History SpiritualSuccessor / Film

* ''Film/{{Mirrormask}}'' was designed to be the spiritual successor to ''Labyrinth'' and, to a lesser extent, ''Film/TheDarkCrystal''. When the Hanson Company hired Creator/NeilGaiman they told him ”Give us a script in whatever genre ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' was in”. The original plan was to get Music/DavidBowie to play the Prime Minister of the White City, but scheduling conflicts forced them to just have Rob Brydon play the PM ''and'' Helena's father.

* ''Film/{{Mirrormask}}'' was designed to be the spiritual successor to ''Labyrinth'' and, to a lesser extent, ''Film/TheDarkCrystal''. When the Hanson Company hired Creator/NeilGaiman they told him ”Give us a script in whatever genre ''Film/TheLabyrinth'' was in”. The original plan was to get Music/DavidBowie to play the Prime Minister of the White City, but scheduling conflicts forced them to just have Rob Brydon play the PM ''and'' Helena's father.

* ''Film/{{Mirrormask}}'' was designed to be the spiritual successor to ''Labyrinth'' and, to a lesser extent, ''Film/TheDarkCrystal''. The original plan was to get Music/DavidBowie to play the Prime Minister of the White City, but scheduling conflicts forced them to just have Rob Brydon play the PM ''and'' Helena's father.

* ''Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' from 1923 starring Creator/LonChaney has two films that can be considered spiritual successors. All of these films were made by Universal Studios and produced to some capacity by German born filmmaker Carl Laemmle.

* ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', ''Film/HotFuzz'' and ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'' form a ThematicSeries called "The Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy". They're written and directed by the same people, feature similar cast members (drawing from an extended ProductionPosse) and combine violence with humor. Most importantly, they each feature a prominent Cornetto.

* ''Film/{{Scream 1996}}'' can be considered the spiritual successor of the obscure '80s slasher film ''Film/ReturnToHorrorHigh''. Not only does the killer in both movies have a black cloak and a white featureless mask, but RTHH was very post-modern for a film of its age: it is about a director making a horror movie about a series of unsolved murders happened in a high school, set in that same school, where the actors playing the parts of the students are getting murdered in "real life"; there's the conflict between the scriptwriter of the film and the director who only wants tits & blood, and the actresses that complain of being used only as fanservice...

** Henry Selick's ''Film/JamesAndTheGiantPeach'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'' could also be seen as {{Spiritual Successor}}s to ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'', considering that Selick directed it.
*** In fact, Jack Skellington makes a cameo in ''Peach'' as an undead pirate.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' is arguably the spiritual successor to ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9ykwff9ZJY Spider-Man: The New Animated Series]]'', which ran for a single season on Creator/{{MTV}} in the summer of 2003. Like ''Spider-Verse'', it featured stylized cel-shaded computer animation, though the limitations of the time meant the graphics weren't quite as clean as the movie's. Nonetheless, it's fun to think that the middle-aged Spider-Man from the movie is the same one from the tv show.

* ''Harsh Times'' and ''Film/TrainingDay'' are both about a single day in which a dangerous man employed by the government (soldier/cop) drives around town with a less-than-willing partner on the pursuit of a less-than-legal goal. The're both written by David Ayer, and ''Harsh Times'' was Ayer's directorial debut.

* ''Film/NonStop'' has one in the form of the 2018 movie ''The Commuter''. Both of them star Creator/LiamNeeson and are directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and are also DieHardOnAnX movies. The only difference is that ''Non-Stop'' takes place on a plane while ''The Commuter'' takes place on a train.

* Creator/DavidCronenberg's ''Film/TheDeadZone'' and ''Film/TheFly1986'' came one after the other in his filmography, and both are literary adaptations featuring several members of Cronenberg's ProductionPosse (casting director, cinematographer, film editor, and production designer) and a minor role played by Les Carlson. But on top of that, Cronenberg and the latter film's lead actor Creator/JeffGoldblum have pointed out that both films are about a man who gains extraordinary abilities in an accident, but in the process end up unable to be with the woman they love. Moreover, though the route each movie takes to it is ''very'' different, both end on a floor-level shot of [[spoiler: the woman grieving the death-by-gunshot of their beloved]].

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' is arguably the spiritual successor to ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9ykwff9ZJY Spider-Man: The New Animated Series]]'', which ran for a single season on Creator/{{MTV}} in the summer of 2003. Like ''Spider-Verse'', it featured stylized cel-shaded computer animation. In fact, it's fun to think that the middle-aged Spider-Man from the movie is the same one from the show.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' is arguably the spiritual successor to ''Series/SpiderManTheNewAnimatedSeries'', which ran for a single season on Creator/{{MTV}} in the summer of 2003. Like ''Spider-Verse'', it featured stylized cel-shaded computer animation, except that the limitations of the era meant the show's graphics weren't nearly as clean as the movie's.

* ''Film/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' is arguably the spiritual successor to ''Series/SpiderManTheNewAnimatedSeries'', which ran for a single season on Creator/{{MTV}} in the summer of 2003. Like ''Spider-Verse'', it featured stylized cel-shaded computer graphics, except that the limitations of the era meant the show's animation wasn't nearly as clean and fluid as the film's.

* Inverted. ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' literally ''is'' a sequel to ''Film/PitchBlack'', but nothing about it feels so. The first was a pretty standard horror movie with humans in a futuristic setting, while the second has elements of sci-fi and fantasy giving it a completely different feel (Riddick is an alien, now?), right down to the titles of each film. It'd be like placing Hannibal Lecter in an UrbanFantasy as a NobleDemon and calling it a sequel to ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs''... which, in ''Hannibal Rising'', is kind of what they did.
** And inverted ''again'' with ''Film/{{Riddick}}'', which pretty much throws out the previous film in the first few minutes and then rehashes the plot of ''Pitch Black''.

* ''Film/Mandy2018'' is essentially ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' set in [[FantasyAmericana 1980s California]]. Both films follow a musclebound BarbarianHero with a ''VERY'' large bladed weapon hunting down and taking [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge violent revenge]] on an insane cult leader and his minions who are responsible for the death(s) of [[spoiler: a woman close to the protagonist.]] Many of the characters have close analogues: Red is Conan, Jeremiah is Thulsa Doom, Carruthers is Subotai, The Chemist is the Wizard of the Mounds, and Mandy is Valeria, and the scene where Red constructs his axe in the workshop is shot very similarly to the iconic ForgingScene from ''Conan.''

* ''Film/Mandy2018'' is essentially ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' set in [[FantasyAmericana 1980s California]]. Both films follow a musclebound BarbarianHero with a ''VERY'' large bladed weapon hunting down and taking [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge violent revenge]] on an insane cult leader and his minions who are responsible for the death(s) of [[spoiler: a woman close to the protagonist.]]

* ''Film/WhatWeDidOnOurHoliday'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Series/OutNumbered''. It was created by the same people - Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin - and features three adorable and unwittingly wisecracking children, put-upon parents, and comedy from unexpected situations

* ''Film/TheLionInWinter'' is a spiritual successor to the earlier film ''Theatre/{{Becket}}'' in that they're both historical dramas starring Creator/PeterOToole as Henry II playing him as an old man in ''Lion'' and younger in ''Becket''.

* ''Film/{{To Live and Die in LA}}'' is this to ''Film/TheFrenchConnection''. Most notably, both films have the same director, feature lengthy car chases and have protagonists determined to take the villain down no matter the cost.

** The actors also play more-or-less similar characters, with Kevin Kline as a dimwitted egomaniac, Jamie Lee Curtis as seductive and manipulative, Creator/JohnCleese as a stuffy square, and Creator/MichaelPalin as a weird guy with a bit of a [[SpeechImpediment talking]] [[Main/MotorMouth problem.]]

** ''Film/SpiesLikeUs'' was, during production, described as a Road movie, and even features Bob Hope in a cameo ... hitting a golf ball into the same tent as the characters in the middle of Afghanistan.

* ''Film/PineappleExpress'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/{{Superbad}}''. Both being written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, produced by Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson, and distributed by Columbia pictures. In fact, ''Pineapple Express'' was greenlit based off of the early positive reaction to ''Superbad'' footage.
* ''Film/WarInc'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/GrossePointeBlank''. They both feature Creator/John usack as a hitman having doubts about his career choice with Creator/JoanCusack as his assistant and Creator/DanAykroyd in a supporting role.

* ''Film/RunawayBride'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/PrettyWoman'' (shared lead couple).

* Another attempt at a ''Blade Runner'' sequel (written by Creator/DavidWebbPeoples, co-writer of ''Blade Runner'') became the blueprint for the Kurt Russell film ''Film/{{Soldier}}''.

* ''Film/ErikTheViking'', written and directed by Terry Jones and featuring supporting performances by him and John Cleese, succeeds marvellously as a SpiritualSuccessor to the Creator/MontyPython films, even if it wasn't intended to.

* ''Film/TheLionInWinter'' is a spiritual successor to the earlier film ''Becket'' in that they're both historical dramas starring Creator/PeterOToole as Henry II playing him as an old man in ''Lion'' and younger in ''Becket''.

* Creator/WalterMatthau and Creator/JackLemmon made a handful of movies that were all spiritual successors to the original ''Theatre/TheOddCouple'' film. The spiritual successors began with ''Film/GrumpyOldMen'' and included ''Film/GrumpierOldMen'' and ''Film/OutToSea''...the actual sequel was largely considered a lesser effort than all of the above.
* Notably there is also ''Film/MyFellowAmericans'' which was a buddy comedy political thriller that was originally supposed to star the two of them during that period in the 90s. It still has Creator/JackLemmon as one of the leads and arguably had a pretty similar sense of humor, but due to health complications at the time Creator/WalterMatthau wound up being replaced with Creator/JamesGarner as the co-star.

* The movie ''Film/{{Tomboy}}'' can be seen as a SpiritualSuccessor to the ''Film/MaVieEnRose'' movie released 14 years earlier. They both center around transgender children (one about a MtF 8 year old and the other around a possibly FtM 10 year old), are French language, and have the "Just moved to a new town" premise.

* The miniseries ''Series/FromTheEarthToTheMoon'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'', as an in-depth look at the Apollo program from the late '60s and early '70s. Both were produced by Creator/RonHoward and Creator/BrianGrazer, with Creator/TomHanks onboard, only in the capacity of narrator (except in the last episode). ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'' is itself a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheRightStuff''.

** ''Film/WeWereSoldiers'' is another such historical war film with Gibson as the lead where he was reunited with the writer of ''Braveheart'' Creator/RandallWallace who would also serve as the director that time around.
** ''The Patriot'' is also one to ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' from the perspective of being an American-themed war film by Creator/RobertRodat and was also scored by Music/JohnWilliams.

* ''Film/ManOfSteel'' can be considered a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Watchmen}}''. Both are superhero films directed by Creator/ZakSnyder that deconstruct their protagonists and alternate between past and present scenes.

* Film/JohnWick is a SpiritualSuccessor to Film/PointBlank. Although the former features some plot points similar to TheRoadToPerdition, it is more about a stoic badass criminal who goes after a powerful crime family in search of a MacGuffin, with hyperstylized direction and action.

* ''Film/FindingForrester'' is often considered to be a spiritual successor to ''Film/GoodWillHunting''. Both are films directed by Creator/GusVanSant that center around a low-class young man who turns out to be prodigy in a certain field and winds up finding a mentor who helps him explore his potential.

*** ''Film/FiftyFiveDaysAtPeking'' qualifies as it was the immediately following Creator/SamuelBronston epic mega-production also based on a historical event/conflict. And like ''El Cid'' it touts Heston as the leading hero, the film being made when it was because of his interest in its script over the already in production ''The Fall of the Roman Empire'', and it somewhat similarly relays a message about unity and peace. Both featuring a diverse group with tenuous relationships that have to come together to help them stave off a powerful threat in a group of radicals that are in a sense seeking to lash out at the "Western World".

* ''Film/{{Duplex}}'' has been called a spiritual successor to ''Film/ThrowMommaFromTheTrain''. Both are black comedies directed by Danny DeVito that center around a character's (or characters') fixation on murdering an old lady. However the comparison is often used as point of derision, as even the Rotten Tomatoes Critic's Consensus blurb does: "It was funnier when it was called Throw Momma from the Train".

** ''Film/LordJim'': A film released three years later, the same year that ''Zhivago'' came out ironically enough, that again sees O'Toole play the role of a British officer who winds up "Going Native" and becoming a leader among a group of foreigners, which leads to him coming to blows with the government he had served.
** ''Film/{{Khartoum}}'': A film released four years after that is another historical epic that is centered around another famous British military leader that was, ironically enough, even mentioned by Prince Feisal in ''Lawrence of Arabia'' with the line, “I think you are another of these desert-loving English – Doughty, Stanhope, Gordon of Khartoum.” In this case it is Gen. Charles "Chinese" Gordon who like Lawrence was eccentric, became something of a loose canon who would go beyond his orders, and felt more comfortable in Arab culture. Both films are also critical of imperialism. Reportedly Creator/AlecGuiness, the actor of Feisal, was the original choice to play Muhammad Ahmad. He declined and the role went to Creator/LaurenceOlivier. Which is very ironic, as Olivier had actually been the first choice for the role of Feisal before Guiness was cast. While the film has been generally well received on its own terms many feel that the comparisons to ''Lawrence'', which came out only a few years earlier, are inevitable.

* ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' has two films that are spiritual successors. Ironically enough the two follows-ups are based upon an Creator/AlexandreDumas story, each was produced by Disney, and all three films feature Creator/MichaelWincott in the role of a major supporting antagonist...

** ''Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo2002'' was a following swashbuckling adventure film based on a classic European tale from the same director of ''Prince of Thieves'', Creator/KevinReynolds. Both films featuring a few similar plot elements like centering around a lead hero who after a long time imprisoned returns home to find his life in shambles including the death of his father, the hero decides to fight to seek justice/revenge against those responsible, has a sidekick in the form of a man who owes him a life debt, etc.

* Perhaps it would be better to call both films (''Braveheart'' and ''Gladiator'') the newer carriers of the torch for the genre, as both feel in many ways like tributes to the Hollywood Epics of yesteryear as a whole. The other film that Creator/RidleyScott cited as an influence on ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', and he as a filmmaker in general, was William Wyler's acclaimed epic ''Literature/{{Ben-Hur}}''. Another Roman Era epic, that similarly centers around a well to do and morally upright man who is old "friends" with the film's main antagonist. (Perhaps the biggest difference being that Messala's feelings for Judah were genuine, whilst Commodus only ever put on a happy face as a façade) After the hero refuses the antagonist's request to join up with and help him his life is subsequently torn apart and he is made a slave. Though he eventually manages to "rise from the ashes" so to speak and go for justice and repair his life.
* ''Film/TheProphecy'' series can be seen as a spiritual successor to the ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' franchise. As it like its predecessor was created by Creator/GregoryWiden and has a mythos that centers around a secret conflict between immortals of mystical power not known to the masses. (Immortals and Angels respectively) Not to mention that there is only one very specific way that any members of these groups can be killed that involves removing a key body part. (heads and hearts respectively)
* ''Film/The6thDay'' to ''Film/TotalRecall1990''. Creator/ArnoldSchwarznegger star vehicles that are high concept sci-fi films. Schwarzenegger even original wanted Creator/PaulVerhoeven to return to the director's chair.

*** ''Film/AdventuresOfDonJuan'' is once again another swashbuckler starring Flynn. He here is once again playing a classic European hero who fights against a corrupt man of power in his nation who is trying to take over and woos a woman of royalty. Even the title seems to be deliberately trying to harken back to that film.

* ''Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' from 1923 starring Creator/LonChaney has two films that can be considered spiritual successors. All of these films were made by Universal Studios and produced to some capacity by German born filmmaker Creator/CarlLaemmle.

** Disney's ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' would qualify as such to their preceding animated film ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''. Both films are based on classic pieces of literature based in France. The main players being a misunderstood/tortured man thought of as a monster by the outside world that lives in a monolithic building (Quasimodo and The Beast), his sidekicks in the form of legless anthropomorphic objects (the castle's denizens turned into household objects like Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts from ''Beast'' and the Notre Dame gargoyles Victor, Hugo, and Laverne from ''Hunchback''), the strong and compassionate woman that defends him who he falls for (Esermelda and Belle), a villainous man with influence in his hometown that is deeply arrogant and lusts after the female lead who ultimately dies in a final confrontation when he besieges the aforementioned monolithic building where he falls to his death (Frollo and Gaston). Both films had the same pair of directors with Creator/GaryTrousdale and Creator/KirkWise. And both, naturally, were animated Disney musicals with music by Creator/AlanMenken.
** Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' would qualify as such to their preceding animated film ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''. Both films are based on classic myths/folk-tales set in the ancient world. The main players include a well meaning frowned-upon outsider with confidence issues that wants to feel acceptance/respect who come to embrace themselves for who they are by the end (Hercules and Aladdin), a conniving and snarky man of power (Hades and Jafar) within the inner circles of a jovial king he seeks to supplant (Zeus and the Sultan) with the aid of sealed away ancient beings of immense power (the Genie and the Titans) who ultimately is punished by being trapped in a dark place without the use of his power when beaten by the hero, the feisty woman the hero loves who is trapped in a life position she seeks to break free from (Meg and Jasmine), among others such as in the various comedic sidekicks. (Such as the heroes' anthropomorphized modes of transportation, the villains' comedic sidekicks who are regularly abused by their masters and do a lot of the grunt work) Both films had the same pair of directors with Creator/RonClements and Creator/JohnMusker. And both, naturally, were animated Disney musicals with music by Creator/AlanMenken.

* ''Film/MoneyTrain'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/WhiteMenCantJump'', as both films star Creator/WesleySnipes and Creator/WoodyHarrelson in the main roles, and each have a Latina actress as the love interest. The female lead in ''White Men Can't Jump'' was Creator/RosiePerez while ''Money Train'' featured Creator/JenniferLopez.

* ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' is an interesting example, in that it's a literal sequel one film, but also a SpiritualSuccessor to another film set in [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse the same universe]]. It's the third in a trilogy with ''Film/{{Thor}}'' and ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', but it has much more in common with ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' in terms of tone and aesthetic. It has the colorful SpaceOpera setting, the RagtagBunchOfMisfits cast, the plot involving space travel to [[UsedFuture the seamier corners of the galaxy]], and the retro soundtrack full of 70s and 80s rock hits (complete with original synth music by Creator/MarkMothersbaugh of Music/{{Devo}}).

* Burt Layton's second film ''Film/AmericanAnimals'' splits the difference between his first film ''Film/TheImposter'' (a documentary) and a fully dramatic [[TheCaper caper]]. They're both about a real crime, feature talking head interviews from the real people involved, include at least one UnreliableNarrator, and leave lingering questions about what really occurred.

* ''Film/HarshTimes'' and ''Film/TrainingDay'' are both about a single day in which a dangerous man employed by the government (soldier/cop) drives around town with a less-than-willing partner on the pursuit of a less-than-legal goal. The're both written by David Ayer, and ''Harsh Times'' was Ayer's directorial debut.

* There is some discussion over whether ''Film/{{Confidence}}'' is a SpiritualSuccessor or an updated remake of ''Film/TheSting''. Both feature a team of small-time conmen accidentally ripping off an underling of a crime boss and getting out of it by pulling a much larger and more elaborate con on him.

* In South Korea, the film ''Film/{{Windstruck}}'' is considered to be the spiritual successor to the wildly popular romantic comedy ''Film/MySassyGirl''. Both were written and directed by Kwak Jae-Yong and starred Jeon Ji-Hyun. Of course, ''Windstruck'' should almost be considered a spiritual prequel, as [[spoiler:its end is a painfully obvious allusion to its predecessor, with two future lovers meeting at a train station]].