Image Credit: Lucasfilms LtdWhen I read Variety‘s report about Syfy’s upcoming Peter Pan prequel Neverland, my head hurt a little bit. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoyed Syfy’s steampunk version of Alice, and on a deeper level, I just plain want all sci-fi/fantasy things to be cool. (Yeesh, I collected every volume in the Star Wars: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron series, even the Wraith Squadron spin-offs!) But people, we need to have a talking moment here. No matter how hard extremely creative people have tried, there has never been a good prequel to anything, ever.
I’m not just picking on Star Wars here, either. If you look at any science-fiction/fantasy franchise, you invariably see them going wrong when they start telling the story before the story. Martin The Warrior: the worst book in the Redwall series! The Magician’s Nephew: the Narnia that nobody remembers! Two different directors tried and failed to make a non-mediocre prequel to The Exorcist. Even deep prequels set centuries before the original story — like the Tales of the Jedi comic book saga — have an unbearable stench of lameness. They’re just not, at a certain base level, the cool part of the story. At best, a prequel is a shameless cash grab. At worst, it’s a freakishly zombified version of the creator’s original background notes.
Really, the only truly successful prequel was J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, and it only worked because it did everything a prequel isn’t supposed to do: changed the timeline, threw decades of canon into the wind, and got down to the more important business of telling a good story. The best parts of Caprica are a lot like that — at times, it almost seems to be purposefully subverting Battlestar Galactica — but much as I try to love the show, it still can’t avoid the implicit awkwardness of feeling like The Adventures of Adama…When He Was A Boy!
I realize that there are some good video game prequels, but those are a special case. Video games are still improving so quickly that Metal Gear Solid 3 feels more like a perfected sequel to Metal Gear Solid, even if the narrative runs backward. (And honestly, once you get by all the camouflage, Metal Gear Solid has a way cooler plotline than Snake Eater.)
PopWatchers, I’m hopeful that Neverland will be cool. But how many more The Scorpion Kings will it take before we agree, as a species, to put prequels where they belong: in the past? And no, Shadow of the Colossus doesn’t count as a prequel to Ico. Anyone who comments to that effect will be shunned.
Like anything else, if well written it can be good. You also pretty much admitt that there are good prequels whilst saying there aren’t any.
Batman begins and Star Trek to name just 2.
Oh yeah, Episode III is probably the 2nd best Star Wars movie; even with its flaws. (3rd at worst).
Yes, but it could easily have been 5x better.
Emperor (to Anakin): “Hey, you want to be evil?”
Anakin: “Um…sure, OK!”
Pathetic.
Except that Batman Begins is NOT a prequel to the Tim Burton movies – it is a reboot, i.e. a completely original story that has nothing to do with any movie that came before it. So I agree with Darren: when Hollywood tries to make prequels to existing films, they always fail. And BTW, I would consider Abrams’ Star Trek as more of a “reboot” than a prequel, because of the way it rebooted and changed so much of the story.
He considers Star Trek a Prequel and if his argument says that then Batman Begins, by those rules is a prequel as well as a “reboot” as is JJ’s Trek. His rules so the argument I make plays by them. Even if it didn’t again there is no argument tht ALL prequels are poor as even in this blog it is said that there are good prequels, even if he tries to qualify Caprica by saying not ALL of Caprica is goog. Again by those rules Star Wars ep III is another prequel that is superior or level with at least one of it’s original body of work. There are several part prequels (Godfather II) and full prequels that prove you can make good prequels as long as you stick to the same rules as all other movies, Casino Royale, again both a prequel and a “reboot” but by the rules set here it fits, is one (more so when treated as a single film with Quantumn)
I’ve no desire to reignite that old debate but there’s many that see this film as a prequel and the, (then fresh now cliche) attaining various trademark items and characteristics throughout the film also whisper Prequel; That’s The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, one of the best films of all time.
Batman Begins qualifies, to a certain degree. It was made so that it could act either way: If it’s success warranted a sequel, it would be a new series.
BUT if it hadn’t been as successful, we’d be seeing it forever lumped in with the Burton/Schumacher boxed sets as a prequel to that series.
But how could you even prequel Peter Pan? I mean, I just don’t understand….Never land isn’t really Never land without Peter Pan…..and Peter Pan can’t get any younger, and…I just don’t…..WHY?
Plus if it’s Syfy making it then Neverland is just going to look like yet another rainforest outside of Vancouver.
Lol! So true
Ever read the Peter and the Starcatcher books by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson? They’re young adult books, but they (at least the first couple) are pretty good prequels to Peter Pan, explaining all the stuff that we’re just supposed to take for granted in Peter Pan.
If its as good as Alice, I’m all about it.
I take exception to the comment about The Magician’s Nephew being the Narnia book that no one remembers! It’s actually my favorite
Least favorite = The Last Battle. And yeah… not a fan of the idea of a Peter Pan prequel. Love the X-Wing books, though!!
Yeah I have no problem with The Magician’s Nephew at all. It’s pretty good.
I agree! I think the Wood Between the Worlds had to be some inspiration for Stargate.
the magicians nephew is my absolute favorite. favorite favorite. say what you will. it’s my opinion.
Yes, the book was one of the best, but article is referring to the movie. Maybe he is unaware that the movies started out as books?
There’s a movie version of The Magician’s Nephew? Pardon my ignroance.
The biggest problem with prequels is that you always know how it’s going to end. As much as I liked Revenge of the Sith, I knew which characters were going to die before I even walked into the threatre. There was no suspense at all.
So true. You just kind of sit there and watch it anyways, I’m still trying to get the image of Jar Jar out of my head lol.
I loved Alice, and I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED Tin Man, so I am cautiously optimistic about this. Though I do agree, prequels tend to be a really bad idea.
That’s true, but only up to a point. (Of course it’s 100% true for you as that part of the experience, the mystery of what was missing and of prime import to you). There’s always a chance, especially when talking about the Star Wars Prequels, that a large portion of the audience has no idea what will happen because they have never seen the “original” movie.
Secondly, whilst you know who won’t die you don’t know how those that live do so, how do they “escape”; what do they do and how? They mystery of the how and why is still there. There’s always room for a surprise or 2. The suspense for me was not so much that Yoda survived, I knew that, but I didn’t know how he ended up in exile, did he confront The Emperor? What was going to turn Anakin into Darth Vader and when did Padme die. I suppose it’s always going to depend on what you’re looking for and how well that which we don’t know, and the details are portrayed. I got a lot out of ep III, not much out of ep II (terrible film) and a mix of good and bad out of ep I. The Star Wars Prequels aren’t inferior because they are sequels, they are inferior for the same reasons that ep IV and ep VI are inferior to Empire Strikes Back; they just aren’t as well written. Trek was, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Award Winning Clone Wars was also well written and another prequel that worked.
Actually, if it’s based on Dave Barry’s books, it could be cool. The books were a blast and explained how a boy could have all those abilities.
Yeah, those books are pretty good. I wish Syfy would just adapt them to the screen
The Magician’s Nephew was the only one I remembered. It stayed in my mind for years. They wouldn’t let me check it out any more after 5 times. I loved it!
There is an exception to an otherwise sound theory.
Much of Godfather 2 was prequel, and it was very, very good.
Otherwise your words are true.
The Magician’s Nephew was the first Narnia book I read (I picked it up randomly) and it got me hooked — 37 years ago. For me it wasn’t a prequel; it was the beginning. No way is it the worst of the series. As for Peter Pan, an adaptation of Peter and the Starcatchers would be very cool. I’d love to watch that with my kids; we’re all big fans of the book and its sequels.
Wicked is a prequel and its great!
That’s exactly what I was thinking!
My thought too. One can’t write such a general statement without there being exceptions.
“No matter how hard extremely creative people have tried, there has never been a good prequel to anything, ever.”
ORLY?
METAL GEAR SOLID 3: SNAKE EATER.
THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME
AND YES I KNOW YOU MENTIONED MGS3 AND I AGREE MGS HAS A BETTER STORY BUT STILL YOU CONTRADICTED YOURSELF THERE BRO.
Ocarina of Time isn’t strictly a prequel is it? It’s not there to add dimenson to the existing stories as it features entirely new characters and a completely different landscape. It’s just set earlier. But then, Pillars of the Earth is set earlier than Deadwood and both feature Ian McShane. But I’m pretty sure one isn’t a prequel to the other.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a prequel (even though most people think it is a sequel. Look at the date the movie is set in at the beginning). Temple of Doom was a great, under-rated film
Yeah but, compared to Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade? No.
Temple of Doom was a great movie if you were deaf and didn’t have to listen to Willie and Short Round’s constant screaming throughout the entire movie. They make Jar Jar actually seem tolerable.
It took until the immersion in mortar-team language in The Pacific this spring for me to realize where Short Round got his name.
Temple of Doom was a good movie, better than the rep it’s gotten. Willie was Willie, once you got used to her character she just became part of the story. The dark tone was interesting and different….and shoot me, but I liked Short Round.
It takes you a couple viewings to figure out that it’s a prequel but that is a good point. I still laugh at the fact that Data from The Goonies is Indy’s sidekick
Never understood why people don’t like TOD, it’s always been a personal favorite. It is a perfect film in that it achieves exactly what it set out to be: classic, B-grade popcorn fare, i.e., mines, zombies, chases, bugs and flaming hearts. Comparisons to Raiders/Last Crusade (which had different objectives) are worthless. A comparison to Indy 4 is more apt because Indy 4 also sought to be classic, B-grade popcorn fare, but it obviously fell short of TOD perfection with its flabby plot. Kali ma!
As far as movies go, there certainly are no great prequels, at least none that I have ever seen. Some decent ones, but none are great. Batman Begins is not a prequel. J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek is not really a prequel either.
Among some of the decent prequels that come to mind are Red Dragon and Star Wars Episode III (don’t yell at me, it was a decent movie, far better than Episodes I and II).
Oh, and Matt reminded me about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Another decent prequel.
Yeah, but the problem is even you are refering to them as only “decent” and not “great”. If you ask someone to name some great sequels, most people can easily rattle off 5 or 6 just off the top of their heads. But you ask about great prequels and you really have to think about it. Empire Strikes Back is a great sequel, Revenge of the Sith is only a decent prequel.
I know, I completely agree with you. Read my first comment above, about how I’ve never seen a great prequel, only some decent ones.
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
WHAT NOW?
The Magician’s Nephew is amazing. That is all.