Informal sequel
Encyclopedia
An informal sequel, also called an unauthorized sequel or unofficial sequel, is a sequel
to a novel
, film
, television show, or video game that is produced without the consent of the creators or rights owners of the original material. Today, informal sequels have become a staple theme of fan fiction
writings on the Internet.
Producing informal sequels to works that have passed into the public domain
is common, as the former copyright holders of the original work cannot bring legal action regarding copyright infringement
against the creator(s) of the informal sequel. Many informal sequels to public domain works, such as H. G. Wells
's 1895 novel The Time Machine
and George A. Romero
's Night of the Living Dead
, have been produced. Informal sequels to works still under copyright sometimes change the names of the characters and settings to avoid legal action.
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television show, or video game that is produced without the consent of the creators or rights owners of the original material. Today, informal sequels have become a staple theme of fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
writings on the Internet.
Producing informal sequels to works that have passed into the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
is common, as the former copyright holders of the original work cannot bring legal action regarding copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
against the creator(s) of the informal sequel. Many informal sequels to public domain works, such as H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
's 1895 novel The Time Machine
The Time Machine
The Time Machine is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895 for the first time and later adapted into at least two feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations. It indirectly inspired many more works of fiction...
and George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
's Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
, have been produced. Informal sequels to works still under copyright sometimes change the names of the characters and settings to avoid legal action.
Novels
- The Wind Done GoneThe Wind Done GoneThe Wind Done Gone is the first novel written by Alice Randall. It was a bestselling historical parallel novel that reinterprets the famous American novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.- Plot summary :...
by Alice RandallAlice RandallAlice Randall is an American author and songwriter. Randall grew up in Washington, D.C.. She attended Harvard University, where she earned an honors degree in English and American literature, before moving to Nashville in 1983 to become a country songwriter. She currently lives in Nashville,...
, created as a sequel to Margaret MitchellMargaret MitchellMargaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
's novel Gone with the WindGone with the WindThe slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
. - Cosette: The Sequel To Les Misérables by Laura KalpakianLaura KalpakianLaura Anne Kalpakian is an American author. She has also published under the pen names Juliet Fitzgerald and Carenna Jane Greye. She is known for her work in the memoir genre.-Life and career:...
, created as a sequel to Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
's novel Les MisérablesLes MisérablesLes Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...
. - Cosette or the Time of Illusions and Marius or The Fugitive by François Cérésa, also created as sequels to the novel Les Misérables.
- Psychohistorical CrisisPsychohistorical CrisisPsychohistorical Crisis is a science fiction novel by Donald Kingsbury, published by Tor Books in 2001. An expansion of his 1995 novella "Historical Crisis", it is a re-imagining of the world of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, set after the establishment of the Second Empire.Review by Peter...
by Donald KingsburyDonald KingsburyDonald MacDonald Kingsbury is an American–Canadian science fiction author. Kingsbury taught mathematics at McGill University, Montreal, from 1956 until his retirement in 1986.- Books :...
, created as a sequel to Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's Foundation trilogy.
Films
- Happily Ever After, created as a sequel to Disney's Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
. - War, Inc.War, Inc.War, Inc. is a 2008 American political satire film starring John Cusack and directed by Joshua Seftel. Cusack also co-wrote and produced the film.- Plot :...
, has been described by John CusackJohn CusackJohn Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
as an informal sequel to Grosse Pointe BlankGrosse Pointe BlankGrosse Pointe Blank is a 1997 American Black comedy film, directed by George Armitage, and starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver.In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Grosse Pointe Blank the 21st greatest comedy film of all time. The film's soundtrack features mainly independent music hits...
, as both films are dark comedies which feature Cusack playing a hitman. - 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
's Beyond the Valley of the DollsBeyond the Valley of the DollsBeyond the Valley of the Dolls is a 1970 American schlock melodrama film starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett and David Gurian...
(1970), was originally conceived as an official sequel to the studio's earlier hit Valley of the DollsValley of the Dolls (film)The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...
(1967). The first script written for Beyond included at least two of the characters from the original. Jacqueline SusannJacqueline SusannJacqueline Susann was an American author known for her best-selling novels. Her most notable work was Valley of the Dolls, a book that broke sales records and spawned an Oscar-nominated 1967 film and a short-lived TV series.-Early years:Jacqueline Susann was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to...
, author of the original Valley of the DollsValley of the DollsValley of the Dolls is a novel by American writer Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, barbiturates used as sleep aids....
novel, objected to the studio making a sequel without her involvement and subsequently sued the studio. The names of the characters were changed and the actors who were in line to portray them again were released from the project. Beyond ended up needing a disclaimer at the beginning of the film and on all posters stating it was not a sequel, though much of the spirit was in the same vein as the original, with occasional references in costumes and dialogue.
Games
- The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino DungeonThe Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino DungeonThe Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino Dungeon is a console role-playing game developed by Arika and Chunsoft and published by Namco in 2004 exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 2...
, created by ArikaArikais a Japanese video game developer. It was formed in 1995 by former Capcom employees. The name of the company itself is the reverse of the name of the company's founder, Akira Nishitani, who created Street Fighter II. Arika's first arcade game was Street Fighter EX...
and ChunsoftChunsoftis a Japanese video game developer specializing in console RPGs and visual novels. It was founded by Koichi Nakamura, a video game designer from Enix...
as a sequel to Tower of DruagaTower of Druagais a maze-based action role-playing arcade game released by Namco in 1984, in Japan and the United States. It is the first game in the Babylonian Castle Saga series of games....
, which was created by NamcoNamcois a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
.
See also
- Fan fictionFan fictionFan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
- List of fictional works using settings created by other artists