History Main / SequelGap

* The anime adaptation of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' ended in 2012 without adapting the last arc of the manga, which was ongoing at the time. It was eventually announced that the last arc will be adapted to anime starting in October 2022 -- a 10-year gap.

** The ''Macross Delta'' anime (2016) and its sequel movie ''Zettai LIVE!!!!!!'' (2021) (disregarding the CompilationMovie ''Passionate Walkure'' in 2018, despite ''Zettai LIVE'' being more of a sequel to the later) -- 5 years.

* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' (1964) to ''Literature/CharlieAndTheGreatGlassElevator'' (1972) -- 8 years.
* ''Literature/{{Holes}}'' (1998) to ''Literature/SmallSteps'' (2006) -- 8 years.

* Creator/VernorVinge's ''Literature/AFireUponTheDeep'' came out in 1992; the sequel, ''Literature/TheChildrenOfTheSky'', was released in 2011 (19 years). ''Literature/ADeepnessInTheSky'' -- set in the same universe but not a direct sequel -- came out in the interim.

-->--'''Gabe Newell'''

* Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin published the 3rd and 4th books of the Literature/{{Earthsea}} series, ''Literature/TheFarthestShore'' and ''Literature/{{Tehanu}}'', in 1972 and 1990 -- 18 years.

* ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'': The first season aired from 2002 to 2003 before being cancelled. The second season aired in 2023 (owing to [[NewbieBoom renewed online interest]] in the CultClassic). It immediately picked up on the cliffhanger ending and worked the time gap into the plot by having the [[HumanPopsicle frozen]] main characters thaw out twenty years later and adapt to 2023.

* An odd example involving a Lotr prequel taking place in an AlternativeContinuity. In the late '90, Creator/NewLineCinema acquired their rights to adapt ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Literature/TheHobbit'', with the books being adapted in two trilogies, the first airing in the early 2000, and the other one a decade later. Tolkien Estate was not happy with Jackson's adaptations, and would take them around 2 decades to allow another adaptation of Middle-Earth to be created. In 2017, Amazon acquired the rights to adapt the Second Age, which led to the creation of ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'' (with New Line Cinema being again involved), which aired a decade later after the Hobbit trilogy.

* An odd example involving a Lotr prequel taking place in an AlternativeContinuity. In the late '90, Creator/NewLineCinema acquired their rights to adapt ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and ''Literature/TheHobbit'', with the books being adapted in two trilogies, the first airing in the early 2000, and the other one a decade later. Tolkien Estate was not happy with Jackson's adaptations, and would take them around 2 decades to allow another adaptation of Middle-Earth to be created. In 2017, Amazon acquired the rights to adapt the Second Age, which led to the creation of ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'' (with New Line Cinema being again involved), which aired almost a decade later after the Hobbit trilogy.

* Music/RogerWaters saw a five-year gap between ''Radio K.A.O.S.'' (1987) and ''Music/AmusedToDeath'' (1992). Barring side projects, that was then followed up ''twenty-five'' years later with ''Music/IsThisTheLifeWeReallyWant'' (2017), owed to Waters focusing more on his live act.

* ''Series/{{Riget}}'' had two seasons in respectively 1994 and 1997, before the untimely death of several of the principle actors resulted in the planned third season being put on ice indefintely. But in 2020, series creator Creator/LarsVonTrier made the surprising announcement that he would make a proper third season and GrandFinale to the series, ''Riget Exodus'', which is set to primere in 2022, 25 years after the second season.

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' (2000-2010) and ''Toys/Bionicle2015'' (2015-2016) -- 5 years.

* Music/KateBush went twelve years between ''The Red Shoes'' (1993) and ''Music/{{Aerial}}'' (2005), long enough that many people surmised she'd given up music entirely. She went on to issue two separate albums -- ''Director's Cut'' and ''Music/FiftyWordsForSnow'' -- in 2011 (six years after ''Aerial''), but hasn't released any new studio material since, only a LiveAlbum in 2016.

** Ten years and counting between ''A Dance With Dragons'' and it's as of yet (mid-2021) still unfinished and unpublished sequel.

* Music/{{Kraftwerk}} have fallen into this ever since they released ''Music/ComputerWorld'' in 1981. Their next album, ''[[Music/TechnoPop Electric Café]]'', followed 5 years later, which at the time was the longest gap between their albums. Then things begin to get a bit crazy; the follow-up to that album, ''Tour de France Soundtracks'' (if you don't count ''The Mix'' or ''Expo 2000''), came out 17 years later in 2003. And that album has been their most recent album for nearly 20 years now.
** And even if you do count ''The Mix'', it still doesn't really help matters, because that's still another 5 years after ''Electric Café'' and 12 years before ''Tour de France Soundtracks''. ''Expo 2000'' meanwhile isn't as bad, as it was only 3 years before ''Tour de France Soundtracks'' despite plugging a 9 year gap of very little activity at all in terms of musical releases.
* Music/{{Metallica}} has fallen into this for their most recent albums. It first happened with the five year gap between ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Metallica]]'' and ''Load''. Then there was a six year gap between ''[=ReLoad=]'' and ''St. Anger.'' Their next album ''Death Magnetic'' (2008) took five years to come out. If one discounts their Music/LouReed collaboration Lulu (2012) ([[FanonDiscontinuity most fans definitely prefer to]]), their next album ''Hardwired... to Self-Destruct'' came out 8 years later in 2016.

* There was a 11-year gap from Music/SteelyDan frontman Donald Fagen's solo debut, ''The Nightfly'', to 1993's followup ''Kamikiriad'', partly a result of Fagen's WritersBlock. He would follow that up with the first Steely Dan album since 1980's ''Gaucho'', ''Two Against Nature'', in 2000, bridging a 20-year gap. Fagen's third solo album, ''Morph the Cat'', would be released in 2006, bridging a 13-year gap between solo albums.

* Music/AphexTwin released the album ''Drukqs'' in 2001. It would be 13 years until he released the next album under that name, ''Syro'' (2014). The most recent non-compilation album even as AFX at that time was ''Analord'' (2005). That still ended at least a 9 year wait.

** Discounting [[Music/EverythingThatHappensWillHappenToday the two]] [[Music/LoveThisGiant collaborative albums]] he put out during the interim, ''Music/AmericanUtopia'' (2018) ended a fourteen-year gap since his previous solo album, ''Music/GrownBackwards'' (2004).

* Italian record producer Music/GiorgioMoroder had a ''30 year gap'' between ''Innovisions'' (1985) and ''Déjà Vu'' (2015).

* Music/{{Blur}} released their first album without guitarist Graham Coxon, ''Think Tank,'' in 2003. It would be another twelve years before Coxon rejoined and the band released ''The Magic Whip'' in 2015.

** ''Music/{{Bad}}'' (1987) released five years after ''Music/{{Thriller}}'' (1982), owed to a mix of Jackson's various commitments throughout the '80s and his perfectionism causing production to go on for over two years (compare this to ''Music/OffTheWall'' and ''Thriller'', which each took around half a year).