26 Movie Sequels That Should Never Have Happened

They should have stopped at the first!

We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community which movie sequel should never have been made. Here are some of the best responses.

1. Pitch Perfect 2 and 3

Brownstone Productions

They were both mistakes in my book. The first movie was fun, quirky and had so much character. The last two felt like they were just exploiting the popularity of the film and all of the jokes seemed forced. It was just too much.

Sabs21

The first one was so good! The sequel was racist, uncomfortable and unfunny and the third was just unnecessary.

— abbyjow

2. Mean Girls 2

Paramount Pictures

When people talk about getting the original cast back together to do another one, they don't even acknowledge Mean Girls 2 — and with good reason.

— putter34942

The first one was incredible. The second was just an awful and unrealistic take on high school relationships.

— louises48af32a2e

3. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

Paramount Pictures

The first one was smart, funny and quotable. The second? I vaguely remember a shark and a sense of bitter disappointment.

— amyf4fc7eb00a

I couldn't even finish it.

— lauras414055b80

4. Toy Story 3

Pixar

It's an unpopular opinion, but I grew up religiously watching the first two, but the third one ripped out the heart of my childhood and stomped on it. I've only watched it twice because the incinerator scene and Andy driving away are too emotionally draining. In my mind, Andy takes Woody to college (like I did with my favourite teddy bear,) and later gifts him to his own children.

— frannyc

5. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

It was an awful reiteration of an incredible movie.

— TheGayLord

It just didn’t need to happen, period.

— Syd535

6. Legally Blondes

Type A Films

It's the worst teen movie I have ever seen. There was nothing appealing or unique about the characters, it relied on clichés to keep the plot going, it was painful to watch and had no message other than being another hopeful cash grab.

— Syd535

It was awful beyond words.

— FrithaJohnston

7. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2

Disney

The storyline was awful and the animation was terrible in comparison with the beautiful original. Nothing will match up to the first.

— Owleyes374

The first was a classic and a beautiful film with a terrifying villain. It's one of my favourite movies. The second one, however, looks terrible compared with the first, the villain is ridiculous, the storyline is trash and it didn’t need to exist.

— LemonMilk

8. Mamma Mia! Here we go Again

Legendary Entertainment

It's a terrible movie. They clearly picked out a few ABBA songs and tried in vain to shoehorn a plot around them. I like an occasional cup of kitsch, and even a spoonful of camp now and then, but this movie just sucked so hard that even Cartoon Cher couldn't save it.

— David Kasunick, Facebook

9. Grease 2

Paramount Pictures

It still offends me that Rydell High would have new students take the spots of the original Pink Ladies and T-Birds. I know it's a high school and that makes sense, but NO ONE can replace Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.

— marissak424250e04

10. Zoolander 2

VH1 Films

The first was perfection with so many quotable lines, but the second one was just trying too hard. I hated how they killed off Matilda, and Derek's son was so annoying.

— sgdsugar

11. Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After

DreamWorks Studio

No one knows the songs or is able to quote any lines from any of the sequels. The first one was just so good there was no need for sequels.

— bethr490b85140

12. Every Land Before Time sequel

Universal Pictures

The Land Before Time franchise has 13 direct-to-video sequels, the most recent of which was made in 2016. That's almost 30 years' worth of an overstayed welcome.

— Amelia K. Tumlin, Facebook

13. Despicable Me 3

Universal Pictures

I think everyone can agree that the sequels are trashy garbage exploiting the Minion cash cow, but have now tainted the legacy of the first movie which is actually really heartwarming and original. DM3 is a contender for the worst animated sequel ever made. Please let the series die.

— edwardc4c1f60c81

14. The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Universal Pictures

You cannot swap Rachel Weisz with Maria Bello and think that no one will notice. Of course we noticed.

— zalikham

15. Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Disney

It absolutely awful in every way. If anyone wants to know what movie character assassination looks like, just watch Johnny Depp's abysmal performance as Jack Sparrow in that movie.

— Josiah Coulter, Facebook

I love the franchise with a passion, but even I couldn't stand that last movie.

— 1D_ihearts

16. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Universal Pictures

My god, what a bad movie. The first Jurassic World wasn't great, but at least it was decent, mindless entertainment. Fallen Kingdom, however, took itself way too seriously and wasn't remotely fun.

— Josiah Coulter, Facebook

17. Lion King 2: Simba's Pride

Disney

There were major plotholes. Where did Scar's pride suddenly appear from? The whole point of the first film was ruined by the second because if Scar already had a pride, there was no need for him to kill Mufasa and attempt to kill Simba. Plus, they used a different voice actor for Zazu and he wasn't anywhere near sarcastic enough.

— freudshock

18. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

Lionsgate

It could have been so much better. Splitting it into two parts was a mistake and drew the series out so much that it became dull.

— queenpeevie

19. Magic Mike XXL

Dune Entertainment

The first one was actually good and showed some of the struggles of being a male stripper. The second was downright crap and was created to make money by showing two hours of naked actors dancing. There was no point to any of it.

— s4bb472acb

20. Back to The Future Part II

Universal Pictures

The first is one of my all time favourite movies, but Part II flopped in my opinion. The recasting, the exaggeration and the fast pace made it less enjoyable. In the first, despite Marty trying to get back home as soon as possible, he was still able to interact and make connections with the people he met which helped change him for the better. In the sequel, he’s so busy and preoccupied with going back and forth in time that he doesn’t even get time to bond with his future kids.

— ceciliagullett

21. Cinderella 3

Disney

Everyone says it's one of the better Disney sequels and that Cinderella is "proactive" in it, but I don't agree with those claims at all and the movie gets on my nerves for so many reasons. Why give Anastasia another redemption arc while Drizella gets nothing, even though they're supposed to be practically the same character in the first movie? Why is the entire story built around a blatant continuity error? Why is Cinderella's first instinct when things go wrong for her to just start moping and singing, as opposed to, y'know, actually doing something? (Yeah, I know she actually does something in the climax, but that's too little too late.)

— MarineDynamite

22. My Girl 2

Columbia Pictures

The first movie was amazing, heartfelt and relatable. In the second one, the protagonist falls in love with her cousin-to-be?! The same cousin who thought it'd be funny to pretend to throw her prized mood ring into a tar pit?! You know, the mood ring her childhood best friend DIED from retrieving from the forrest?! RIP Thomas J.

— hannahe4b28f19bd

23. The Hangover Part II

Warner Bros

I could write a very long paragraph about it, but I think the most fundamental "WTF" moment was when they found the brother and he didn't even care that he was missing a finger. Who the fuck doesn't care about waking up with a finger gone?! And Stu having sex with someone else the night before his wedding is fucked up. What did the poor wife do to deserve that? They should have left it at the first one.

— jenniferh4e24263bc

24. The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Disney

It's horrendous, has no soul compared with the original, the jokes are incredibly awkward, every character is flanderised and inconsistent and there are so many rehashes of the jokes from the first film that in one of the book sequels, Mia actually comments on how dumb the movie is.

— colleend9

25. Home Alone 3 and 4

20th Century Fox

The third and fourth Home Alone movies just cannot be compared with the first two. It just didn’t feel right at all for them to get a whole new set of actors and call it the same thing.

— taylor99

26. Sex and the City 2

Warner Bros

I like to pretend it didn't happen. The first movie was good and rounded things off nicely. The second one made me cringe from start to finish. The fashion was bad, it was offensive, ignorant and hugely tone deaf towards muslims, Islamic culture, women wearing niqabs, women in general, men, working mothers, nannies...the list goes on. Cartoonishly terrible.

— Nadey

I honestly can't deal with how badly the screwed up the character arcs from the show. They just dropped a turd on everything that made it good and then walked away.

— katiel422ccdba1

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