Does anyone know how many Marvel TV shows there are now? Would a Stranger Things spin-off answer any of the plot holes left behind by the Duffer Brothers? When is enough, enough with sequels? Hot take: I would argue that after Toy Story 3, Disney should have stopped right there. However, sometimes we just want the continuation of a storyline wrapped in nostalgia.
In recent years, we have seen a sharp rise in sequels and spin-offs. Disney continues to rehash its old fairytales, and the world of 28 Days Later has somehow still not managed to kill off its zombies. The constant demand for new content to discuss with friends and share on social media has driven production companies to roll out stories at an ever increasing rate, which some argue has led to a decline in quality. Does this mean sequels should cease to exist? Should standalone films like The Truman Show become the standard? Or should we embrace additional storylines that have given us delights such as The Twilight Saga and Shrek?
Sequels allow us to remain in the worlds of our most beloved characters, giving us the chance to live in those universes just a little longer. Personally, I am a huge fan of the Barbie movie franchise and all that it entails. When I think back to my childhood, I vividly remember Barbie and the Diamond Castle and Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper. My love of Barbie did not stop there. The 2012 animated spin-off series Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse only solidified Barbie’s legacy as a hero for young girls and a fashion icon. Imagine if we did not have those films to shape our childhood. What a loss that would have been.
However, I do believe that some production companies see sequels as a cheap way to make a few extra euros, piggybacking off the success of an original storyline. Movie remakes can be much the same, a lazy way to generate income for scriptwriters who ran out of original ideas a decade ago. Cinema goers are wary of the overuse of recycled stories and the repetition of the same character archetypes. According to The Guardian, “Hollywood, it appears, is stuck on repeat, sucked with an ever more deafening gurgle into a death cycle of creative bankruptcy desperately presented as comfort food. That this packaging strategy works is thanks in part to the dire state of the world beyond the cinema; audiences are really eager for escape” Shoard, 2025.
It truly is a balancing act, knowing when a film is deserving of a reboot, such as the musical Annie originally released in 1982 and remade in 2014, and when to let it go. Reinventing a story for a modern audience can work brilliantly when done with care and thought. However, as an active audience in 2026, we deserve original plots. Here’s to films and shows written without the use of AI. I am looking at you, Stranger Things Season 5.