Summary
Retcons get a bad rap when it comes tomoviesequels, but there are many instances in which the storytelling technique actually adds to an existing film rather than detracting from it. A “retcon” refers to any element of a story that is retroactively changed or explained to make sense, usually done by sequels in reference to their previous entries. While many of theworst movie retconscan confuse and ruin a franchise, there are times when the health of a given narrative benefits from them.
Well-done movie sequel retcons come in several flavors. In some instances, a retcon will merely explain a previously unclear bit of worldbuilding or fill in a gaping plot hole left as an oversight from its predecessor. In some rarer instances, sequel retcons can actually enhance the original film by adding new context to existing scenes with the revelation of new details. Some of thebest movie sequelsever have heavily employed retcons, making their previous series entries even stronger.
10 Best Horror Sequels Of The 1990s
It can be notoriously difficult to make a great horror sequel, although the 1990s delivered its fair share of scares with worthy follow-ups.
10Darth Vader Is Luke Skywalker’s Father
The Empire Strikes Back
One of the most iconic plot twists or movie reveals of all time, it can be difficult to even think of the famous line “No, I am your father” as a retcon at all. Yet the fact is that the devastating reveal that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s dad was a retcon that cementedThe Empire Strikes Backas thebestStar Warsmovieever made. The line was indeed a direct contradiction to what audiences were told inA New Hope.
In the previous film, when Ben Kenobi talks about Luke’s father, all he can tell him is that they fought alongside each other, and Vader was the one to kill him. It’s doubtful that Lucas had the idea of Anakin metaphorically killing himself to become Darth Vader in mind when conceiving the very firstStar Warsfilm. Thus, the revelation ofThe Empire Strikes Backis technically a retcon, and one of the most wildly successful ones ever put forth in a movie sequel.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The shadow of the previous trilogy still haunted the franchise
After the poor reception ofX-Men: The Last Stand,the mainline X-Men movies were in dire straights, needing to win back the public after what was seen as a disappointing third installment. The answer initially came in the form of a prequel,X-Men: First Class, which presented younger versions of Professor X and Magneto before chronicling their split in ideology. WhileX-Men: First Classwas highly-respected, the shadow of the previous trilogy still haunted the franchise.
X-Men: Days of Future Pastprovided an excellent opportunity to not only combine the casts from both respective timelines, but to merge them in a way that undid the disappointing events of the lesser-regarded X-Men films. With time travel shenanigans, Wolverine is able to alter the course of the timeline, changing the dystopian future ofX-Men: Days of Future Past.In the process, the series is able toheal from the lows ofX-Men: The Last Stand, retconning its events out of Fox X-Men canon.
8The Other Halloween Sequels Never Happened
Halloween (2018)
Thetimelines of theHalloweenseriesis among the most confusing set of sequels ever created in cinema history. The films went from briefly being an anthology series inHalloween III: Season of the Witchto an extensive series of Michael Myers-focused sequels before being rebooted by Rob Zombie. Throughout this journey, the timeline turns into something of a mess, making it difficult to ever recapture the same heights of slasher glory that the original did.
Luckily, the 2018 reboot of the series had a clean way to make a fresh start for Michael Myers, ignoring everything after the original and setting itself up as a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s original classic. In this way, 2018’sHalloweenbecame what is sparingly known as a “requel”, joining the ranks ofJurassic WorldandTerminator Genisys.This plan ended up sidestepping some of the more egregious blunders of the earlier sequels, including Michael turning out to be Laurie’s long-lost brother or the vague supernatural elements.
7Jurassic World Explained Why Dinosaurs Didn’t Have Feathers
Jurassic World
Speaking ofJurassic World, ignoring the events of everyJurassic Parksequel prior to itself wasn’t the only retcon the new take on the classic sci-fi series indulged in. Ever since the originalJurassic Park, the series has suffered a common criticism that the dinosaurs featured within are far from biologically accurate. In reality, predator dinosaurs like T. Rex should’ve been covered in feathers, and the Velociraptors would be roughly the size of a turkey rather than being even with a full grown human man in height.
These paleontological discrepancies can be explained by a clever retcon inJurassic World.The film clarified InGen’s desire to play into people’s ideas of what dinosaurs were,genetically modifying them to create semi-original mutant creatures that resembled the image of a reptilian dinosaur that was commonplace before the discovery that the creatures would actually be feathered in all likelihood. This explains why the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park look so different from what scientists understand of the creatures today.
Creed
In theRockymovies, Apollo Creed held an interesting position. While he provides Rocky with his main rival in the first film, Carl Weathers' charismatic performance clarified that Apollo Creed was the idealized picture of an American athlete, and is ultimately an honor for Rocky to lose to. Creed’s death at the hands of Ivan Drogo in theRocky IVis played completely tragically, the audience clearly meant to mourn the loss of a wonderful competitor.
With Apollo having such a lofty image, it seems insensitive to retcon him into having an illegitimate child inCreed.However, Michael B. Jordan knocks it out of the park as Adonis, and gives theRockyseries a reason to revive with some of their smartest entries yet. It’s safe to say thatApollo Creed turning out to be less than perfect isn’t a character assassination, but a way to add depth to (and for that matter, continue) theRockyfranchise as some of the greatest sports movies ever made.
5The Other Spider-Man Movies Were Alternate Timelines
Spider-Man: No Way Home
In a daring move 20 years in the making,Spider-Man: No Way Homebrought back both Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire to play Spider-Man on the big screen one last time. While the wave of nostalgia was certainly fierce, it’s easy to forget that the film was technically successful in retconning the existence of both the Sam RaimiSpider-Mantrilogy andThe Amazing Spider-Manduology into the MCU. While multiversal storylines were far outside the more grounded bounds of either series, the MCU clearly had no compulsions with ushering them in.
This decision has dramatically opened up the possibilities for storytelling in the MCU. Since the film’s release, essentiallyany live-action film with the Marvel banneris eligible for showing up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at one point or another. It’s remarkable thatSpider-Man: No Way Homemanaged to do this while still respecting the material it was drawing from, not invalidating either franchise.
4The Death Star’s Design Flaw Was Intentional
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
It’s hard to find fault in the perfectly closed loop of a hero’s journey that isStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.If there’s one glaring plot hole the originalStar Warsfilm struggles with, however, it’s the gross oversight in engineering the Death Star’s manufacturers had. For the entire moon-sized space station to be able to be destroyed with a single plasma bolt to an under protected vent seems like too huge a design flaw to ever make it past the planning stage.
However,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which centered around the plans for the Death Star, made a clever retcon that made it make sense. The film explains that Jyn Erso’s father, Galen Erso, was one of the Death Star’s architects, and was secretly sympathetic to the Rebel cause.It was Erso that intentionally created the massive design flaw within the Death Star, and urged the Rebels to discover it for themselves.
3Jason Bourne Accomplishes Secret Objectives
The Bourne Supremacy
TheJason Bournemoviesare refreshingly straightforward for an action franchise, though successive films have introduced more and more new elements that further muddle the simple premise ofThe Bourne Identity.However, the series can also boast to have some of the most celer uses of retconning around, thanks to a key scene that’s repeated in bothThe Bourne UltimatumandThe Bourne Supremacy.In the former, Jason Bourne calls CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy, gaining some crucial information on his mysterious background before agreeing to meet.
InThe Bourne Supremacy,this scene is actually repeated, but is given some new tantalizing context. It turns out that the information Landy gave Bourne was a meticulously composed code directing him to the address of a CIA facility in which Bourne was trained. Not only that,but Bourne only initiated the call as a red herring in the first place, distracting the CIA from the fact that he was simultaneously breaking into their headquarters and stealing some sensitive intelligence.
2Odin’s Infinity Gauntlet Was A Fake
Thor: Ragnarok
The Infinity Saga was the ultimate culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s overarching story for a long time. One small snag quickly arose in a background Easter egg inThor: The Dark World,which suggested that Odin had the Infinity Gauntlet safe at hand in the Asgardian vault. Such an important artifact in the story would’ve necessitated Thanos' arrival, so the series had to work quickly to explain why Thanos wasn’t making a beeline for Asgard.
Hela casually dismisses the Infinity Gauntlet in her late father’s possession as a fake
InThor: Ragnarok,Thor’s estranged sister Hela makes a reappearance after being gone for millennia, making a bid for the Asgardian throne. Hela casually dismisses the Infinity Gauntlet in her late father’s possession as a fake, unceremoniously pushing it over onto the floor. This one-off line explains why Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet is thereal version before its origins were revealed in Avengers:Infinity War, cleverly making up for the plot hole.
1Jack’s Compass Points To The User’s Deepest Desire
Gore Verbinski’sPirates of the Caribbeantrilogy is one of the most underrated cinematic series of all time, and the rich world ofPirates of the Caribbeanis rife with detailsthat only fell into place as the films progressed. The best example of this is Jack’s compass, a crucial treasure that the pirate uses to locate Isla de Muerta inPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.The true nature of the compass is never directly stated, only assumed to be magically affixed to the accursed isle.
Yet inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,it’s clarified that Jack’s compass doesn’t point to any random destination. Instead, the device will always guide a given user to their deepest desire. This retroactively meant that finding theBlack Pearlon its voyage to the island was Jack’s true desire all along, while also giving the compass importance for future adventures. This ended up being one of the most ingeniousmovieretcons ever made, subtly flying under the radar of many viewers.
