Great story, terrible sequel

During the Develop games conference, one of the speakers showed an image from a game set in a future dystopia. The image was of two skeletons, their bodies entwined on a bed. If you looked carefully, you could see a vial of poison next to them.

His point was the importance of context in properly setting the scene, not just for game play, but for any sort of narrative. Walking into a room and seeing such a sight gets your mind asking questions: Exactly what kind of situation led to these two people making such a choice? What kind of people were they, and what was at stake for them?

I had a slightly different take-away. I turned to the person next to me and whispered: “Romeo and Juliet: The Sequel.”

That got a laugh, but it also got me thinking. What other great stories would probably have really terrible sequels? Anyone have suggestions?

Soylent Green perhaps? Dr. Strangelove? The Matrix? Oh right, somebody already tried that one. :-/

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