A movie is never too old to warrant a sequel. For example, The Devil Wears Prada 2 will soon sashay its way into theaters 20 years after the original. The Meryl Streep–Anne Hathaway comedy is already one of the most highly anticipated movies of the summer.
Going back further in time, the 1995 crime classic Heat has a sequel in development, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Austin Butler rumored to star.
‘90s nostalgia is all the rage right now in pop culture, so why not bring back more classic films from that decade?
From the obvious (Clueless) to the surprising (a Sixth Sense sequel?), I picked four 1990s movies that deserve sequels in the 2020s.
‘Clueless 2: Totally Buggin!’
Clueless has endured as an evergreen ‘90s comedy, so why hasn’t the IP-hungry Paramount greenlit a proper movie sequel? Any follow-ups to Clueless have been relegated to the small screen or quick Super Bowl commercials, but Alicia Silverstone’s chic, fashion-forward heroine, Cher Horowitz, deserves a place at the multiplex.
Cher followed in her father’s footsteps and became a top Los Angeles lawyer. She has it all: a great career, a gorgeous Beverly Hills mansion, a thriving fashion accessory side business with high school bestie Dionne (Stacey Dash) and a killer wardrobe. When her deceased friend Tai’s (Brittany Murphy) teenage daughter asks her for help in finding a boyfriend in time for prom, Cher draws upon her long-dormant matchmaking skills to help the girl out. But will the unexpected return of former flame — and yes, stepbrother in case anyone forgot the original’s vaguely incestuous overtones — Josh (Paul Rudd) derail Cher’s plans and marriage to Bravo reality TV star Paul Charlie Paulstone (Simon Rex)?
With Silverstone’s career on the upswing (she had a key role in the Oscar-nominated film Bugonia) and Rudd somehow still looking as young as he did over 30 years ago, the time is ripe for Clueless 2 to return. The original hasn’t aged a bit, and it’d be fun for everyone who grew up with Cher, Di, Elton (Jeremy Sisto), Amber (Elisa Donovan) and Miss Geist (Twink Caplan) to see what they’re up to — and more importantly, what they’re wearing.
‘The Rock 2’
Nicolas Cage has been trying to make a sequel to his 1997 action blockbuster Face/Off for nearly a decade now, but the Longlegs actor should face facts — it’s probably not going to happen. Fortunately for him, he has a deep bench of ‘90s hits to exploit, and one of the best is The Rock, the 1996 testosteronefest that pitted Cage and Sean Connery against Ed Harris, whose character took over Alcatraz Island in an attempt to get $100 million from the U.S. government.
Connery died in 2020, so Cage could assume the mentor role in the sequel, which can be set in another famous landmark “rock”: the Rock of Gibraltar. When Spanish separatists claim the British territory as their own, the FBI and MI-5 call in two people who can stop them: Cage’s almost-retired Stanley Goodspeed and Lawrence Mason (James McAvoy), the Scottish grandson of Connery’s character, John Patrick Mason. Together, they can bring down the tech-savvy terrorists and save Gibraltar from certain destruction.
Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage in The Rock. Buena Vista Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection.
Cage still has what it takes to lead a big action movie, while McAvoy is no stranger to the genre, with Wanted and the X-Men films under his belt. If the right actor is cast as the sympathetic villain (Javier Bardem, maybe?), then Hollywood has another surefire box-office winner.
‘The Seventh Sense’
Whatever happened to Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), the innocent 9-year-old boy cursed with the ability to see and talk to dead people? I’ve always wondered about him long after I first watched The Sixth Sense in theaters, and I’m certain I’m not the only one.
Now a grown man, Cole is still haunted by the gift he never asked for. A failed novelist obsessed with conspiracies and the paranormal, the largely reclusive Cole lives in a shabby Boston apartment with no one to talk to except his shrink (Danielle Deadwyler). One dreary afternoon, he’s shocked to be visited by his estranged mother, Lynn (Toni Collette), whom he hasn’t talked to in years. But she has a reason to see him — she’s dead, and she needs his help to find the person who killed her.
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That’s just one of the many, many plots a follow-up to The Sixth Sense could have. The original writer and director, M. Night Shyamalan, could probably conjure a better story, so Disney, please let him. Give him all the money and creative freedom and hire Osment and Collette to reprise their Oscar-nominated roles. Throw in a brief mention of Bruce Willis’ character Malcolm, a spooky score by Alexandre Desplat and you’ve got yourself a surefire hit.
‘The Mask Returns’
Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz in The Mask New Line Cinema / courtesy Everett Collection
In this age of endless comic book sequels and permanent ‘90s nostalgia, I’m honestly stunned a sequel to the 1994 hit The Mask hasn’t happened. And I’m talking about a proper sequel that brings back original stars Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz. (Son of the Mask, you do not exist in my universe!). They’ve previously expressed interest in appearing in another installment, so what are you waiting for, New Line?
As for what the movie is about, well, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe they can change things up and Tina, Diaz’s character, can be The Mask and she needs to save Stanley? As long as there’s plenty of zany antics and colorful, state-of-the-art visual effects like the first one had, The Mask 2 could be just as big as the original.