9 Sci-Fi Movies That Desperately Deserve a Sequel

After an alien race takes over much of Europe, Major William Cage finds himself demoted and on the front lines of the losing war. When he accidentally gets alien blood all over himself, he becomes trapped in a time loop where he fights, dies, and repeats the same day all over again. He teams up with Sergeant Rita Vrataski to attempt and use this temporal repetition to win the war.

Edge of Tomorrow is a propulsive story that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. While the ending hints towards a satisfying resolution, there are enough threads to untangle in the time-loop that fans have been ravenous for a sequel. 

It does appear that a “sequel that’s a prequel” is in development, but as of 2021, it hasn’t moved into production.

This documentary-style movie chronicles the plight of aliens trapped on Earth. Extraterrestrials called 'prawns' have been detained in Johannesburg, South Africa, since their ship appeared over the city. 20 years later, the government has plans to move them from District 9 to a new camp, District 10. But in the middle of the transition, one of the aliens attempts to escape with his son, and encounters a bureaucrat in charge of relocation. 

Told largely in a found footage format, the movie is visually stunning while hitting on social issues of segregation, xenophobia, and what it means to be human. It's an emotional power punch that resonated with viewers when it hit theaters, and the cliff-hanger ending had fans eager for a sequel at the time. Twelve years later, we’re still waiting, though there are rumors that District 10 may finally be on its way.

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When researchers discover ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, they accidentally open a wormhole to another planet. There they discover alien beings that have kidnapped and enslaved humans. Determined to save the humans and destroy the world, the researchers become locked in a battle with the fate of Earth at stake. 

Stargate was originally meant to be the first in a film trilogy; and as late as 2006, a full twelve years after the movie premiered, both writers and producers confirmed they were still working on the sequels. 

However, in 2013, talks shifted into a complete reboot, so it doesn’t seem likely the movie sequel fans have long awaited will ever happen.

In this adaptation of the Judge Dredd comics, Dredd is paired with a new recruit to assess if she’s ready to become a Judge. While investigating a triple homicide, they are locked in a slum tower and are hunted down by a vicious drug dealer.

Fans had high hopes that this would become a lasting franchise. A trilogy was originally planned, but talks to continue development were tabled as initial box office numbers disappointed. 

While the film built in popularity, gaining quite the cult following, as of 2021 no plans have been mentioned to continue with the movie series.

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When a mysterious woman falls into his cab, Korban Dallas has no idea how important she is. He quickly learns that Leeloo is the mysterious fifth element, returned to Earth to destroy a great evil. As everyone in the galaxy tries to capture or kill her, she and Dallas make their way to an ancient temple to align all five elements before Earth is destroyed.

The Fifth Element has become a sci-fi cult classic in the 24 years since it premiered. 

As the movie continues to gain traction with new fans and the script for the sequel is already half-written, it’s easy to hold out hope that someday we may get to see some version of Korban and Leeloo on the screen again. 

However, director and co-writer Luc Besson has stated that he will never make a sequel to the film.

A continuation of the beloved Firefly TV series, Serenity follows the crew of Firefly-class starship, Serenity, as they continue smuggling and running cargo through the galaxy. After they find out one of their passengers is a psychic assassin on the run, they uncover a deadly conspiracy.

Filled with characters people love, Firefly and Serenity have become sci-fi pop culture icons. Given how intensely popular the Firefly series was and how excited fans were for its story to be continued in Serenity, it’s a bit puzzling why sequels were never able to launch. One of the few sci-fi classics that has strong initial reviews and continues to attract new fans, it seems like sequels would be a no-brainer. 

Although a sequel movie may never happen, a Disney Plus TV series reboot is rumored to be in development. 

Based on the book series by Pittacus Lore, I Am Number Four follows John, the fourth alien in a set of eight who were sent to Earth as children to avoid being killed. They can only be killed in order, and the first three are dead. Now John must race to stay alive and protect his surviving siblings.

Considering the amount of source material in the seven-book series, it’s no wonder fans are upset that this franchise stalled after the first movie. Even though the film ended up doing well at the box office (despite negative critical reception), plans to develop the next book in the series, The Power of Six, were put on hold indefinitely.

Given the amount of time between movies, and that the main actors are no longer teens, it seems unlikely a direct sequel will ever happen.

Written to capture the cheeky essence of Douglas Adams' beloved sci-fi book series, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy follows the misadventures of Arthur Dent after he’s saved by his friend, who happens to be an alien, moments before Earth is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway. 

Along the way he meets a multitude of aliens, a depressed android, and another human survivor as they all search for a definitive answer to the meaning of life (it's 42). 

There’s nothing more frustrating to fans than only getting one movie from a multi-book series, especially when it sticks to the source material as devoutly as this adaptation did. Unfortunately, it was a little too devout, appealing to only die-hard fans while leaving new viewers out in the cold. 

Although the movie has since become a treasured cult classic, it is unlikely to extend to the rest of the five-book series.

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The dystopian thriller that hits a little too close to home these days, 12 Monkeys follows James Cole as he is sent back in time to stop a virus from decimating humanity.

While the movie itself has a definitive end, the time travel aspects offer plenty of opportunities to explore more plot threads in new and exciting ways. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like producers agree. 

There is a four-season show on Syfy that works as a sequel of sorts, but it doesn’t quite capture the gritty noir vibe that the film did so beautifully.