The release of movies in popular franchises can vary greatly with each series, as the blockbuster status of adaptations like the Harry Potter franchise or the Marvel Cinematic Universe led to a consistent release over a decade to better serve the fans and keep the buzz high for ongoing sequels.
Of course, there are also quite a few movie franchises that have taken their sweet time in releasing installments over the years, with long-running series like the Mad Max franchise returning to theaters multiple decades after previous installments. Today we'll be taking a further look at a few movie franchises that are separated by the decades.
10 Mad Max: Fury Road Was A Modern Continuation Decades After The Trilogy
George Miller returned to his hit Mad Max franchise in 2015 with Mad Max: Fury Road, a continuation of the series that premiered in theaters in 1978 before the trilogy ended in 1985 with Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
Tom Hardy stepped into the role of Max Rockatansky twenty years later to replace the original trilogy star Mel Gibson, though he was joined by Charlize Theron's new lead Furiosa, whose character will receive a prequel almost another decade later when it hits theaters in 2023.
9 Psycho Stood Alone For Two Decades Before The Franchise Continued
Alfred Hitchcock directed the 1960 classic horror Psycho, which introduced the character of Norman Bates and the tragic relationship with his mother that would claim a number of lives at the family's roadside motel.
The horror franchise wouldn't continue until 1983's Psycho II, which kicked off a string of sequels until a reboot in 1998 saw another lull in the franchise. Bates Motel jumped to the small screen in 2013 and explored the origins of the Bates family over a decade after the final movie installment.
8 The Tron Franchise Will Be Separated By Multiple Decades When Ares Releases
Disney's Tron wowed fans when it first hit theaters in 1982 and introduced a new computerized world filled with humanoid programs, though it wasn't until almost thirty laters in 2010 that the world was revisited with Tron: Legacy.
The effects received a massive upgrade given the development over time that seemed poised to launch another sequel quickly, though it was only recently that Tron: Ares was finally announced. It's already been over a decade since the release of Tron: Legacy, which means that when Ares hits theaters each sequel will be separated by at least a decade.
7 Every Star Wars Trilogy Is Separated By At Least A Decade
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope first hit theaters in 1977 and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon that led to the quick completion of the original trilogy that ended in 1983, and fans wouldn't return to a galaxy far, far away until the prequel trilogy debuted in 1999 with Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
The prequel trilogy explored the beginnings of Darth Vader and ended with 2005's Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Exactly ten years later, Episode VII: The Force Awakens launched a new chapter of the franchise with the sequel trilogy that further extended the long-running series.
6 The Rambo Franchise Has Continued To Release Sequels For Thirty Years
1982's First Blood starred Sylvester Stallone as traumatized Vietnam war veteran John Rambo as he reverted to guerilla warfare after encountering an unfriendly town sheriff that sent him into the woods while the police hunted him down.
The franchise continued as Rambo returned to the war to undertake a number of missions for his former commanding officer that ended in 1988 with Rambo III, though Stallone returned to the franchise twenty years later for 2008's Rambo. The franchise ended another decade later with 2019's Rambo: Last Blood, though Stallone has said he's open to still return to the franchise.
5 Texas Chainsaw Massacre's First Sequel Came 12 Years After The Original
Tobe Hooper directed 1974's iconic horror The Texas Chain Saw Massacre which first introduced the character of Leatherface and terrified fans prior to the dawn of the slasher genre, though the sequel didn't happen for another 12 years until The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 in 1986.
After a couple of sequels that ended with Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation in 1995 before a reboot hit theaters almost a decade later in 2003, restarting the entire cycle with prequels and modern continuations that saw another near-decade gap between movies in 2006 and 2013.
4 Bill And Ted's Journey Has Moved From High School To Fatherhood
Slacker musicians Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan first formed together as the Wyld Stallyns in 1989's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure that saw them travel across time in order to pass their history test and save the potential future timeline, which was again threatened when the duo was killed by their evil robot duplicates in 1991's Bogus Journey.
The franchise seemingly ended there after years of rumors of a third film, though 2020 finally saw the release of Bill & Ted Face The Music which followed the duo as they attempted to bring about their prophetic future as fathers.
3 Indiana Jones Returned To Theaters Almost Two Decades After The Trilogy
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's hit Indiana Jones franchise first hit theaters in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark and later launched a potential final chapter with The Last Crusade in 1989, though the franchise continued with prequel TV series and video game adventures.
Harrison Ford wouldn't return to the role until 19 years later with Indiana Jones And The Crystal Skull, which will be followed over another decade later by the upcoming fifth entry in the franchise that is set to hit theaters in 2022.
2 The Terminator Franchise Took Over A Decade Off Between Sequels
Sarah Connor first became a target for the deadly robot assassin known as The Terminator in 1984 before the characters returned for the hit 1991 sequel T2: Judgment Day that further explored the futuristic war between humans and machines.
The franchise took a 12-year break until 2003's Terminator: Rise of the Machines that led to a renewed series of sequels and failed reboots that seemingly ended with 2019's Terminator: Dark Fate which introduced a new threat from the future.
1 Blade Runner 2049 Was Released Over Thirty Years After The Original
Ridley Scott's iconic sci-fi classic Blade Runner debuted in theaters back in 1982 and saw a number of re-edits and re-releases over the years, though the fan-favorite movie didn't receive a sequel until Blade Runner 2049, which hit theaters 35 years later in 2017.
Three short films - 2022: Black Out, 2036: Nexus Dawn and 2048: Nowhere to Run - were also released that filled in some key moments from the previous decades that further explored the futuristic world where humanity was locked in a struggle with the replicants they created.
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