While reboots, sequels and spin-offs come naturally through the Hollywood movie industry, there is a new type of movies that are neither a reboot, sequel or spin-off but instead just an addition to the original story.
According to junior Buster Barneby this new type of movie is “interesting, to say the least.”
The upcoming “The Suicide Squad” is one example of this type of movie. The director, James Gunn, has come out on social media and stated that this movie, with almost the same title as David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” in 2016, is neither a sequal or a reboot, even though it uses some of the same characters as the original.
“It is somewhere in between the two,” Barneby said. “I’m excited to see what it is actually like because this probably won’t be the first movie to do this with “reboots” like Sam Wilson being the new Captain America, too.”
According to senior Ryan McDevitt, some people believe that these types of movies are considered anthologies when in reality they are not.
“When I think of anthologies I think of stories that have nothing to do with any attached TV shows or movies,” McDevitt said. “These stories are like a DLC but for a movie where it’s just extra, but still separate.”
Two more examples of these types of movies are Joel Schumacher’s “Batman Forever” and “Batman and Robin” from 1995 and 1997.
Coming after Tim Burton’s fan-favorite Batman films, “Batman” and “Batman Returns,” Joel Schumacher came into the “series” with a different Gotham City, different cast except Batman’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth and “a completely different vibe” according to junior Jack Graboski.
“They are so much more vibrant and humorous than Burton’s original vision,” Schmitz said.
Grabsoki agrees with Schitmz, saying “I wouldn’t really consider those movies to be sequels, but it definitely keeps some continuity the same. I don’t really know what to call that kind of movie. It’s definitely not a sequel though.”
While Warner Brothers Productions has made “not smart” decisions with their properties, such as DC Comics, in the past few years according to Schmitz, doing movies like these might be a part of the “solution to their past mistakes.”
“These could act as ‘soft reboots’ not resetting any continuity but almost pretending they didn’t happen so the characters can grow and expand with better arcs or storylines without losing the charm that originally attracted fans,” Schmitz said.
McDevitt thinks these new types of films will start to be used more in the future too.
“I do think they could be very beneficial to movies or TV series that aren’t necessarily doing too well…Kind of like a pilot episode and if the viewers and audience like it, the show will stay and if they don’t, they will change the script based off the first reception of the show,” McDevitt said.