Lights, Camera… Again? Hollywood’s Sequel Addiction

Apparently, it’s 2003 again. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are back swapping bodies, lives, and whatever scraps of originality Hollywood has left. With Freakier Friday officially in cinemas, we have yet another sequel riding the nostalgia wave. Let’s be honest, half the fun only works if you’ve seen the original, otherwise the jokes and references just fly right over. The problem? It’s a symptom of a much bigger issue, Hollywood’s dangerous addiction to sequels.

As film professor Bruce Isaacs stated in The Australian, “this isn’t a recent development in Hollywood but ingrained within the very concept of the industry”. In other words, sequels aren’t just a passing trend, they’re baked into Hollywood’s DNA. Studios are playing it safe by betting on familiar titles rather than taking risks on original stories. That’s not just business, it’s fear dressed up as nostalgia.

We are drowning in sequels, reboots, spin-offs, and “reimagining’s.” Jurassic World: Rebirth is currently in theatres. Zootopia 2 is on the way. Clueless 2 was just confirmed. In 2025 alone, 70% of studio releases are remakes or sequels. Original storytelling is an endangered species.

I get the appeal. As a Disney fan, I watched Mufasa: The Lion King however, halfway through, I realised I wasn’t excited because it was new, I was excited because it was familiar. I caught myself comparing it to the original, even with new creative touches, it was still a sequel. That’s not storytelling or creativity; that’s comfort food. And like comfort food, too much leaves you feeling full and bored.

The irony of Freakier Friday is that the 2003 version was itself a remake of a 1976 film. That remake worked because it brought something fresh to the table. Now, instead of reinventing, we’re reheating. This pattern stretches far beyond family comedies, horror and animation are stuck in the loop, with Scream VII, The Exorcist: Believer, Shrek 5 and Toy Story 5.

Of course, not all sequels are failures. Dune: Part Two proved that multi-film storytelling can actually deepen the narrative, even if the wait is brutal, and Top Gun: Maverick added genuine new layers to its story. The difference? These sequels respected the original while building something bold enough to stand on its own.

So, will I be lining up for Freakier Friday? No. I have nothing against sequels however the current flood has turned cinemas into recycling bins. Nostalgia and familiarity might keep audiences returning, but it’s choking the space for fresh content to emerge. If Hollywood doesn’t grow out of its fear of originality, we will be in a constant time loop watching the same movie forever, just in different fonts.