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Did We Need an Incredibles Sequel?

We are in an age of everything getting a sequel or a spinoff or a revival. Sometimes it’s a good thing, but others…not so much. Incredibles 2 just came out and it exceeded expectations for a sequel movie. It was an amazing movie, after all. We, the fans, waited so long for the sequel, but it begs a question. Do we really need a sequel for everything, even when the original film works fine alone?

I loved the Incredibles when it first came out back in 2004 (when I was a mere 15-years-old). I mean, what’s not to love about the movie?! It had a superhero family, which is always fun. It had cool powers and the themes were interesting. And it’s a movie that you can watch again and still enjoy. There were no plans to make a sequel, until 2007. The director of the movie came out and said he was willing to make a sequel if the sequel had just as good a story as the first. Between that and the years of Pixar deflecting and focusing on other movies, no one thought there was going to be a sequel.

We were wrong. Now, that Incredibles 2 is out, and the ending teased another third movie, we are probably looking towards an expansion of the Incredibles as a franchise for Pixar. It is great that we got a sequel and probably another movie afterwards to make a trilogy. Superheroes ARE bankable (see the MCU), even if the movies are terrible (see the DCEU/Worlds of DC/whatever they are trying to rebrand it to make it not suck anymore). Studios go with what makes money and that’s the truth of the matter. Pixar is not different.

Still, some things should never have sequels (Suicide Squad, for instance). When movies are created with intent to spawn a multi-movie franchise, it leads to plot holes and poor decision-making in the creative process. Story-wise, a multi-movie franchise just won’t work (wow, I’m really trashing the DC movies in this one, aren’t I?). I think that if a movie has a solid story that concludes at the end, then a sequel is not necessary. There’s nothing wrong with stand-alone movies.

Ultimately, The Incredibles stood alone as a good, solid, enjoyable movie for 14 years and you know what that was perfectly fine. If we never got a sequel, I think we all would have survived. We didn’t NEED a sequel. We WANTED one. And then the sequel came out and it was just as good a movie as the first. Fantastic! But not everything has to have a sequel, even it we want one.

What do you think? Did we need an Incredibles sequel? Does everything need to spawn a multi-movie universe? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter!

About the author

Dara Berkey

Superhero nerd. History nerd. Favorite personal hero--Shazam/The Original Captain Marvel. Favorite female hero--Any of the Batgirls. Favorite male hero, other than Shazam--Any of the Robins.