Great Movies That Should Have Had Sequels

Team FC

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Gary Oldman was the perfect age to keep playing George Smiley, and the makers even had two more novels in fit state to be adapted for the big screen, but the project to make a sequel never got on floors, and it now feels too late for it to actually happen.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011)

Though it was announced rather long ago that Peter Jackson would helm the sequel to the globe-trotting adventures of the Belgian reporter, his dog, and the alcoholic shipman Haddock, the film is yet to materialise.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Though planned for a while now, with Dexter Fletcher attached as director, the third part of the Warner Bros.-backed franchise starring Robert Downey Jr. as the detective of 221B Baker Street and Jude Law as the trusty Doctor Watson has yet to materialise.

Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015)

Dibakar Banerjee daringly reimagined the detective created by Saradindu Chattopadhyay, re-rendering the "truth seeker" in neo-noir graphic novel tones. A lukewarm box office response, which contrasted largely positive notices, meant a sequel didn't seem very likely, and lead actor Sushant Singh Rajput's passing in 2020 shut the door on the detective returning.

The Man from UNCLE (2015)

Guy Ritchie directed this rambunctious ode to 60s spy thrillers, based on a 60s spy TV show. Despite the positive reviews and gorgeous filmmaking, a sequel has not been forthcoming, and is unlikely to materialise without one of the three central roles being re-cast.

The Nice Guys (2016)

The Shane Black period mystery comedy starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling was exactly the sort of adults-only entertainment that cinema needed at a time when moviewatching had become too family-oriented. Sad that the film didn't get the sort of theatrical returns that would've justified a sequel (but worse films with poorer returns have had sequels, so why not this one?).

Atomic Blonde (2017)

David Leitch's popping neon Cold War actioner was all sorts of entertaining, and featured Charlize Theron as a bone-breaking spy par excellence. There's no reason for this film to not have a sequel.

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