaking Bad sequel was meh and the Better Call Saul prequel left me cold after S1. However it’s hard not to at least give em a shot after enjoying the show, which is why I’ll be watching the Game of Thrones prequel ~ at least at first. I haven’t written any, though some of my books are connected via characters and jobs…

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    1. I think about a few things I have written. It can be easy to get the reader lost in trying to reveal the backstory within the book or story you are writing. My husband Is not fond of books that flash forward and back too much. I also like to leave a little curiosity in the mind of the reader, although that can leave you up for harsh criticism of you leave too much unsaid. Thanks for commenting, Paula.

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  3. I watched the first two Star Wars films at the cinema, but have never bothered with any of the others. One film sequel I did enjoy was ‘Ripley’s Game’, though I had never read the book. As for prequels, I thought ‘Prometheus’ was a convincing prequel to the original ‘Alien’. As both were directed by Ridley Scott, I found it interesting. Though many fans of the ‘Alien’ franchise would not agree.
    Perhaps the best sequel ever made is still ‘Godfather 2’, which many, including me, think is a better film than the classic first one.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. My husband loved both Godfather movies, but I am not sure he thinks one is better than the other, but I have heard others have agreed with you.

      For the prequels you named that you enjoyed, do they work best in unison with the original, or do they stand well on their own?

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  4. I agree with Pete as far as Godfather 2 is concerned. The prequel in it is outstanding. The prequels to Star Wars, in my opinion, never come close to the first 3.
    as far as sequels in literature, I wish I had never read Harper Lee’s sequel to Mockingbird.

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    1. Thanks, Don. I was never a huge Godfather fan, so my opinion doesn’t really hold water. I am glad to hear your comment about Harper Lee’s other book. I could never bring myself to read it for fear it would come nowhere near the quality of such an amazing book.

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  6. This is an interesting and timely posy, Maggie. I liked the original three Star Wars movies. I’ve see some of the others, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen them in order. Not wanting to have too many “flashback” type scenes is why I ended up with three books instead of two in the series I’ve written.

    I am struggling with this issue right now. I wrote a book and that book has a sequel (which was planned). Then. I wrote the backstory. The backstory isn’t really a prequel, per se, but I think the 2nd and 3rd books make more sense if someone reads the book that is chronologically first.

    Ill be trying to keep up with the comments here. Thanks!

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    1. I was hoping you might join the conversation, Dan. I remember reading about your three books on your blog.

      I can appreciate limiting the flashbacks. It can be difficult for a reader to always stay in step with the storyline. I’m often read reviews ’after’reading the book. Reviews on a book I finished recently had poor reviews because every chapter was a flip between two time periods. I thought the author handled it well and I enjoyed it, but obviously others did not.

      Here’s the question. Could you just call the book the first in a series of three rather than a prequel? I guess I struggle understanding where the difference lies. (I am looking forward to reading them when you publish!)

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      1. I have called them books 1,2,3 in a series. I am planning a 4th book, and my brother and I have been talking about a related book that would precede the first book, chronologically, but there are no firm plans.

        Thanks.

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          1. I have read many books by several authors where I don’t think it mattered. In this series, there will only be two where it matters, but I think a reader could pick up the story in any of them. It’s hard trying to decide how much to include. I don’t want to bore the reader who is reading all of them, but I don’t expect people to read them back-to-back, so I wanted to add enough of the previous action to get where the story starts.

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          2. That all makes sense, Dan. If I can understand what I need to keep the story flowing, even if it takes a little mental effort, I will be okay.

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  7. I saw the first three Star Wars movies and after hearing other opinions, I never saw more. I didn’t see the Godfather and don’t care to. I kind of feel that money is the purpose of most prequels. If a good story has more to tell, I’ll usually try the sequelm

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    1. I have seen both Godfather movies. They are good, just not my cup of tea. I guess I never understood the long time span between the original Star Wars movies and the prequel and sequels. It is the order that confuses me.

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      1. I saw the fourth, which is the first, I guess. My impression was that it would do its job selling toys and being the basis for promotions at Pizza Hut, and I was right. I wasn’t impressed with it as a movie, and felt like it was thrown together in a hurry to milk more money out of the franchise.

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  9. I don’t know that I have a strong opinion about movie prequels and sequels. They seem like a Hollywood contrivance to me, especially when it comes to Star Wars. As for authors writing prequels like Wicked, I liked the book, found it fascinating. I also like Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic series of novels. You can read them in order or not– the stories stand alone.

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    1. Thank you for commenting, Ally. I agree there are differences between books and movies. (Thank you for mentioning Alice Hoffman – I should re-read those.)

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  10. My first date after my divorce was the first Star Wars movie. I remember thinking it was entirely stupid. Not a promising beginning to a new romance since he loved it! So I have no opinion about that series. However I remember as a child hating when the first illustration of a long book came well into the book. I had already decided what the characters looked like and didn’t want to be corrected by the illustrator. I feel the same way about a book before a series. I have already invented their lives before the first book and don’t want to have to rethink them.

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    1. Not everyone is a Star Wars fan for sure!

      You make a very good point about the books. I can understand the issue with illustrations. It is sort of the way I feel about audio books. If the narrator’s voice is not somewhat close to the voice in my head, then the characters do not ring true. I had not considered the concept of a prequel changing our mental image of a character. That would be annoying. Very good point!

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  11. Watch them in the order they were released. IV, V, IV, then I, II, III and then ya can watch the VII, VIII, IX. although the last 3… well no thank you. But I- III shows why the redemption in VI was so profound.

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  12. I watched the original Star Wars which were good, then a couple of others. The last one I slept through most of it. I don’t much like prequels or sequels, and SW is so confusing. For books, I like the series kind with the same characters, but each book could be read by itself. 🙂

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    1. I certainly do not want to waste my time watching movies that are going to bore me. As far as books, I think many people would agree with you. We fall in love with characters and appreciate their further adventures.

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  13. I was born into the prequel era, and my misinformation lead me to believe, for the longest time, that the term “Star Wars Trilogy” referred to the prequels. Undoubtedly I had “meh” opinion about Star Wars, except that I loved the world/universe. But then eventually I found the originals and I was amazed by the charm of the movie. The light saber fights seemed dated to me, but the series as a whole was fun.

    I love the idea of prequels, because it expands to world and the lore. I love the Game of Thrones prequel stories. I would love to read LOTR prequels next. I love it when prequel foreshadows events in the main story-line, like an easter-egg.

    But I believe it is better to watch series in the order of their release since, as you mentioned, prequels might spoil a big reveal in the main story.

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