15 movie sequels that are better than the originals

Let’s start off by getting this out of the way: All of the original movies to the sequels in this list are amazing.

If they weren’t, there would never have been a sequel (or sometimes, three, four, or even seven more movies).

But in some cases, the sequels that push forward what's explored in the origin story are better. That doesn’t lessen the quality of the original, but we love these franchises even more because these subsequent movies were made.

Here we look at 15 sequels that did just that:

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“Aliens” (1986)

James Cameron expands Ridley Scott’s original movie while also giving it a jolt of insane thrills. Taking us from a ship infected by aliens in the first movie to a whole planet in the sequel, the idea of a franchise that can go on for decades is realized. And the Marines getting attacked by the aliens in the beginning of the movie is one of the top anxiety experiences I’ve ever had watching a movie.

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)

It’s only been out for a few weeks, but you can tell instantly that this movie is special. The original Avengers movie was a thrill because we got to see all of our childhood heroes on the screen at the same time. But “Infinity War” uses that to give us a punch in the gut that we won’t forget for a while.

“The Dark Knight” (2008)

It’s the high point of Christopher Nolan’s fantastic Batman trilogy. There’s the greatness of Nolan at the helm, but also the Oscar-winning performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker. With a talent like Christian Bale as Batman, putting him up against an equal talent like Ledger resulted in one of the best acted comic book movies of all time.