7 Sequels That Took an Excessive Amount of Time to Release

      Here are seven sequels that took quite a while to be released.

      Whether due to financial issues, the creators being preoccupied with other projects, or the gradual formation of consumer demand, these films allowed excitement to grow until it reached a boiling point.

      Here are some movie sequels that took their time to come out.

      Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

      20th Century Fox – Photo: C/O

      Independence Day was a massive hit, raking in over $800 million when it premiered in theaters in 1996. The anticipation for a sequel was significant.

      Unfortunately, this sequel didn't arrive for another 20 years. When Independence Day: Resurgence finally released, it brought back stars Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, along with director Roland Emmerich and co-writer Dean Devlin from the original.

      However, the film lacked a vital component: Will Smith, who had charmed audiences in the original and made the alien invasion feel like an enjoyable and uplifting experience.

      The new installment grossed $389.7 million worldwide, which sounds appealing until one considers its budget of $165 million. This could serve as the prime example of sequels that took too long to materialize.

      Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)

      Universal Studios – Photo: Universal Studios

      When one of the two main actors in a renowned comedy duo passes away, it might be best to reconsider making a sequel.

      John Belushi's death in 1982 — just two years after the original Blues Brothers enjoyed massive success — squashed plans for a sequel. As John Landis, the director of The Blues Brothers and The Blues Brothers 2000, revealed to The Onion’s AV Club in 2004, he set aside sequel plans for many years.

      That changed when Belushi’s blues brother, Dan Aykroyd, mentioned to Landis that he had been working with John Goodman and Belushi's real brother, Jim Belushi, and proposed trying for a new film.

      “We wrote what I thought was a fantastic script. Then Universal Studios completely butchered it,” Landis stated. This was odd, as the first request was to make it PG, which meant profanity was off the table, essentially neutering the essence of the Blues Brothers.

      Blues Brothers 2000 barely recouped its production costs at the box office.

      This is a sequel that should have been made immediately following the original's success or not made at all.

      Son of the Mask (2005)

      Credit: New Line Cinema

      Jim Carrey declined to reprise his role for this film, which should have spelled the end of plans for a sequel to 1994’s The Mask. Nonetheless, they pressed on.

      Fans of The Mask — many of whom were young and new to Carrey’s comedic style — did not turnout in the numbers needed to make this film successful. It's understandable; Carrey spent much of the ’90s engaged in other blockbuster projects.

      During the time he could have revisited his Mask character, he instead took a creative leap that paid off wonderfully with 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

      Interestingly, the movie features Alan Cumming as Loki and Bob Hoskins as Odin, years before variations of those Norse characters would become enduring figures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

      Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979)

      20th Century Fox

      The storylines from the classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid left limited possibilities for a sequel, leading to a mainly new creative team producing a prequel, released a decade after the original.

      Tom Berenger and William Katt are excellent actors, yet no one could truly fill the shoes of Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who solidified their status as one of cinema’s greatest duos in 1973’s The Sting.

      Any attempt to replicate their dynamic was destined to fall short.

      Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

      MGM

      The original 1992 Basic Instinct thrived on the intense chemistry between San Francisco Det. Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and captivating author Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone). It also benefited from Stone not yet being a superstar; the intrigue about the actress enhanced her character's mystique.

      Basic Instinct 2 features Stone’s return but lacks Douglas and other key contributors who made the first film successful: Director Paul Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, both of whom were known for pushing boundaries.

      Without the thrills that defined the original, Basic Instinct 2 fell flat. It even attempted the infamous chair scene again, but this time with the chair facing in the opposite direction.

      Tron: Ares (2025)

      Disney

      The evolution of the Tron franchise has been quite bizarre. The original 1982 Tron performed acceptably at the box office yet was labeled a disappointment — so much so that The Simpsons famously aired a humorous bit in which nearly all the characters claimed