2020s Sequels That Disappointed Compared To The Original ...

10 2020s Movie Sequels That Sucked Compared To The Original Films Harley Quinn and the Joker together in Joker Folie a Deux

By Kevin Pantoja Published 24 minutes ago Kevin Pantoja is a writer and editor at Screen Rant based in New York City, where he brings deep expertise in blockbuster franchises ranging from Harry Potter and Spider‑Man to Succession and the MCU. A passionate storyteller with a creative writing degree (Valedictorian, Full Sail University), Kevin blends entertainment news, feature essays, and pop‑culture commentary into engaging, audience-first content Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

While the 2020s have been home to some fantastic sequels, they have also seen their fair share of disappointing follow-ups. It's unfortunate, but the decade that gave us Top Gun: Maverick and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has also delivered plenty of sequels that failed to live up to the originals.

It's important to note that this list isn't about the worst sequels of the 2020s, it's about the ones that fall far shy of the first entry in the franchise. The films that we wanted to love but ultimately made us wish the sequel had never been made.

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

WONDER WOMAN 1984, Gal Gadot as Wonder WomanClay Enos/Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection

When Wonder Woman came out in 2017, it was a breath of fresh air in the DCEU. To that point, films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were lackluster. Wonder Woman was a strong superhero movie with some heart and an uplifting, inspiring story.

The sequel was highly anticipated and brought back director Patty Jenkins, yet it missed the mark considerably. The film tried to rely too much on things that worked before, like bringing Chris Pine back in a convoluted manner. That was only the beginning of the sequel's problems, though.

Wonder Woman 1984 also featured two lackluster villains that didn't properly utilize the charisma of actors Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig. Add in mediocre action and Gal Gadot's performance and it was a misfire. That said, Patty Jenkins deserves another shot at making a big-budget movie.

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in their basketball uniforms, looking stressed and confused, in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in their basketball uniforms in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

To be fair to this sequel, the original Space Jam wasn't a critically acclaimed film. However, it is a beloved movie of its era that so many millennials have fond memories of, so making a sequel over two decades later was a tall task, amplified by the Looney Tunes not being as popular as they were in the '90s.

There were some good ideas in Space Jam: A New Legacy and it actually has a better lead actor because LeBron James is better on the screen than Michael Jordan. The rest of the movie was the problem, starting with the fact that most of it is a CGI nightmare at times.

The movie also opted to try and cram in a ton of characters from other Warner Bros. properties, turning the climax into a cameo-fest. It was also mostly a retread of the same plot from the original, just to less success.

Coming 2 America (2021)

Eddie Murphy in Royal Regalia in Coming 2 America

Along the same lines as Space Jam: A New Legacy, Coming 2 America had the difficult task of being a legacy sequel. Those can be a mixed bag at best and considering the original Coming to America is widely seen as a comedy classic, it had so much to live up to.

Unfortunately, Coming 2 America couldn't deliver the way that Eddie Murphy's comeback vehicle, My Name is Dolemite, did. The entire premise was a problem, as the plot of Prince Akeem returning to America to find a son he didn't know about changes the way we look at the original film.

They shoehorned in a story that retcons the plot of the first film, which left a bad taste for viewers. On top of that, Coming 2 America is nowhere near as funny as the original. That said, the movie was actually nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Don't Breathe 2 (2021)

Stephen Lang as the Blind Man holding a gun in Don't Breathe 2

The horror movie Don't Breathe had a premise that didn't sound like it would be great, yet the film worked well. Fede Álvarez is a director who has shown his skills with the horror genre and Jane Levy is a fantastic lead (they worked together on Evil Dead as well), making this a success.

A follow-up didn't seem necessary and when it finally arrived, it proved that it wasn't. Don't Breathe 2 shifts the focus to Stephen Lang's Norman, the Blind Man, who was the villain in the first installment. Trying to turn the murdering rapist into a sympathetic character isn't a good move.

Don't Breathe 2 also doesn't feature Fede Álvarez as a director, so his steady hand wasn't there to help things. There's also some poorly delivered dialogue and the performances aren't strong.

Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania (2022)

Monsters look shocked in Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

Released in 2012, Hotel Transylvania was a hit movie for Sony Pictures Animation. It grossed about $300 million, spawned a franchise that includes several sequels, and has a talented voice cast that includes Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, and Andy Samberg.

The second and third installments are solid fun, but Hotel Transylvania: Transformania stopped that trend. Outside of a limited theater run, it went to Prime Video and felt like a much smaller movie than the rest. Adam Sandler also didn't return to voice Dracula due to scheduling conflicts.

While his replacement was solid, the film lacked Sandler's charm and the story wasn't anything overly interesting. Hotel Transylvania: Transformania had similar critical reviews to the first, but audiences were far less happy with it, evidenced by its 42% Popcornmeter score, compared to the 72% that the first film has.

Halloween Ends (2022)

Jamie Lee Curtis covers her mouth with both her hands in a scene from Halloween Ends

Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween EndsRyan Green /© Universal Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

David Gordon Green's 2018 requel Halloween was just what the franchise needed. It had been dormant since Rob Zombie's reboot attempts and most sequels were poorly received. Many believe that the 1978 original and the 2018 version are the peak of the franchise.

Halloween Kills followed up and was met with a mixed response but also set the stage for an epic finale. Unfortunately, Halloween Ends didn't deliver on that potential, instead opting to focus on a new character who falls for Laurie's granddaughter and becomes a killer himself.

The idea of evil infecting a new generation is an intriguing idea but it felt out of place here when the story needed to be about Michael, Laurie, and their history. The 40% Rotten Tomatoes rating is a far cry from what the first film scored.

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Kathryn Newton As Cassie Lang And Paul Rudd As Ant-Man In The Quantum Realm In Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania

It's no secret that the MCU has been up and down since Avengers: Endgame. Among the misses in the franchise was Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, which was a shame because the first Ant-Man is a blast and the sequel is pretty fun too, even if they aren't the best MCU movies.

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania still featured the charisma of Paul Rudd in the lead and he had good chemistry with Kathryn Newton as his on-screen daughter. Unfortunately, that's kind of where the positives end for this poorly-received sequel. For starters, having it take place in the Quantum Realm meant it's just a giant green screen visual nightmare.

They also made odd choices, like the visual style for M.O.D.O.K. or the decision to have Kang lose to Ant-Man here. He was supposed to be the next big villain but losing to a singular hero didn't make him feel intimidating. Reviews weren't good and it ended up as a box office bomb.

The Platform 2 (2024)

Two people on a floating cube with food and dishes in disarray in The Platform (2019).

El Hoyo, or The Platform as it's known in the United States, was a surprise hit for Netflix in 2019. The film told an interesting story at a prison where a platform of food is lowered on various levels, with the lower levels ending up with nothing to eat.

A sequel set in the same location didn't feel needed but there were plenty of ideas that could be pulled out in terms of the themes the first film showcased. Instead, The Platform 2 was a prequel that delivered more of the same, just with less successful results.

The Platform 2 was poorly received compared to the first, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating that is less than half of the original. This one lacked character development and the rehashing of old themes wasn't exactly what people were looking for.

Joker: Folie à deux (2024)

Joker bleeding and holding on to his belly in Joker: Folie à Deux

Joker was about as big a hit as you could imagine in 2019. It grossed over $1 billion on a budget of around $70 million and saw Joaquin Phoenix win Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his performance as the titular character. Director Todd Phillips had no plans for a sequel though.

However, since it made so much money, a sequel was indeed made and it's clear that it never should've happened. The film had potential, especially since they brought in Lady Gaga to play Harley Quinn but everything else done was an odd choice.

Joker: Folie á deux was a musical, except none of the songs were good and it was actually depressing all around. Even the performances weren't well-received, which is odd given the talent involved. The film was a box office flop and was a critical misfire.

Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025)

Ella Rubin, Fina Strazza & Rebecca Ablack Fear Street: Prom Queen Interview headerCustom Image by Cesar Garcia

In 2021, Netflix put out the criminally underrated Fear Street trilogy. Based on the book series by R.L. Stine, these were quality horror movies that told an overarching story, featured likable characters, had good LGBTQ+ representation, and spanned several horror subgenres.

Fans wanted a new film for years and it finally arrived with Fear Street: Prom Queen. This was a standalone story and that's for the best, given the poor reception. Paying homage to '80s slashers was a good idea and cast members like Arianna Greenblatt gave this potential.

Unfortunately, it feels like it was completely written by AI, since nearly every line either feels like a cliché or was characters overexplaining everything. Nobody talked like an actual person, there were no scares worth remembering, and the movie lacked everything that made the first three fun.

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