Sequels, remakes, reboots, and spin-offs have never been more common than they are now. All that is needed for a sequel to get greenlit is that the previous film turns out a decent amount of profit. In many cases, no matter how unnecessary a sequel might be it still gets made simply for the sake of milking the success of the previous installments as much as possible. But in many cases, the opposite happens as well. Films that were financially successful and popular enough for the people to demand a sequel don't get one.

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Sequels or consecutive installments in a franchise may get delayed for many reasons. These gaps may be moderately lengthy, such as in the case of Jurassic Park where there was an interval of 14 years between the 3rd and 4th film. Or the gaps may be gigantic in length, like with Marry Poppins.

Bad Boys: 17 Years

combined posters for Bad Boys 1, 2, 3 featuring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence

Buddy cop movies were all the rage in the late 1900s, from Lethal Weapon to Rush Hour to 48 Hrs, every Hollywood actor seemed to be acting in one at some point or other. From Michael Bay in his directorial debut, Bad Boys stars Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as two police detectives trying to track down $100 million worth of drugs that were stolen from police custody.

Released in 2020, Bad Boys For Life was the third entry in the franchise and released 17 years after Bad Boys II and became the highest-grossing film of the series.

The Matrix: 18 Years

combined posters for Matrix 1,2 and 3 featuring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne

The first Matrix film came out in 1999 and both the sequels were released in 2003 after being produced back to back, making it one of the shortest running franchises ever. Even if many fans had their issues with the sequels, for better or worse, and for all anyone knew until recently, The Matrix franchise had ended with The Matrix Revolutions. 

The yet-untitled fourth film currently has a release date of 2021 and will bring back Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss while the return of one of its more iconic characters, Morpheus, remains unconfirmed.

Independence Day: 20 years

combined posters for Independence Day 1 and Resurgence and with alien spaceships hovering on city

Independence Day was one of Will Smith's earliest hits of a career full of hits and is thought to be one of the causes behind the popularity of alien-invasion films in recent years.

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The plot, while no different from any other "mankind vs dangerous threat" type of media, was action-fueled enough by 1990 standards to be able to gross more than ten times its budget of $75 million. It took 20 years for a sequel to be made, which currently sits at a 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and audiences.

Ghostbusters: 27 Years

combined posters for Ghostbusters 1, 2016 reboot and Afterlife featuring male and female teams

Revolving around a group of scientists who start a business dealing with ghosts and other supernatural entities, 1984's Ghostbusters was an unprecedented hit that grossed nearly $300 million against a budget of under $30 million. Its success spawned multiple animated TV shows, videogames, and various other merchandise.

A sequel film Ghostbusters II followed in 1989, after which the franchise was stalled for a long time until when it was rebooted in 2016. The reboot, carrying the same name as the original film was a box-office bomb, and a direct sequel to the 1989 film is currently in development.

Suspiria: 27 Years

combined posters for Italian horror films Suspiria, Inferno, Mother of Tears with abstract imagery

An industry pioneer and an Italian master of horror, Dario Argento has directed some of the most influential and at the same time underrated horror films of all time.

His "Three Mothers" trilogy focuses on the supernatural entities referred to as "mothers", who are powerful ancient witches, each with a specific attribute such as "Mother of Darkness" and "Mother of Tears". Each film of the trilogy deals with a specific "mother". 1977's Suspiria was the first, followed by Inferno in 1980 and lastly Mother of Tears in 2007.

Bill & Ted: 29 Years

combined posters for Bill and Ted 1 and Face the Music featuring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter

Before there was The Matrix and John Wickit was the Bill & Ted movies that helped Keanu Reeves become the popular star he is today. Created by Chris Matheson and Now You See Me writer Ed Solomon, the films follow the time-traveling adventures of two friends, the titular Bill and Ted.

RELATED: Keanu Reeves' 5 Coolest Roles (& 5 Of His Wackiest)

The first film, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, came out in 1989 and was followed by a TV series of the same name and a sequel film in 1991. But the last part of the trilogy was released a whopping 29 years later in 2020.

 Mad Max: 30 Years

combined posters for Mad Max 1, 3, Fury Road featuring Mel Gibson, Tom Hardy Charlize Theron

Created by George Miller and starring Mel Gibson, the first Mad Max film of 1980 introduced the world to the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Australia where society had long collapsed into chaos.

One of the earliest contenders of the post-apocalyptic genre, the original trilogy released from 1980 to 1985 and was a critical and commercial success. The fourth film Fury Road was stuck in development hell for years until finally getting released in 2015, 30 years after the previous film Thunderdome.

Blade Runner: 35 Years

combined posters for Blade Runner 1 and 2049 featuring Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling, Ana de Armas

Like many films that are considered classics now, Blade Runner wasn't initially that well received by critics and its poor box-office performance didn't help its reputation. But over the years people have revised their opinion of it, and now it is regarded as one of the best sci-fi films of all time.

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35 long years after Ridley Scott's original film, Arrival director Denis Villeneuve would direct a sequel film that continued the original film's story of Rick Deckard. Although met with rave reviews for being a worthy sequel to the 1982 film, similar to its predecessor, it flopped at the box office.

The Shining: 39 Years

combined posters for The Shining and Doctor Sleep featuring Ewan McGregor and Jack Nicholson

Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name and directed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is recognized as a horror masterpiece, even if the author of the book hates it so.

In one of the most iconic roles of his career, Jack Nicholson plays an alcoholic father stuck with his family inside a sinister hotel where the isolation brings him to the cusp of insanity. The book came out in 1977 and its sequel in 2013, after a long 36-year gap. In the same manner, the sequel film Doctor Sleep also came out 39 years after the original.

Mary Poppins: 54 Years

combined posters for Mary Poppins 1 and Returns featuring Julie Andrews and Emily Blunt

Before Disney turned into the gazillion-dollar multiple franchise owning company it is today, it used to thrive on films like 1964's Marry PoppinsAdapted from the children's book series of the same name, the films center around the magical nanny Mary Poppins and her interactions with the Banks family.

The author of the books P. L. Travers was not a fan of the original film, which combined with many other problems resulted in the development of a sequel getting delayed for a stupendous 54 years.

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