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There are a lot of movies that end up getting prequels after the main story has been told.
So, the question I ask today is: Can prequels still be enjoyable despite knowing the final outcome?
Throughout the 2010’s, there were a lot of franchises that got prequel movies. Whilst watching these movies, we are very well aware of just where the plot is heading as we have seen the original adventure and know exactly what the outcome will be.
Some notable examples are: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) which began the story of just how the Apes would eventually take over the world in Planet of the Apes (1968). The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) told us how Bilbo Baggins was able to acquire The One Ring despite knowing it’s fate in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy being released a decade prior and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) told the tale of a band of misfits would would fail to acquire the plans of the Death Star prior to the events of Star Wars: A New Hope (1977).
I got reminded of Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013) off of a few “worst prequel movie” lists from around the internet while I was quickly researching the subject. I had checked this movie out shortly after it had been released and I don’t remember hating it but I also didn’t remember anything about it either. James Franco and Mila Kunis aren’t two actors who I immediately jump at when I want to watch a movie, and the only reason that I did watch this movie was because of the connection to that of The Wizard of Oz (1939).
The movie deals with the “origins” of both The Wizard, “Oz” (James Franco) and The Wicked Witch (Mila Kunis). Of course, we all know what happens to these characters from watching The Wizard of Oz (1939). Was this movie necessary? Probably not. but I also feel that there is some type of story to be told when it comes to these two characters within the land of Oz.
Even though it had an interesting concept and started off pretty good, it eventually led into “meh” territory. It’s difficult to say if this movie would’ve been any better even if there had been two different leads. So, when it comes to enjoying prequel, I guess it has a lot has to do with the story being interesting and the movie providing some type of quality as well.
So what about you, screenagers? Can prequels still be enjoyable despite knowing the final outcome?
I’ll see you in the trenches.