History Main / SequelGap

A film or other literary work where a {{sequel}} is released long, long after the original work. May sometimes be a TrilogyCreep. Does not apply to Sequels InNameOnly, {{Sequel Series}}, or [[ContinuityReboot Franchise Reboots]]. This Trope is for honest to goodness sequels. See also CapcomSequelStagnation, and a related Webcomic trope, ScheduleSlip.

A film or other literary work where a {{sequel}} is released long, long after the original work. May sometimes be a TrilogyCreep. Does not apply to Sequels InNameOnly, {{Sequel Series}}, or [[ContinuityReboot Franchise Reboots]]. This Tropes is for honest to goodness sequels. See also CapcomSequelStagnation, and a related Webcomic trope, ScheduleSlip.

* HitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy books: 17 years between the last book of the series, ''Mostly Harmless'', and it's authorized sequel, ''And Another Thing...''

* HitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy books: 17 years between the last book of the series, ''Mostly Harmless'', and it's final authorized sequel, ''And Another Thing...''

* ''MarvelVsCapcom3'' - a decade after the second game.

* ''StarCraft II'', 12 years after the original.
* ''[[StreetFighter Street Fighter 3]]'' (1997) - ''Street Fighter 4'' (2008 - 11 years)

* Also common with the ''[[{{Film/Alien}} Alien]]'' series. (7 years to the second, 6 to the third, and 6 to the fourth. And if you count the ''Alien vs. Predator'' films in the series, another 6 years to the first of those.)
* Speaking of which -- there's a fourteen-year gap between ''Predator 2'' (1990) and ''Alien vs. Predator'' (2004). Or, not counting the ''Alien vs. Predator'' films as legitimate, there's a '''twenty'''-year gap between ''Predator 2'' (1990) and ''Predators'' (2010).

* An argument could be made for the ''[[{{Film/StarTrek}} Star Trek]]'' reboot, which is both a ContinuityReboot and a sequel (just as only ''StarTrek'' could manage).

* ''[=~Big Momma's House~=]'' (2000), ''Big Momma's House 2'' (2006 - 6 years), and ''[[{{ptitleljt5cobg}} Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son]]'' (2011 - 11 years)

* ''DukeNukemForever'' is becoming this because of the time the game's spent as {{Vaporware}}.

* ''[[{{Gobliiins}} Goblins 3]]'' (1993) - [[Gobliiins 4]] (2009 - 16 years)

* ''[[{{Gobliiins}} Goblins 3]]'' (1993) - Gobliiins 4 (2009 - 16 years)

* ''[[Gobliiins Goblins 3]]'' (1993) - Gobliiins 4 (2009 - 16 years)

* ''{{TRON}}: [[TronLegacy Legacy]]'' (1982/2010)
* ''{{Wall Street}}: Money Never Sleeps'' (1987/2010)
* ''TheColorOfMoney'' (1961/1986)
* ''{{Psycho}}'' (1960) and ''Psycho II'' (1985)
* ''IndianaJones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' (1989/2008)
* ''StarWars: ReturnOfTheJedi'' (1983) - ''ThePhantomMenace'' (1999): A sixteen-year Prequel Gap.

* ''{{Rocky}} V'' (1990) and ''Rocky Balboa'' (2006)
* ''{{Rambo}} III'' (1988) and ''[[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo Rambo]]'' (2008)
* ''TheBluesBrothers'' (1980) and ''The Blues Brothers 2000'' ([[{{Trope2000}} no]], 1998).

* ''WarGames: The Dead Code''. 1983/2008 (with some non-trope-fitters in between)

** ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound'' (1981) and ''Fox And The Hound 2'' (2006)
** ''[[Disney/{{Cinderella}} Cinderella]]'' (1950) and ''Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True'' (2002)
** ''[=~101 Dalmatians~=]'' (1961) and ''101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure'' (2003)
** ''LadyAndTheTramp'' (1955) and ''Lady And The Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure'' (2001)

** ''Disney/PeterPan'' (1953) and ''Return To Neverland'' (2002)
** ''Disney/TheJungleBook'' (1967) and ''Jungle Book 2'' (2003)
** ''{{Fantasia}}'' (1940) and ''Fantasia 2000'' (1999), 59 years between sequels.

* ''{{Gunbuster}}'' (1988-89) and ''{{Diebuster}}'' (2004-05)
* ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShell Ghost in the Shell]]'' (1995) and ''Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence'' (2004)

* ''[=~Big Momma's House~=]'' (2000), ''Big Momma's House 2'' (2006), and ''[[{{ptitleljt5cobg}} Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son]]'' (2011)
* ''TheGodfather Part II'' (1974) and ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990).

* VernorVinge's ''AFireUponTheDeep'' came out in 1992; the sequel, ''The Children of the Sky'', is currently scheduled for release in late 2011.
* [[CJCherryh C. J. Cherryh]]'s ''[[AllianceUnion Cyteen]]'' and ''Regenesis'' (1988/2009).

* Part I of Goethe's ''{{Faust}}'' was first published in 1808. Part II (a sequel in all but name) was released in 1832.

* ''[[PeterPan Peter And Wendy]]'' (1911) and its authorised sequel ''Peter Pan In Scarlet'' (2006).

* ''JulieOfTheWolves'' (1972) by Jean Craighead George got its sequels ''Julie'' and ''Julie's Wolf Pack'' in 1994 and 1997, respectively.
* ''Psycho'', the original RobertBloch novel (1959), and ''Psycho II'' also by Bloch (1982) which was totally unrelated to the film sequel.
* ''Magicians of {{Gor}}'' (book 25 in the series): 1988 - ''Witness of Gor'' (book 26): 2001

* ''TheHobbit'' (1937), followed by ''TheLordOfTheRings'' (three volumes, 1954-1955).
* The ''PitDragonChronicles'' by Jane Yolen was originally a trilogy that was published 1982-1987. The [[TrilogyCreep fourth book]] came out in 2009.

* ''BionicCommando'' (1988) - ''BionicCommandoRearmed'' (2008)

* ''KidIcarus'' (1986, 1991, 2011) the trailer for the new game lampshades this by having Pit say "Sorry to keep you waiting"
* ''SuperMetroid'' (1994) and ''MetroidPrime'' / ''{{Metroid}} Fusion'' (2002)

* ''TheGreatGianaSisters'' (1987) - ''Great Giana Sister DS'' (2009)
* ''{{Fallout 2}}'' was released in 1998, ''{{Fallout 3}}'' came out in 2008.

* ''[[StreetFighter Street Fighter 3]]'' (1997) - ''Street Fighter 4'' (2008)
* ''SonicTheHedgehog3'' (1994) - ''SonicTheHedgehog4'' (2010), although there were many other Sonic titles released between then.
* ''[[{{Megaman}} Megaman 8]]'' (1996) - ''MegaMan9'' (2008). As with Sonic, there were other Megaman titles released.
* ''GoldenSun: The Lost Age'' (2003) and ''[[GoldenSunDarkDawn Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]]'' (2010)

* Common with the ''{{Terminator}}'' series (7 years to the second, 11 to the third, and 6 to the fourth)

* ''TheBluesBrothers'' (1980) and ''The Blues Brothers 2000'' ([[Trope2000 no]], 1998).

A film or other literary work where a {{sequel}} is released long, long after the original work. May sometimes be a TrilogyCreep. Does not apply to Sequels in Name Only, {{Sequel Series}}, or [[ContinuityReboot Franchise Reboots]]. This Tropes is for honest to goodness sequels. See also CapcomSequelStagnation, and a related Webcomic trope, ScheduleSlip.

* ''ReturnOfTheJedi'' (1983) - ''ThePhantomMenace'' (1999): A sixteen-year Prequel Gap.

* ''{{Rocky}} V'' (1990), ''Rocky Balboa'' (2006)
* ''{{Rambo}} III'' (1988), ''[[OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo Rambo]]'' (2008)
* ''TheBluesBrothers'' (1980) and ''The Blues Brothers 2000'' (no, 1998).
* ''ToyStory 3'', a gap of 10 years from ''2''
* ''MenInBlack III''

** ''Fantasia'' (1940) and ''Fantasia 2000'' (1999), 59 years between sequels.
* ''{{Terminator}}'' and ''Terminator 2'': 7 years

* ''CrocodileDundee part III'', released decades after the first two.

* ''DukeNukemForever'' is becoming this because of the time the game's spent as {{Vapourware}}.

* ''SuperMetroid'' and ''MetroidPrime''

* ''StarCraft II''

* ''[[{{Megaman}} Megaman 8]]'' (1996) - ''Megaman 9'' (2008). As with Sonic, there were other Megaman titles released.

* ''BionicCommando'' (1998) - ''BionicCommandoRearmed'' (2008)

A film or other literary work where a {{sequel}} is released long, long (20 years or so, as the name of the trope suggests) after the original work. May sometimes be a TrilogyCreep. Does not apply to Sequels in Name Only, {{Sequel Series}}, or [[ContinuityReboot Franchise Reboots]]. This Tropes is for honest to goodness sequels. See also CapcomSequelStagnation, and a related Webcomic trope, ScheduleSlip.

** ''[[Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound TheFoxAndTheHound]]'' (1981) and ''Fox And The Hound 2'' (2006)

* ''{{TRON}}'': Legacy (1982/2010)

* ReturnOfTheJedi (1983) - ThePhantomMenace (1999): A sixteen-year Prequel Gap.

* ''TheBluesBrothers'' and the SoBadItsHorrible ''The Blues Brothers 2000''.

* WarGames: The Dead Code. 1983/2008 (with some non-trope-fitters in between)

** ''[[Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound TheFoxAndTheHound]]'' (1981) and Fox And The Hound 2 (2006)
** ''[[Disney/{{Cinderella}} Cinderella]]'' (1950) and Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True (2002)
** ''101Dalmatians'' (1961) and 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure (2003)
** ''LadyAndTheTramp'' (1955) and Lady And The Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure (2001)

** Disney/PeterPan (1953) and Return To Neverland (2002)
** Disney/TheJungleBook (1967) and Jungle Book 2 (2003)

* An argument could be made for the ''[[{{Film/StarTrek}} Star Trek]]'' reboot, which is both a ContinuityReboot and a sequel [[spoiler: Due to a sort of {{subverted}} [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of the HitlerTimeTravelExemptionAct]](just as only ''StarTrek'' could manage). [[FanonDiscontinuity Especially if you'd rather pretend Nemesis didn't happen]].

* CrocodileDundee part III, released decades after the first two.
* When Ghostbusters III comes out (probably in 2012) it will have been 23 years since Ghostbusters II hit theaters.

* The EarthsChildren series had a12 year gap between ''The Plains of Passage'' (1990) and ''The Sheltes of Stone'' (2002). Assuming ''The Land of the Painted Caves'' comes out as scheduled in 2011, that'll've been another 9 year gap.
* Part I of Goethe's {{Faust}} was first published in 1808. Part II (a sequel in all but name) was released in 1832.
* TheUnicornChronicles had something like almost 10 years between the 2nd book and the 3rd book being published.

* GoneWithTheWind (1937) and its [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind#Sequels authorised sequel]] Scarlett (1991) have a gap of 54 years.

* Fans of Isobelle Carmody's {{Obernewtyn}} series waited 10 years for the fifth book in the sequence; the fourth book,''The Keeping Place'' was originally published in 1998, ''The Stone Key'' in 2008.

* DukeNukemForever is becoming this because of the time the game's spent as {{Vapourware}}.

* Fallout2 was released in 1998, FalloutNewVegas (the game based on the "true" design document for Fallout3, a.k.a. "Van Buren") was released in 2010. In between, {{Fallout 3}} came out in 2008.

* TeamFortressClassic --> TeamFortress2

->Toga! Toga! Toga! [[{{Trope2000}} 2000]]!

[[AC:Other]]
* ''[=BB2K=]'' came out in 1998, so it's "only" 18 years instead of 20.

A film or other literary work where a {{sequel}} is released long, long (20 years or so, as the name of the trope suggests) after the original work. Does not apply to Sequels in Name Only, {{Sequel Series}}, or [[ContinuityReboot Franchise Reboots]]. This Tropes is for honest to goodness sequels. See also CapcomSequelStagnation, and a related Webcomic trope, ScheduleSlip.

* The ''PitDragonChronicles'' by Jane Yolen was originally a trilogy that was published 1982-1987. The fourth book came out in 2009.

A film or other literary work where a {{sequel}} is released long, long (20 years or so, as the name of the trope suggests) after the original work. Does not apply to Sequels in Name Only, {{Sequel Series}}, or Franchise {{Reboot}}s. This Tropes is for honest to goodness sequels. See also CapcomSequelStagnation, and a related Webcomic trope, ScheduleSlip.

Examples:

* ''IndianaJones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' (1989/1998)

* Fallout2 was released in 1998, FalloutNewVegas (the game based on the "true" design document for Fallout3, a.k.a. "Van Buren") was released in 2010.

* I'd put the ''{{Fallout}} 2'' --> ''FalloutNewVegas'' as maybe a sub-bullet under ''{{Fallout}} 2'' (1998) --> ''{{Fallout 3}}'' (2008), noting the differing relations between the sequels (ie: FNV is more of a sequal to F2 than it is to F3, which is itself not a direct sequel to F2 despite being an official sequel). See? [[SarcasmMode Simple!]]