History Main / ContinuityReboot

* Creator/IlluminationEntertainment[='=]s upcoming ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' will completely disregard the events of the [[Film/SuperMarioBros1993 live-action film]] from 1993, as well as the [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow three]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3 animated]] [[WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld1991 series]] before it. It will also ignore ''Anime/TheGreatMissionToSavePrincessPeach'' (although, considering its obscurity, it's unlikely that its existence was ever addressed by the producers to begin with).

* ''WesternAnimation/Rugrats2021'' takes place in a timeline alternate to [[WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} the original series]], being set in TheNewTwenties rather than TheNineties and having characters have different voices[[note]]The adults at least, since all of the kids have the same voice actors as in the original series, with the exception of Kimi[[/note]]and personalities, such as Grandpa Lou being a NewAgeRetroHippie and Betty [=DeVille=] being a lesbian.

* ''WesternAnimation/Rugrats2021'' takes place in a timeline alternate to [[WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}} the original series]], being set in TheNewTwenties rather than TheNineties and having characters have different voices and personalities, such as Grandpa Lou being a NewAgeRetroHippie.

* Creator/JoshTrank's ''Film/{{Fantastic Four|2015}}'' (2015) is a reboot of the ''Film/FantasticFour'' franchise, released a decade after [[Film/FantasticFour2005 the first installment]] and eight years after the sequel (''Rise of the Silver Surfer'').

* Creator/IlluminationEntertainment[='=]s upcoming ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' will completely disregard the events of the [[Film/SuperMarioBros1993 live-action film]] from 1993, as well as the [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow three]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3 animated]] [[WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld series]] before it. It will also ignore ''Anime/TheGreatMissionToSavePrincessPeach'' (although, considering its obscurity, it's unlikely that its existence was ever addressed by the producers to begin with).

* ComicBook/ThePunisher. Creator/GarthEnnis basically rebooted the story TWICE. Once starting with the ''[[ComicBook/ThePunisherWelcomeBackFrank Welcome Back, Frank]]'' storyline and AGAIN with ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' series. While the former basically paints over the previous continuity and ignores it (mentioning some of it only in "broad strokes" like the "[[Comicbook/ThePunisherPurgatory Angel-Punisher]]" arc), the latter is a complete reboot set in its own, new "grittier" reality with no superhero characters (although some characters from other Marvel comics, like Microchip, are roped in - albeit with a more "realistic" spin).

** Earth-16 was classified as the universe home to the ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' cartoon, although Morrison has stated he's working on a way that incorporates the TV show with his interpretation of this particular Earth. As of yet, the only incorporation is a one-panel reference to the TV show being only a video game on the new Earth-16.

** Toho later started plotting a different, separate from [[Creator/LegendaryPictures Legendary]], Godzilla film of their own for 2016 with ''Film/ShinGodzilla'', which is a pure reboot, even ignoring the original ''Gojira'', which may lead to ''two'' running alternate continuities at once. They later scrapped the idea of a direct sequel, but have plans to move ahead with another unrelated connected universe.

* Creator/JoshTrank's ''[[Film/FantasticFour2015 Fantastic Four]]'' (2015) is a reboot of the ''Film/FantasticFour'' franchise, released a decade after [[Film/FantasticFour2005 the first installment]] and eight years after the sequel (''Rise of the Silver Surfer'').

* Sony's ''Film/Ghostbusters2016'' is a reboot of the original ''[[Film/Ghostbusters1984 Ghostbusters]]'', despite the trailers trying to convince viewers otherwise.

* The popular television series ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' debuted in 1997, rebooting continuity from the comparatively poorly received [[Film/{{BuffyTheVampireSlayer}} 1992 movie of the same name]], but acknowledging BroadStrokes of the film events.

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' is rebooted with the [[Toys/{{Bionicle2015}} 2015 toy line]] with a more simplified, less continuity-heavy mythology and a {{ReTool}}ed building style.

* ''Videogame/SaintsRow2022'' is a reboot of the ''Videogame/SaintsRow'' series. Since [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' saw [[EarthShatteringKaboom the destruction of Earth]] by [[AliensAreBastards the Zin Empire]] and]] ''Videogame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'' had the 3rd Street Saints take over both the universe and the afterlife; there was nowhere else to go in the main continuity (though the AlternateContinuity title ''Videogame/AgentsOfMayhem'' tried).

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' does this with ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'', which trades its focus on action [[LighterAndSofter for comedy]]. It also makes occasional [[TakeThatAudience jabs at older Teen Titans fans]] who aren't fond of the direction the creators took with the reboot.

* The ''Transformers'' comic license has passed around several hands, but rarely has a publisher rebooted its own continuity. The one big instance was when Hasbro ended its very popular first universe of comics with the ''Unicron'' event, which ended the first IDW continuity for good. Soon after, a new continuity, dubbed IDW 2, was launched that began from scratch with many characters being drastically different. This new continuity wouldn't last long, as IDW would lose the license a few years into its run.

** Ultimately, the New 52 proved to be a failure and it was {{retcon}}ned with ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' that [[spoiler:the New 52 universe was actually the original universe, but was altered by [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Dr. Manhattan]] about the time ''Flashpoint'' came to its conclusion]].

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' received one as a result of Ken Penders winning a lawsuit for ownership of all characters and concepts he created and Archie not wanting to pay him royalties to use them. In essence, the reboot made all of the video games canonical while making all past issues of the comic canonical only in broad strokes. While it has been decently received by the fans, some are understandably upset at the way every ongoing plot prior to the reboot was [[AbortedArc scrapped unceremoniously]] to make way for it. When Archie lost the rights to Sonic and it was transferred to Creator/IDWPublishing, the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW resulting new comic]] effectively dumped both continuities for its own fresh start.

* Franchise/CareBears have also been rebooted at least 3 times: The first reboot came in the 2000 revival, second reboot in [[WesternAnimation/CareBearsAdventuresInCareALot 2007]] with a complete redesign (but was short-lived), and then rebooted '''again''' in 2009 when Hasbro took back control of the franchise from Play-Along toys.

* 2018's ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' was original slated to be an explicit prequel to [[Film/{{Transformers}} the original 2007 film]] by Creator/MichaelBay, but after bringing on Travis Knight, and after the critical and commercial failure of ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'' signaled disinterest in the Bay-directed films, drastic changes in the tone and aesthetic, namely giving the Transformers themselves new designs greatly evocative of their G1 selves, and overall other stylistic liberties and major continuity differences have pretty much all but said classified it as a reboot, which was eventually confirmed by Hasbro two months after the film's release.

* ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon'': The franchise was rebooted as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro''. ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' was then partly another ''Spyro'' reboot and partly a new franchise launch. ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' is a remaster/remake of the original trilogy that goes back into the first continuity, but many character designs are way different, to the point it may be considered a fourth continuity.

** Parts 7 & 8 of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' take place in a new universe separate from the first six parts, though it has some characters, locations and concepts named after those from the original.

** ''TD Overdrive: Brotherhood of Speed'' was an attempted reboot of the ''Test Drive'' games with inclusion of the storyline and SeriousBusiness nature of the illegal street racing in WorldTour format. However, this was ignored in favor of VehicularCombat-based ''Eve of Destruction'', which also got ignored by...

** ''Overdrive: Brotherhood of Speed'' was an attempted reboot of the ''Test Drive'' games with inclusion of the storyline and SeriousBusiness nature of the illegal street racing in WorldTour format. However, this was ignored in favor of VehicularCombat-based ''Eve of Destruction'', which also got ignored by...
** ''VideoGame/TestDriveUnlimited'' is a complete reboot of the ''Test Drive'' franchise, returning to the more down-to-earth and breathtaking WideOpenSandbox-style tone.

* Following the purchase of Creator/LucasArts by Creator/{{Disney}}, all ''Franchise/StarWars'' books (and any other media besides ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'') written prior to the introduction of the sequel trilogy have been de-canonized and placed under the "Legends" label. After the inevitable fandom outcry, the Disney marketers hastily changed "de-canonized" to "AlternateContinuity", though the overall effect is the same. They have also opened the door to bringing back pieces of that canon should they be included in new Expanded Universe works, which has already started happening.

* ''VideoGame/RakenzarnTales'' rebooted with the release of Version 3 for the purposes of a reworked storyline and altered gameplay.
* ''Videogame/SaintsRow2022'' is a reboot of the ''Videogame/SaintsRow'' series. Since [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' saw [[EarthShatteringKaboom the destruction of Earth]] by [[AliensAreBastards the Zin Empire]] and]] ''Videogame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'' had the 3rd Street Saints take over both the universe and the afterlife, there was no where else to go in the main continuity (though the AlternateContinuity title ''Videogame/AgentsOfMayhem'' tried).

** ''Overdrive: Brotherhood of Speed'' was an attempted reboot of the ''Test Drive'' games with inclusion of the storyline and SeriousBusiness nature of the illegal street racing in WorldTour format, however, this was also ignored in favor of VehicularCombat-based ''Eve of Destruction'', which also got ignored by...

* ''VideoGame/TestDrive''
** ''Overdrive'' was an attempted reboot of the ''Test Drive'' games with inclusion of the storyline and SeriousBusiness nature of the illegal street racing in WorldTour format, however, this was also ignored in favor of VehicularCombat-based ''Eve of Destruction'', which also got ignored by...

* ''VideoGame/TestDriveUnlimited'' is a complete reboot of the ''VideoGame/TestDrive'' franchise, returning to the more down-to-earth and breathtaking WideOpenSandbox-style tone.

* Creator/IlluminationEntertainment[='=]s upcoming ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' will completely disregard the events of the [[Film/SuperMarioBros live-action film]] from 1993, as well as the [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow three]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3 animated]] [[WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld series]] before it. It will also ignore ''Anime/TheGreatMissionToSavePrincessPeach'' (although, considering its obscurity, it's unlikely that its existence was ever addressed by the producers to begin with).

* The ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' series pulled this with its American release of ''Lunar Knights''. ''Boktai 3'' was [[NoExportForYou never released]] in the United States, and those who got their hands on the translated patch had to suffer through a nonsensical story, [[SequelDifficultySpike an abrupt difficulty hike]], the obnoxiously long motorcycle scenes, and [[TheScrappy Trinity]]. ''Lunar Knights'' gives only vague {{Continuity Nod}}s at best to the previous games but otherwise stands as its own lone story.

* 2018's ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' was original slated to be an explicit prequel to [[Film/{{Transformers}} the original 2007 film]] by Creator/MichaelBay, but after bringing on Creator/TravisKnight, drastic changes in the tone and aesthetic, namely giving the Transformers themselves new designs greatly evocative of their G1 selves, and overall other stylistic liberties and major continuity differences have pretty much all but said classified it as a reboot, which was eventually confirmed by Hasbro two months after the film's release.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' was rebooted in 2011 with the animated features ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfsAChristmasCarol'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfsTheLegendOfSmurfyHollow'', which both take place in [[Film/TheSmurfs Sony Pictures' film series universe]]. Greedy the village chef was reverted back to Greedy the glutton as in [[ComicBook/TheSmurfs the comic books]], but smurfberries from the cartoon series still remain part of its universe.

* It isn't promoted as such, but the 2011 DirectToVideo film ''Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown'' is this to the original run of ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' animated adaptations (which ended in 2006). Adapting material from the strip that had previously been incorporated into the franchise's SaturdayMorningCartoon and the special ''It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown'' in TheEighties, it focuses on the core cast of the strip as it stood in TheSixties (Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Schroder, Sally, and Snoopy), scales back Snoopy's SpotlightStealingSquad and {{Slapstick}} tendencies, doesn't try to be [[WereStillRelevantDammit "relevant"]], and has sharper humor and a quieter, more melancholy tone than post-''WesternAnimation/SnoopyComeHome'' adaptations did. It also disregards the strip and specials' ArtEvolution in favor of using the character and background designs from TheSixties, though it keeps the voice acting style and jazz scoring forever linked to the franchise.

* Creator/IlluminationEntertainment[='=]s upcoming ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' movie will completely disregard the events of the [[Film/SuperMarioBros live-action film]] from 1993, as well as the [[WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow three]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3 animated]] [[WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld series]] before it. It will also ignore ''Anime/TheGreatMissionToSavePrincessPeach'' (although, considering its obscurity, it's unlikely that its existence was ever addressed by the producers to begin with).

* ''Webcomic/CheapThrills'', a {{Furry Webcomic|s}} which became a de facto OrphanedSeries after creator/artist S. E. Case went on an extended hiatus in December 2012, is being relaunched as ''Rigsby, WI'' in early 2019. This reboot shifts the time period a few years forward from the original mid-1990s timeframe, and [[FurryDenial the cast is now fully in human form]].

A '''Continuity Reboot''' is the partial or complete duplicative reset of a continuity from any and all previous works in a series. You could say it's the creation of an AlternateUniverse that shares virtually little to no canonicity with the preceding works in a franchise. It's not a ResetButton or SnapBack: while those revert the continuity to a previous state, a Continuity Reboot starts over, providing the authors with a new clean slate to work on. In one form, as far as later works are concerned everything before it is in CanonDiscontinuity (to which it sometimes overlaps).

* And X-Men with ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', cashing in on the film with its own interpretation and continuity separate from the rather faithful (in a BroadStrokes sense) [[WesternAnimation/XMen 90s cartoon]]. And then rebooted again 8 years later with ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009''.