Movie trilogies are often considered the most prestigious film series, as they have clear story arcs and don't outstay their welcome, and now, Disney is planning a new Planet of the Apes trilogy. Most trilogies are mapped out in the development of the first movie, whether it's the recent Planet of the Apes reboot or The Lord of the Rings. But other times, movies just end up becoming trilogies when a sequel is greenlit after a financially successful first film.
Some of those series are looked at as some of the best trilogies of all time. While movie trilogies like Naked Gun and Ocean's might not have been planned as trilogies, these movies have had their actors, directors, and writers actively express how a trilogy was a complete afterthought.
Back To The Future (1985-1990)
The fact that the Back to the Future series wasn't planned as a trilogy and wasn't actually mapped out from the very beginning comes as a huge shock. The time-traveling trilogy is as perfect as they come, and the very first movie even sets up a sequel when Doc reunites with Marty in the flying DeLorean. But director Robert Zemeckis admitted to Empire Magazine that the final scene was actually a joke.
They had never planned for a sequel, and it was the phenomenal box office figure of almost $400 million that determined that there'd be a sequel (via Box Office Mojo). Zemeckis paints a rather depressing but accurate picture of how Hollywood works, explaining, "When you make a movie that's as successful as Back To The Future, it becomes this piece of corporate real estate. It becomes bigger than you as a filmmaker." The filmmaker went on to say that the studio would have done a sequel with or without him.
The Santa Clause (1994-2006)
John Pasquin's The Santa Clause features the most wholesome portrayal of Saint Nick, and it became an instant Christmas classic that grew into a very serviceable family-friendly trilogy. But, according to the BBC, Allen and the rest of the cast and crew didn't have any ulterior motive when making the holiday classic, and they simply wanted to create a great standalone movie.
However, as the movie was a huge success in 1994, making almost $144 million (via Box Office Mojo), Disney put a sequel into development, and then a third one, too. Allen told the BBC that he actually had to be convinced to return to the franchise for round two because he cared so much about the original movie, and that could have been why the sequel didn't arrive until eight years later. And now, just as the trilogy was never planned back then, Allen probably didn't expect the franchise to get revived for Disney+ either. Later this year, Allen will reprise his role as Santa for The Santa Clause series.
Major League (1989-1998)
David S. Ward's Major League is a classic sports comedy, combining satire, baseball, and Charlie Sheen's unrivaled comedic timing that he was known for in the '80s and '90s. The movie ended up becoming the start of a trilogy, even though it wasn't intended to be, and the sequel went against creator David S. Ward's wishes.
According to Sports Illustrated, the filmmaker only returned to direct Major League II because he didn't want to see anybody else ruin his creation. In the same interview, Ward also revealed that the threequel, Major League: Back to the Minors, is a "mystery" to him and that he has written another sequel that completely ignores it.
The Hangover (2009-2013)
Todd Phillips' The Hangover was originally a spec script written by screenwriting team Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The script was picked up by Warner Bros. and became a huge success and one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time. It was the start of a trilogy that would see the three drunken idiots getting involved with gangsters and international task forces, but that wasn't what Lucas and Moore originally had in mind.
According to Pajiba, Lucas and Moore were asked back to pen the first sequel, but they didn't see the point. Lucas also explained, "We didn’t want to spend the rest of our careers writing The Hangover sequels." It's clear simply from watching them that there wasn't an idea for a trilogy in place, as The Hangover Part II is a complete retread of its predecessor, and Part III is a strange action-packed heist movie.
Evil Dead (1981-1992)
The Evil Dead series is one of the most beloved horror franchises ever, and Sam Raimi's unique brand of horror-comedy has been imitated over the past 40 years. However, it's surprising that the series continued after the first movie, as the final shot sees Ash (Bruce Campbell) getting attacked and presumably murdered by a Deadite. According to ARTpublika Magazine, Raimi and Campbell never planned for Evil Dead II, never mind the threequel, Army of Darkness. The movie was made as a response to the negative reception of Raimi and Campbell's Crimewave after fearing that they'd be finished in the movie industry.
It's amazing that Raimi and Campbell managed to make each movie, as they were up against legal rights every step of the way. The Evil Dead series had so many rights issues. The reason why the first five minutes of Evil Dead II are reshot scenes of the original movie is that they weren't allowed to use scenes from The Evil Dead. And the very same thing happened with Army of Darkness.
The Before Trilogy (1995-2013)
Before Sunrise is the unlikeliest of movies to get a trilogy, as the romantic drama simply follows a man and woman who meet and fall in love. But nine years later, Before Sunset arrived, and nine years after that, Before Midnight followed, too. Each movie is set nine years apart depicting the couple in drastically different places in their lives. It's one of the most realistic portrayals of real-life relationships, and there's nothing glamorous about it.
But, according to The Guardian, a trilogy was never planned, even though each one being nine years apart feels designed, and Linklater and the cast only decided to do them because it felt natural at the time. As it's been nine years since the last movie, a fourquel should be around the corner, but it, unfortunately, looks like that'll never happen.
The Godfather (1972-1990)
While The Godfather Part III is underrated, there's a clear dip in quality between the first two movies and the 1990 release. But there's an explanation for it, as, where the original 1970s movies were made out of passion, Part III was made for money. That fact has been well documented for decades, but in 2018, director Francis Ford Coppola finally admitted it himself.
According to Consequence, the filmmaker simply noted, "We were broke." Coppola never considered a third movie in the series and thought that Part II perfectly concluded Michael Corleone's story, that is until his company went bust and he needed a bail-out. Every single film ever made is developed with the primary intention of making money, but with The Godfather Part III, that was the sole intention.
The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012)
The Dark Knight trilogy is one of the most consistent three-movie series ever, and they forced critics to take comic book movies seriously. But, according to Deadline, whilst doing the press junkets for The Dark Knight Rises, director Christopher Nolan explained that he never thought about where the story would go after Batman Begins. The celebrated filmmaker explained that he wanted to put all of his effort into one movie.
But as the dark and gritty reboot not only flawed critics and fans but changed the cinema landscape, The Dark Knight quickly followed. While the final scene in the movie does hint at the Joker, it's simply a tease and far from a sequel confirmation. And it seems like every Batman movie needs to feature the Clown Prince of Crime in some form, as The Batman features a very forced and unnecessary Joker scene, too.