Top 10 Prequels
In 2025, prequels are just as part as popular as sequels. The last few years are full of them with films like ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ ‘The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,’ & ‘A Quiet Place: Day One.’ Despite their modern prominence, prequels are by no means a new thing, so in this list we will count down 10 of what I consider the best prequel films. I’m excluding prequels that are also sequels like ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ & ‘The Godfather: Part II’ which features two stories running simultaneously. I’m also excluding spiritual sequels or unofficial sequels like ‘Wicked’ is to ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ though at this point that may as well be an official prequel.
The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy- The most prominent prequels, because that’s just how ‘Star Wars’ rolls. After George Lucas’s wildly successful trilogy, the man behind the galaxy decided the best course of action would be to explore the origins of many of the characters we met, mainly Anakin Skywalker. And while the sequels did not receive universal praise & acclaim upon release, the fandom has warmed on them in recent years with the rerelease of the third prequel, ‘Revenge of the Sith’ being the most financially successful film rerelease. The franchise would then move onto a sequel trilogy, but put out three more sequel films the animated ‘Clone Wars’ film, ‘Rogue One,’ & ‘Solo.’ They would also begin to put out a variety of prequel series. The prequel trilogy featured many actors playing characters previously played by other actors, like Ewan McGregor taking over the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi from Alec Guinness, while some actors maintained their roles (e.g. Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, & Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine).
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom- I actually didn’t learn that this was a prequel until a couple of years ago, and I’ve seen the original Indiana Jones trilogy several times. The reason that the makers of the film, specifically our familiar friend, George Lucas, decided to go the prequel route with the second film was to avoid having to use Nazis as villains again. I find this especially comical because every other Indiana Jones film features Nazis as the villains. To be fair they are the easiest villains to introduce and have immediately be evil. Harrison Ford’s Indy is the only character from this film to appear in the original or any of the following films.
Wonka- This 2023 film is an official prequel of 1971’s ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.’ The film stars my boy Timothée Chalamet as the titular chocolatier, taking over the role from Gene Wilder. The film also featured many aesthetic similarities to its predecessor, like the design of the Oompa Loompas, as well as having music inspired by it.
The King’s Man- The third installment in this underrated franchise decides to throw it back to the origins of the titular agency. While the first two films were set in modern day with futuristic gadgets and actors like Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, & Mark Strong, this film throws it back to World War I and stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, & Rhys Ifans.
Monsters University- The first of two animated films on this list, this is one of Pixar’s less popular films, but is my personal favorite from the studio. The film has John Goodman, Billy Crystal, & Steve Buscemi as their characters from ‘Monsters Inc.,’ Sully, Mike Wazowski, & Randall Boggs, respectively. The film shifts it’s main focus from Sully to Mike, following Pixar’s trend of putting the secondary character in the primary seat of the second film (e.g. ‘Cars 2’ & ‘Incredibles 2’).
X-Men: First Class- After the dud that was ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and the even bigger dud that was ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine,’ also a prequel itself, the team behind X-Men decided to shift gears but stay in the lane of prequel. The film featured many new characters, but also some characters from the first trilogy played by younger actors. James McAvoy took over Professor X from Patrick Stewart, Michael Fassbender took over Magneto from Ian McKellen, Jennifer Lawrence took over Mystique from Rebecca Romijn (who cameos in the film), & Nicholas Hoult took over Beast from Kelsey Grammer. The film does also feature a quick cameo from Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine.
Prometheus- The fifth installment of the Alien franchise, this film was originally developed by James Cameron & Ridley Scott as a prequel to Scott’s ‘Alien.’ The film stalled as ‘Alien vs Predator’ was made a priority. In 2009 Scott picked up production on the project and it was released in 2012 and provided the origin for the Xenomorphs, the titular alien species. It was followed up by ‘Alien: Covenant’ which also takes place before the original film.
Prey- Switching over the other sider of ‘Alien vs Predator’ this film was also the fifth in its franchise. This 2022 film goes back to the 18th century and shows that Predators have come to Earth before, with this one facing off against a Comanche warrior. The Predator in the film, dubbed as Feral Predator or Mupitsi, uses much more primitive technology than the creatures in the previous installments. The film received high praise with the director, Dan Trachtenberg, being given control of at least two more Predator films, both of which will be released in 2025. The animated ‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ follows three different stories of three different warriors facing off against the deadly creature, a Viking, a WWII pilot, and a ninja while ‘Predator: Badlands’ takes place on another planet following Dek, a runt Predator who befriends an android from the ‘Alien’ franchise.
Minions- The second animated film here, this 2015 film shows how the titular group of yellow beings eventually found their way to Gru. The film follows them from their evolution of single celled organisms as they try to find the most evil person they can to serve. The film features Pierre Coffin once again voicing the Minions, as he did in the other films, and also features a cameo from Steve Carell as a young Gru. The film was followed up with ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ which is another prequel to the original ‘Despicable Me.’
The Hobbit Trilogy- Last but not least is the film trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original hit novel. After the massive financial & critical success of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, it only made since to adapt the trilogy’s predecessor. The book was split into three parts, and while they don’t quite capture the same success as the LOTR films, I personally love them and rewatch them every year. The film features a brief cameo from Elijah Wood, reprising his role as Frodo, while other actors also reprise their role from LOTR, like Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Hugo Weaving as Elrond, & Andy Serkis as Gollum. However, the main role of Bilbo Baggins is taken over by Martin Freeman, with Ian Holm, who played Bilbo in LOTR making a brief appearance.
