Prequel
A prequel is a work that portrays events which include the structure, conventions, and/or characters of a previously completed narrative, but occur at an earlier time. The word is a neologism, dating to the early 1970s; it is a portmanteau formed from pre-, meaning before, and sequel, a work which takes place after a previous one. "The term has recently slipped into common usage with its popularization by the advent of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" wrote Chris Deever in Truth in Cinema, May 28, 2001. The Star Wars prequel trilogy greatly popularized the term in American culture.
Another popular cinematic prequel is The Godfather, Part II. This film is both sequel and prequel, since it intercuts the further story of the Corleone family under the leadership of Michael Corleone with the story of Vito Corleone in his youth.
Like sequels, prequels may or may not concern the same plot as the work from which they are derived. Often, they explain the background which led to the events in the original, but sometimes the connections are not as explicit. Sometimes, prequels play on the fact that the audience knows what will happen next, using deliberate references to create dramatic irony.
The idea of a prequel is not new. The libretti for the four operas of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle -- Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung -- were written in reverse order, making each opera a prequel to the following one.
Another example of a prequel in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia is The Magician's Nephew, a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which was written first.
The term prequel is often used to describe any work with a sequel. This is contrary to the term's original meaning, which defines a prequel as a type of sequel, not the converse of a sequel. For example, The Phantom Menace (1999) is a prequel to Return of the Jedi (1983), but not to Attack of the Clones (2002).
List of prequels
Literature
| Prequel | Original |
|---|---|
| Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) | Jane Eyre (1847) |
| The Magician's Nephew (1955) | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) |
| The Silmarillion (see Note #1 below) | The Lord of the Rings |
| The Dark Elf Trilogy | The Icewind Dale Trilogy |
| First King of Shannara | The Sword of Shannara |
| Dune: House Atreides | Dune |
| Wicked | Wizard of Oz |
| New Spring | The Wheel of Time |
Movies
| Prequel(s) | Original(s) |
|---|---|
| Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
(see Note #2 below) |
|
| Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) |
| Red Dragon (2002)
(see Note #3 below) |
|
| Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979) | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) |
| My Summer Story (1994) | A Christmas Story (1983) |
| Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) | Dumb & Dumber (1994) |
| Infernal Affairs II (2003) |
|
| Cube Zero (2004) |
|
| Carlito's Way: Rise to Power (2005) | Carlito's Way (1993) |
(see Note #4 below) |
The Exorcist (1973) |
| The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (1986)
(see Note #6 below) |
The Care Bears Movie (1985) |
Television
| Prequel | Originals |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Enterprise | |
|
First of the Summer Wine (1988-89) |
Last of the Summer Wine (1973-) |
|
Etheria (2005-) |
Encantadia (May 2005-December 2005) |
Gaming
Cross-media
| Prequel(s) | Original(s) |
|---|---|
| Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) (film) |
Twin Peaks (1990-1991) (television series) |
| Smallville (2001- ) (TV series) |
Superman franchise (comics, movies, etc) |
See also
Notes
1. Many would argue that the principal plot structures in The Silmarillion were devised long before The Lord Of The Rings, and that the latter was incorporated into an existing structure, meaning the work, although published later, is not a prequel in the strict sense of the word. The Hobbit, on the other hand, is certainly not a prequel, as it was published before The Lord of the Rings.
2. Since Alien vs. Predator is set before the Alien movie series, but chronologically after the Predator series, this movie is both a sequel and a prequel.
3. Red Dragon is unique in that when it was released, it was a prequel to two previous films (The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal). However, the material it was based on had been filmed as Manhunter several years before Silence. Thus, it was both a prequel and a remake.
4. Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist are separate films that tell essentially the same story. See their respective articles for more information.
5. See Compilation of Final Fantasy VII for more details.
6. While commercially marketed as a sequel, The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation serves chronologically as a prequel to the 1985 original.