What Movie Sequel Are You Surprised Exists

This is a pretty big year for surprising sequels. We;re all still flabbergasted at the idea that Star Wars: Episode VII is in the works, not to mention a number of other sequels and spin-offs planned for the franchise, too. Nobody saw that coming. It;s not like The Hobbit movies, which not only had long been a serious consideration since the Lord of the Rings trilogy was in production, but it;s also just natural given that it;s based on a book. Nobody would have been surprised if we never saw another Star Wars movie. Then again, going by chatter on Twitter today it seems many wouldn;t be shocked if another Hobbit movie never existed, either, in spite of the fact the trilogy was filmed simultaneously. I guess The Hobbit is still a thing, said our own Jacob Hall. Funny, that;s exactly what I said to myself when I saw news today that another Chronicles of Narnia movie is going to happen.There;s never seemed to be a lot of excitement for the pricey franchise. Yet even though the third installment opened in 2010 to a measly $24 million in the U.S., where it also didn;t even fully gross as much as its budget, the movie did continue the series; success overseas to the tune of a global total of $416 million (franchise total: $1.6 billion). No kidding they;re making a fourth, based on The Silver Chair. They don;t even need to put it in American theaters -- just release it straight to VOD and DVD. VOD and DVD is where new surprising sequels are landing for Fright Night and Child;s Play. The former, which debuted today and is titled Fright Night 2, isn;t actually even a sequel at all in spite of the numeral being attached. It;s apparently another remake of the 1985 original given that it features the same characters and plot as that and the 2011 redo, only there;s a new setting, and this time the main vampire is a woman. As someone explained it to me, the producers must have had two different scripts written for the remake and they;ve decided to film both. Curse of Chuckymeanwhile is a straight sequel and a return to a more scary tone for the series. The main surprise there is that it was expected we;d be getting a complete reboot instead, not an installment aiming to appeal to die-hard fans of all the Chucky movies, especially the first couple. Even in an era where sequels seem more common than original movies, there are a few ways that the existence of a sequel can be very surprising. It could be something long overdue (or just coming out very long after the original or prior installment, a la Riddick). It could be a follow-up to a movie that didn;t seem to make any money or a movie of a genre that doesn;t normally get sequels. And it could be something you didn;t even know existed -- I just learned, for instance, there;s Another Midnight Run. Keep in mind that these don;t have to be sequels we;re surprised exist because they;re bad. One of the most acclaimed movies of this year, remember, is a threequel, and it;s part of probably the lowest-grossing trilogy of all time: Before Midnight might be the biggest surprise, and the most pleasant one, as well. What sequel are you most surprised exists? Here are some responses received so far via Twitter: @thefilmcynic The Whole Ten Yards — Garrett Martin (@grmartin) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic The Whole Ten Yards — Brandon Rohwer (@brandonRohwer) October 1, 2013 102 DALMATIANS RT @thefilmcynic POLL: What movie sequel are you most surprised exists? — Zack Parks (@Zack_Parks) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic Basic Instinct 2 — Josh Gripman (@gripmonster) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic Troll 2, Fast and Furious 86. — Kat Cory (@Kat_Cory) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic SHOWGIRLS 2: PENNY;S FROM HEAVEN. Not surprised about a SHOWGIRLS sequel; surprised that this one is legit & not a fan film. — John Gholson (@gholson) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic Probably the spandex-and-F/X-free BEFORE SUNSET. — Edwin Arnaudin (@EdwinArnaudin) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic The Sting II. No Redford or Newman, no reason for this to exist. Even with the same writer back, it was not wanted or needed. — Kyle Ailinger (@KAilinger) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic THE STING 2 — Michal Oleszczyk (@michaloleszczyk) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic Grease 2, I think. — Cameron Carpenter (@Lumetian) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic Grown Ups 2 — John Derick Dotson (@DRockDot) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic Mean Girls 2. Also Journey 2, Percy Jackson 2, 2010, The Two Jakes. — David Neary (@DeusExCinema) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic Cars 2 and Planes if you count that in a way. — Kronk. (@ayobobun) October 1, 2013 @thefilmcynic recently: Kick Ass 2, Machete Kills, Dumb and Dumber To. — Eric Harris (@EricJayHarris) October 1, 2013 Join in the next discussion: and