Prequels are always hit-and-miss. Some are decent attempts, while others somehow ruin the original as well. But occasionally, there’s one so good that all we can say is “Wow.” Here are the best prequels we’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II manages to be both a successful sequel and a great prequel. Dual storylines follow the rise of new Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and his father Vito (Robert De Niro), establishing the family business. It was a massive critical and commercial success in history as one of the best gangster movies ever.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was released as a direct prequel to the very first Star Wars movie from 1977, A New Hope. It details the first successful offensive by the Rebels against the Empire and sets the stage for the original trilogy. It succeeded in living up to the weight of expectations from fans and received almost universally positive reviews.
X-Men: First Class
Originally intended to be a series reboot, the later movie X-Men: Days of Future Past retcons this superhero story into a prequel to the 2000 movie X-Men. First Class goes back to the origins of the X-Men, focusing on the relationship between Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) and their differing views on mutants and humans. The movie’s success has been credited with reviving the struggling X-Men franchise.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
A prequel set years before the Harry Potter series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them features an ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, and Dan Fogler. Set in 1920s New York, Fantastic Beasts takes a look at the world of magic outside of the UK and a school setting, delivering a highly successful movie that has generated two sequels.
Red Dragon
Red Dragon is a prequel to the influential psychological horror movie The Silence of the Lambs. It sees FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton) forced to seek help from serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to catch another serial killer dubbed “The Tooth Fairy.” While it never became as legendary as The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon was successful in its own right and earned back more than double its budget at the box office.
The Scorpion King
Both a prequel and a spin-off to The Mummy franchise, The Scorpion King examines the backstory of the original series antagonist, Mathayus (Dwayne Johnson), and his rise to power as The Scorpion King. This action-adventure movie broke free from its parent series, starting its own franchise consisting of the first movie and four direct-to-video sequels. A reboot was announced in 2020.
Bumblebee
A prequel and spin-off to the original Transformers movie from 2007, Bumblebee tells the story of 18-year-old Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), who finds an Autobot scout called B-127. She nicknames him “Bumblebee,” and she tries to fix him, allowing him to recover some of his memories. It was released to widespread praise and success at the box office.
Annabelle: Creation
Annabelle: Creation is a prequel to the 2014 movie Annabelle, which was itself a prequel to The Conjuring. Telling the story of how the evil doll from the series came to be possessed, the movie sees an orphanage being terrorized by her attempts to control the children. It was a major box office success and received mostly positive reviews.
Oz the Great and Powerful
A spiritual prequel to the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, Oz the Great and Powerful follows stage magician and con artist Oscar Diggs (James Franco) as he is assumed to be the prophesied wizard who will bring peace to Oz. Forced to change his views and overcome his questionable ethics, he rises to become the ruler of Oz. The movie attracted mixed reviews but was a commercial success.
Minions
The animated movie Minions is a prequel to the popular comedy Despicable Me. It focuses on the Minions before they met Gru. Stretching all the way back to prehistoric times and the evolution of the Minions, this movie was a massive success and led to a sequel in 2022 called Minions: The Rise of Gru.
The First Purge
The Purge premise is that all laws are lifted for twelve hours a year, and emergency services are unavailable. The Prequel The First Purge goes back in time to the experiment carried out on Staten Island that began this annual event. Grossing over $137 million worldwide, it became the most successful movie in the franchise.
Prey
Prey, a prequel to the Predator franchise, focuses on a Comanche woman, Naru (Amber Midthunder), and her struggles against both the Predator and French fur traders hunting the buffalo her tribe relies on. It premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con to glowing reviews and is widely considered the best Predator movie since the original.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The Hobbit trilogy is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It follows Frodo’s uncle Bilbo (Martin Freeman) on his own adventure across Middle-earth. Leading to the discovery of the One Ring, An Unexpected Journey grossed over $1 billion at the box office, making it the fourth highest-grossing movie of 2012.
Puss in Boots
This adventure-comedy animation follows Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) in the years before Shrek 2, focusing on his adventures with Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) and Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek). On the run from the law, Puss is on a quest to restore his lost honor and stop the outlaws Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris). Puss in Boots was so successful it got its own show on Netflix and a sequel called Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Prometheus
Set before the events of the 1979 sci-fi horror movie Alien, Prometheus takes place in the same universe but establishes its own mythology. As the science ship Prometheus crew explores an old star map, they find a mysterious structure containing what appear to be alien corpses. With positive reviews and box office success, Prometheus even got its own sequel to complete the ties to the original franchise.
Monsters University
The prequel to the hugely successful animation Monsters, Inc., Monsters University focuses on Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) during their college years. Starting as rivals, they gradually overcome their differences to become best friends. Like its predecessor, Monster University received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $700 million at the box office.
Maleficent
Maleficent is a prequel and retelling of Sleeping Beauty, focusing on the titular evil fairy, played by Angelina Jolie. With a more sympathetic look at her motivations and how she turned from a gentle fairy to the evil sorceress we see in Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent was a commercial success despite mixed reviews from critics.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
With the 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark achieving critical acclaim, a prequel called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom began production. With Harrison Ford reprising his role as Indiana Jones, this action-adventure movie sees him battling a cult in a darker story than the previous release. The prequel performed well at the box office, and while initial reviews were mixed, these have since been updated.
