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Does Hollywood need more sequels? In 2026 alone, we’ve already had Scream 7, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie dominate multiplexes worldwide, and The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Mortal Kombat II just conquered the May box office.
There’s still room for more follow-ups, but only if they make sense.
Watch With Us has curated a list of long-overdue sequels to ‘80s classics that have never gone out of style.
From the icy horrors of The Thing to the high school antics of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, these seminal 1980s movies appeal to multiple generations and deserve another chapter to add to their already impressive legacies.
‘The Thing’ (1982)
The Thing has one of the most perfect endings in all of cinema, so why ruin it with a sequel? Here’s one good reason — the movie’s concept is good enough that it would be a crime not to. Any follow-up to John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi classic isn’t obligated to answer one of the film’s endearing mysteries — is MacReady (Kurt Russell) or Childs (Keith David) who they say they are, or is one of them really The Thing from Another World?
Instead, the sequel could focus on a new set of characters with no ties to the original movie. With both the Norwegian and American bases decimated by The Thing, it makes sense that a rescue crew would come looking for survivors and an explanation for their disappearance. What they find is, of course, a creature that can mimic any organic lifeform, with a vague goal to take over the world.
The follow-up can offer more insight into the creature’s origins, why it chose Earth as its new home and how deadlier it becomes as it keeps evolving. While it’s tempting to use CGI to bring the creature to life, the sequel should stick with what made the original work so well — practical effects that feel so real, it will make you want to hurl. And it’s not a requirement, but it would be cool to have Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt, in the cast to carry on his father’s legacy of portraying badass heroes.
‘Back to the Future’ (1985)
After Back to the Future III in 1990, Robert Zemeckis’ beloved sci-fi franchise lay dormant on purpose. The Forrest Gump director long refused offers to make another sequel or a reboot, but he’s recently suggested he’s open to revisiting the film. The 1985 sci-fi classic hasn’t lost any of its charm, and the central time-travel conceit is ripe for a 2026 update.
But how? Original series stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover are still with us, so there’s potential for a sequel to include them while also adding new actors like Jack Quaid as Marty McFly Jr. and Bryan Cranston as one of Dr. Emmett Brown’s scientist disciples to appeal to a new generation. Time travel itself is a hot subject right now, thanks to popular films and shows like Netflix’s Dark and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, so a follow-up could appeal to all four quadrants.
‘The Goonies’ (1985)
No ‘80s movie has had more talk of a sequel happening than The Goonies, with nothing to show for it. That might change soon, as a press release last year announced a new script was being written and Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus are on board as producers.
That’s a good sign that we may finally see The Goonies 2 with the 1985 cast coming back to reprise their roles. Some, like Josh Brolin (Brand) and Ke Huy Quan (Data), have gone on to gain more fame and even an Oscar, while others, like Jeff Cohen (Chunk) and Kerri Green (Andy), have left acting to pursue other careers. It would be awesome to see the OG Goonies reunite, perhaps to help a new generation of treasure-hunting teens find the adventure they are looking for.
Throw in Joe Pantoliano as the last surviving Fratelli family member, a return to the rocky, windswept coast of Astoria, Oregon, the location that made the first film so memorable and a zippy Michael Giacchino score, and you have a surefire, nostalgia-baiting box office hit.
‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ (1986)
It’s not hyperbole to claim that a lot of people have wanted a sequel to John Hughes’ massively popular 1986 teen comedy since — well, since 1986. For whatever reason, it hasn’t happened, but if humanity can revisit the moon in 2026, then Hollywood can surely make Ferris Bueller’s Next Day Off.
The obvious route is to focus on a new trio of bored teens escaping their high school cages, but I think it would be more interesting and poignant if we followed the original threesome — Ferris (Matthew Broderick), Sloane (Mia Sara) and Cameron (Alan Ruck) — as they take a break from adulting and reunite. In my version, Cam made millions as a tech entrepreneur, Sloane became a reporter for the Chicago Tribune and Ferris sold out and took a desk job at his father’s company.
Throw in some callbacks to the original (joyriding down the highway and another visit to a Cubs game are must-haves), plus some new Chicago hotspots we’ve never visited before, like Millennium Park and a walk down the Navy Pier, and you’ve got a sequel that entertains Millennials and causes most Gen-Xers to cry at being seen onscreen.
‘‘Heathers’ (1988)
You could argue that Heathers has already had several sequels by now, with spiritual successors Clueless, Jawbreaker and both versions of Mean Girls carrying on the “high school is brutal” torch. But nothing compares with the original, and we’re long overdue for an update from Wisterburg High’s finest. (It’s best to forget the awful 2018 streaming TV reboot.)
At the end of Heathers, only Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) and Heather Duke (Doherty) survived J.D.’s (Christian Slater) attempt to punish his peers for their vacuous, spiritually empty lives. Doherty is sadly no longer with us, but Ryder is more popular than ever thanks to Stranger Things, and it would be fun to see where she takes an older and hopefully wiser version of her iconic character. Slater could return, too, but since J.D. blew himself up in the original’s explosive climax, the sequel’s writer would have to find an inventive way to bring him back. An evil twin, maybe? AI? Scream 7 showed it’s possible to bring back fan-favorite characters who have been dead for decades.
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