Look at any year's biggest releases and you'll find a lot of familiar names: sequels, remakes, reboots, spin-offs and entries in sprawling shared universes. Audiences often complain about it, and then turn up in large numbers anyway. Both reactions make sense, and understanding the vocabulary helps explain why.
The terms get used loosely, even by the industry. Here's what each one actually means, with well-known examples, followed by a look at why studios keep returning to stories audiences already know.
The terms, defined
Sequel
A sequel continues a story after the events of an earlier film or series, usually with the same main characters. It is the most familiar franchise format: the story, or at least the world, keeps going.
Prequel
A prequel is set before an earlier story, often showing how characters or situations came to be. Prequels face a particular challenge, because the audience usually knows where things end up; the interest lies in how and why.
Remake
A remake tells the same story again, usually with a new cast, a new director and an updated setting or style. Remakes often adapt films from other countries or earlier eras. Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006), for example, is a remake of the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002), moving the story to Boston.
Reboot
A reboot restarts a franchise from the beginning, setting aside the continuity of earlier films. It keeps the characters and core idea but begins a fresh timeline. Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005) is a widely cited example: it started a new version of the Batman film series rather than continuing the earlier one.
The line between remake and reboot can blur. A useful rule of thumb: a remake retells one specific story; a reboot restarts a whole series.
Legacy sequel (sometimes called a "requel")
A legacy sequel arrives many years after the original, brings back original characters or actors alongside a new generation, and often echoes the structure of the first film. Top Gun: Maverick (2022), released more than three decades after Top Gun (1986), is a well-known example. The approach lets a franchise appeal to longtime fans and new audiences at once.
Spin-off
A spin-off takes a character or element from an existing story and builds a new film or series around it. Television is full of them. Better Call Saul, for example, is a spin-off and prequel to Breaking Bad, centred on a supporting character from the original series.
Shared universe
A shared universe connects several films or series in one continuity, so characters and events can cross over. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began with Iron Man (2008), is the best-known modern example, spanning many films and series that build towards larger, interconnected stories.
Adaptation
Not strictly a franchise term, but closely related: an adaptation brings a story from another medium, such as a novel, comic, video game or stage play, to film or TV. Many franchises start as adaptations of existing properties.
Why studios keep making them
It is easy to read franchise-heavy release calendars as a lack of imagination. The business reasons are more specific than that.
Recognition cuts through the noise
There are more films and series available than ever, and getting an audience's attention is expensive. A familiar title or character starts with built-in awareness, which makes marketing more efficient. A trailer for a sequel doesn't have to explain the premise; it only has to promise more of something people already liked. Our explainer on teasers, trailers and TV spots looks at how campaigns are built.
Lower perceived risk
Big releases are expensive to make and market, and the money only comes back if enough people show up. A known property is not guaranteed to succeed, but studios generally see it as less risky than an untested idea of the same scale. Our guide to box office numbers explains why the break-even point for a big release is higher than the production budget suggests.
Value beyond the cinema
Franchises can earn money long after a cinema release: through rentals and purchases, licensing to streaming services and TV channels, merchandise, games and theme-park attractions. Each new entry can also renew interest in the older ones. Our explainer on movie release windows covers the stages a film passes through after cinemas.
Streaming needs libraries
For streaming services, a franchise is a reason to subscribe and a reason to stay. Spin-off series in particular let a service extend a popular world in between major film releases, keeping audiences engaged with one brand.
Why audiences go along with it (and when they don't)
Familiarity is comforting. A sequel offers the pleasure of returning to characters you already care about, and a good remake can introduce a story to a generation that never saw the original. Legacy sequels can feel like a reunion.
But audiences also punish franchises that feel like products rather than stories. Common complaints include sequels that repeat the original without adding anything, reboots that arrive too soon after the last version, and shared universes where individual films feel like setup for the next instalment. The franchise entries that are best remembered usually justify their existence on their own terms: they have something new to say, a fresh perspective, or a creative team with a genuine take.
How to approach franchise entertainment as a viewer
- Check whether you need homework. Some sequels stand alone; others assume you have seen several earlier films or series. A quick look at the cast and synopsis usually tells you.
- Try the original. If a remake or legacy sequel interests you, the original is often worth seeing too, either before or after.
- Don't dismiss the format. Some of the most acclaimed films ever made are sequels, remakes or adaptations. The label tells you about the business model, not the quality.
- Look beyond franchises too. Original films need audiences to keep getting made. Browsing by genre, such as science fiction or action, or checking the top-rated titles, is a good way to find standalone stories alongside franchise entries.
The short version
A sequel continues a story, a prequel goes back in time, a remake retells a story, a reboot restarts a series, a legacy sequel revisits an old favourite with a new generation, a spin-off follows a different character, and a shared universe links everything together. Studios lean on them because recognition is valuable, risk feels lower and franchises earn well beyond the cinema. Whether a particular entry is worth your time still comes down to the same question as any other film: does it have a reason to exist? For more on how the business works, explore our Entertainment Explained section.
