By Alyssa Cortes
In recent years, the entertainment landscape has been dominated by a resurgence of reboots and sequels, showcasing a growing trend toward nostalgia-driven content.
The familiar is being reimagined for a new generation, from beloved television shows like Full House evolving into Fuller House and That ’70s Show giving way to That ’90s Show to iconic films such as Twister becoming Twisters and Beetlejuice returning as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. This nostalgia wave extends to rewatching podcasts like Ned’s Declassified Podcast Survival Guide and Pod Meets World and even to books such as Tom Felton’s Beyond the Wand. These revivals reflect a cultural longing for the past while attempting to capture the magic of classic favorites through fresh lenses.
Shows and films with this in mind often start strong, as seen with Jurassic World, but can lose their appeal as the series progresses and fall into the nostalgia trap. The first Jurassic World film in 2015 was successful because it balanced originality with homage to the original 1993 film. However, by the third installment, it started to rely too heavily on nostalgia, becoming less original and focusing on reintroducing past characters from the franchise. This is demonstrated by the Rotten Tomatoes scores of 71%, 46%, and 29%.
Long-awaited sequels often fall short of expectations, and reboots that start strong can decline over time. Rarely do new versions succeed, and when they do, they can truly excel like the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, which many claim to be “the best movie sequel of all-time” or better than the original.
Similarly, The Walking Dead spinoff The Ones Who Live and the seventh season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars were developed to wrap up storylines and complete their respective narrative arcs. Unlike some other reboots and sequels, these projects were not seen as unnecessary or drawn-out but as essential extensions of their stories.
Despite borrowing heavily from the originals, the Star Wars prequels managed to carve out their own path. In contrast, the sequels were criticized for undermining the groundwork laid by the original trilogy.
When sequels or reboots fail — especially when there are many of them — they can undermine the entire appeal of nostalgia. For example, Independence Day: Resurgence did not live up to the original. Similarly, The Walking Dead has seen mixed results with spinoffs like Dead City and Daryl Dixon, while Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Hocus Pocus 2 have not received the acclaim of their predecessors.
Films like The Color Purple, Mean Girls, and Wicked are adaptations that could bring something new to the cinema. Adapting Broadway musicals that were originally adapted from films or books is one thing, but redoing a film solely because it’s a popular property is another. For instance, Toy Story 3 was initially intended to be the final installment. However, due to its popularity and financial success, Disney created a fourth film (which was also marketed as the final one) and later attempted to revamp the franchise with Lightyear. Now, Disney is going back for a fifth installment.
Reboots, sequels, and companies sticking closely to popular IPs are here to stay, and I admit that I’m guilty of consuming these projects. I’m a huge fan of fandoms, and every piece of media I’ve mentioned, I’ve either watched in its entirety, plan to watch, or at least seen some portion of. However, it’s worth noting that investing in these projects takes away opportunities from new, original ideas.
I love nostalgia; I enjoy rewatching shows or films that brought me joy as a kid and sparked my love for media. I believe that newer versions can offer the same experience to today’s children. However, no matter how hard they try, they rarely capture the magic we once felt. Nostalgia has its place in media, but we need to recognize when something has run its course. Once-great shows can become mere shadows of their former selves when the work feels uninspired and no longer fresh.
Isn’t that defeating the purpose of media? Media is meant to entertain us, yes, and also to spark conversation, amaze us, and excite us. It should let us get lost in new worlds or reflect on the world we live in. I find that when I watch something I’ve seen a million times before, I struggle to become as engrossed in it as I once could.
Nostalgia and imitation ideally complement a film rather than being its main focus. Many movies get caught up in constantly referencing and echoing themes from earlier films, persistently reminding the audience of the past glories and impressive aspects of the original. In doing so, they often overlook the importance of being memorable on their own. Media should balance homage with fresh content, offering new experiences and perspectives to truly captivate audiences.