The High Stakes of Nollywood Sequels 

Watching a well-made film is like taking a first refreshing sip of cold water on a scorching day. You find its storyline, pacing, and conflicts fulfilling, perhaps even developing a strong emotional attachment to a favourite character, quirk, line, or scene. Then, a year or more later, a trailer for its sequel drops, throwing you into emotional conflict. You are excited to see beloved characters return to the big screen—but you also fear the filmmakers might miss the mark and tarnish your affection for what is now becoming a franchise. Too often, that fear proves justified. Even major Hollywood franchises like Terminator, Star Wars, and Star Trek have stumbled with underwhelming sequels. James Cameron’s Terminator 3, for example, feels like a pale shadow of the first two films, while Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker has been called “the biggest disappointment in Star Wars history.” Such missteps raise important questions: When does a film truly deserve a sequel? When is it better to end things with the original and walk away? And is popularity or box-office success alone enough to justify making one?

First, it is important to establish a sequel as any film that comes directly after the original in a sequence and derives its story idea from the original. It builds on the original film concept, advancing the story with purpose, developing existing characters and often introducing new characters for narrative breadth and nuance. In contemporary Nollywood, we can identify three kinds of sequels. The first kind are feature film sequels, such as in franchises like Merry Men 1,2 & 3, Chief Daddy 1 & 2 and The Set Up 1 & 2. The second are sequels in film series, such as King of Boys: The Return of the King which is a sequel to King of Boys, Oloture: The Journey which is a sequel to Oloture, and Anikulapo: Rise of The Spectre which is a sequel to Anikulapo. The third are sequels that are thought of as a homage to Old Nollywood, such as Ramsey Nouah’s Living In Bondage: Breaking Free which advances the story of the 1994/95 classic Living In Bondage. Some anticipated Nollywood sequels are Sugar Rush 2, Issakaba 2, Anikulapo Season 2, Jagun Jagun 2, Blood Sisters 2 and King of Thieves 2. We also must not confuse sequels with remakes or reboots. A remake is a recreation of a story that has been told before. Films  like Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story and Glamour Girls are reboots of the Nollywood classics, with fresh, standalone characters that are not directly linked to the plots of their originals.

Unlike a remake or an entirely separate film, making a sequel comes with the burden of outsmarting the original from which it derives inspiration, presenting a progressive storyline that remains in touch with the foundational concept but turns out to be even more catchy and exciting in terms of the plot and character development. If the bar of the original is high, the sequel’s must be raised higher to avoid disappointment. Character arcs are broadened. New conflicts and motivations evolve but the sequel must be careful not to bore the audience in its quest for novelty. An ideal sequel also provides room to explore unanswered questions, especially when the preceding film ended with a cliffhanger. This, indeed, can be tough to pull off.

A successful first film tempts filmmakers and studios to make a sequel. For them, it is an avenue to make more money, build a cult following and create a legacy. With the franchise, they can drive continued public conversations to keep them and the title relevant, maintaining a sense of stability in a constantly evolving industry. The television franchise Jenifa’s Diary, for instance, sprung from the 2008 Yoruba language film, Jenifa. Over the years, the show became addictive to the masses and gave Funke Akindele the following she currently enjoys. This following, coupled with her marketing strategies, has been instrumental to building multiple groundbreaking achievements for her cinema projects.

Not every first film or show needs a sequel or remake, regardless of the buzz it generated. If a project is intended to become a franchise, that decision should be made from the outset, well before production of the first installment begins. This early intentionality gives filmmakers the leverage and time to properly flesh out the fictional world and character arcs, while anticipating and avoiding foreseeable narrative pitfalls. Without such planning, creators risk scrambling to invent plotlines that were never originally conceived, force-feeding the franchise in the process. Relying solely on the commercial success or audience appeal of the first film to justify a sequel is a recipe for disaster. A clear example is Chief Daddy 2: Going for Broke, the unnecessary follow-up to the 2018 box-office comedy-drama hit Chief Daddy (ranked in ninth position on the list of all-time highest grossing Nollywood films), which, despite its star-studded cast and glossy visuals, fails so badly in storytelling that it tarnishes whatever reputation the original had left.

The fate of any film rests on the strength of its story. Considerable investment must go into scriptwriting and production to create a sequel that truly resonates with audiences. Therefore, reimagining Nollywood classics such as Issakaba and Karishika, whether as sequels or remakes, demands meticulous care and respect for the originals. Yet, for much of time, contemporary Nollywood filmmakers must resist the cash-grab impulse to milk every original film idea for a sequel. This cinematic sin becomes almost unforgivable when paired with a weak story, one that not only disappoints even the most anticipated follow-up but also diminishes the cultural legacy of the original.