Film Franchising: Prequels- Love It or Hate It?

Words by Momnah Shahnaz / Edited by Mia Stapleton

Momnah Shahnaz talks film franchising, and the love-hate relationship that comes with them.

Film franchising has taken over the cinematic world with all the prequels rolling out and our favourite characters – heroes and villains alike – getting the backstories they deserve. But there is no space for any middle ground when it comes to tampering with our beloved franchises, with people being on polarising sides of love or hate. 2023 has been a year of horror, shock, and awe for film fanatic delving back into our favourite franchises.

Prequels are tricky because working with what people already love and messing with their comfort world can either make or break a franchise. Hating prequels stems from the fans’ mental image of their favourite films being altered. If done right, however, prequels can receive an abundance of love because they allow a reconnection with the world’s fans miss so dearly.  

Prequels are films that take us back in time and give us an insight into the background of a world we have grown familiar with. One of the most famous and most anticipated prequels of 2023 has got to be ‘The Ballad of the Songbird and the Snakes’, focusing on our wonderfully wicked president Coriolanus Snow, and a new character, Lucy Gray Baird. The original trilogy is set to be around the 74th Hunger Games and this film gives us an insight into the diabolical mind of President Snow and how he rose to power. Critically, the prequel was rated the lowest out of ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise with an initial 60% score, however once released to the public, it saw a boost of approximately 90%, showing two different polarising trajectories of reviews regarding this film.

Another prequel that was explored this year was ‘Saw X’, although there was some confusion regarding the prequel nature of the tenth installment of the horror franchise, which was released not too long ago, in the appropriately spooky season. Technically, it was a prequel as we were taken back in time, settled between the first and second ‘Saw’ movies, bringing Jigsaw’s games back to the surface. It got the highest critical score of 83% from all of its predecessors, hinting that this prequel experienced a ‘love it’ reaction.

Although Jigsaw got some fame in his gory horror prequel and Coriolanus Snow became a TikTok sensation, some villains are best left not tampered with. With prequels in general, ‘Hannibal Rising’ received the polarising end of hate, due to fans of the original movies being unsettled by the sympathy that was supposed to be encouraged. People were not a fan of how the mysterious character lost his edge after his backstory was revealed. This franchising was definitely a ‘hate it’ moment. 

The whiplash from the polarising ends is apparent when we move onto ‘Bumblebee’, which was an adored prequel, with this new perspective engaging many Transformers fans out there. It received 91% critically, which puts it at the topmost loved movie from the Transformers franchise. 2023 was also home to the new ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’, which is both a sequel and a prequel. It saw a 52% rating, which although was not the lowest, wasn’t the highest either, creating some polarising views on it. People did not like how the beasts had barely any time to shine and, were not given much action. 

From hypothetical ideas, I am sure that fans would celebrate a prequel featuring the Marauders from the whimsical world of Harry Potter, as they already curate a fanbase online and create fancasts.  What is a prequel you would love to see? We would love to hear it at The Gryphon!

Stay tuned for 2024 too because film fanatics have a blast coming their way with exploring Mufasa and Scar’s complicated relationship in ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’, the ‘Mad Max’ prequel, ‘Furiosa’ and the thriller, ‘Ballerina’, set to be the first spin-off from the ‘John Wick’ franchise, settling between chapters 3 and 4. With the acceleration of prequels lately, I am sure there will be many more to come and you can let us know if you love them or hate them. 

For now, we are about to get Wonka after having had two hits with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a sweet treat before the holiday break begins. The focus is finally being switched around to our chocolate maker, Willy Wonka. This prequel brought back the original Oompa Loompa (Hugh Grant) who in all honesty gave me some nightmares as a child (anyone else?). Do you think you’ll go get a taste of it? 

(Image credits – IMDB)