Naming a sequel is hard! Right? It must be, considering nine out of ten are total disasters. Inspired by the new Avengers sequel entitled Avengers: Age of Ultron, here are some of the best worst sequel titles ever:
1. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer
Sequel to: I Know What You Did Last Summer
Why this is terrible: So, then, nothing has changed? Got it. Moving on.
2. Teen Wolf Too
Sequel to: Teen Wolf
Why this is terrible: The title suggests there is going to be someone in this film who is a teen wolf too. As in, not jut the main wolf, but another one. So now there will be two teen wolfs. Exciting? Not really. Also, it comes off as grammatically awkward and is therefore distracting.
3. Legally Blonde: Red White and Blonde
Sequel to: Legally Blonde
Why this is terrible: The imagery is way off. Plus, Elle Woods likes pink, everyone knows that.
4. Gremlins II: The New Batch
Sequel to: The Gremlins
Why this is terrible: It sounds like they”re cookies being baked in an oven. Not scary.
5. Sharknado 2: The Second One
Sequel to: Sharknado
Why this is terrible: It sounds like they didn”t even try. Sounds like they tried to sound like they weren”t trying. In which case, they succeeded, so good job to whoever named Sharknado 2.
6. 2 Fast 2 Furious
Sequel to: The Fast and The Furious
Why this is terrible: Okay, I get it, this is the sequel, you don”t have to tell me twice. Also, it brings up some confusion; are they too fast and too furious or are they two fast and two furious? You have to be VERY bright to understand this.
7. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
Sequel to: Honey I Shrunk the Kids
Why this is terrible: Terrible for many reasons, but lets focus on the fact that it sounds like he made his child explode, when really all he did was make him expand. Either way, surely this borders on child abuse.
8. Evan Almighty
Sequel to: Bruce Almighty
Why this is terrible: You can”t just change the guy”s name and call it a new movie. Also, I don”t like the name Evan. Or Bruce.
9. Daddy Day Camp:
Sequel to: Daddy Day Care
Why this is terrible: Day camp is virtually the same thing as day care, except that it happens in the summer and the activities are sometimes slightly more fun. Okay, so maybe the stakes have been raised, but it”s very hard to tell from the title.
10. Speed 2: Cruise Control
Sequel to: Speed
Why this is terrible: Great, sounds like they have everything under control! Moving on.
11. Aliens
Sequel to: Alien
Why this is terrible: It”s just too easy.
12. Freddy Vs. Jason
Sequel to both Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street
Why this is terrible: Whoever named this movie, it isn”t your fault. If a movie was meant to have never happened, it is impossible to give it a good name.
13. Halloween H20
Sequel to: Halloween
Why this is terrible: Halloween water? Is that like water that comes in a bottle shaped like a pumpkin? Or does it taste like pumpkin? Either way, not scary.
14. Die Harder
Sequel to: Die Hard
Why this is terrible: Work it, make it, do it, makes us harder, better, faster, stronger. But honestly, it sounds like a kindergartener came up with the name. A LITTLE disappointed, however, that there is no Die Hardest.
15. 22 Jump Street
Sequel to: 21 Jump Street
Why this is terrible: Did they move over one street? I don”t get it. Warning, everyone, the sequel of this movie takes place one whole street over. Anything could happen.
16. Breakin” 2: Electric Boogaloo
Sequel to: Breakin”
Why this is terrible: Well, it might not be. Sure, it is 100% ridiculous, but maybe it needs to be celebrated for this. If all sequel titles were this brazenly confident, perhaps they would succeed more of the time. I can tell you one thing, I would sooner turn on Electric Boogaloo than Halloween H20.
17. Step up 2: The Streets
Sequel to: Step Up
Why this is terrible: Tell me again, where are they going to step up to? Oh, the streets. Great. It should have been named Step up 2: The Moon. Then I would have been invested.
18. Quantum of Solace
Part of the James Bond Series
Why this is terrible: I”m not convinced that it is. Yes, it comes off as pretentious, as the average Joe doesn”t know the word ‘quantum”, and maybe also doesn”t know ‘solace”, but ultimately I appreciate the effort and the poetic value.
Those faced with the task of naming a sequel have a big responsibility on their shoulders, and I think it is clear that they normally buckle under the pressure. As someone who has never named a sequel and probably never will, I”d like to advise you, sequel-namer, to just stay calm and not over think it. Ask yourself: who is the main character/characters? Then ask yourself: what is the main noun of this movie? THAT should be your title. For example: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Foolproof and flawless. So, following those rules, perhaps 2 Fast 2 Furious should have been titled: Brian O”Conner and the Powerful Drug Dealer. See? Much better. Yikes, maybe naming sequels really is mission impossible. (Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation, in theatres July 31, 2015).