History Main / BTeamSequel

When executives have a hit on their hands, the first thing they tend to want is a sequel to cash in on the hype. But sometimes the creators don't cooperate. Maybe it would take a long time to really do a sequel justice and the execs want a quick turnaround. Maybe the creators have become [[FranchiseZombie tired of the franchise]] and want to move on to something new. {{Sequelitis}}. Or maybe one or more key creators DiedDuringProduction.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMysteryOfTheBatwoman'' had no involvement by Creator/BruceTimm or Creator/PaulDini. It was also left out from the complete ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' bluray-set, unlike ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndMisterFreezeSubZero''.

* For ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'', the {{prequel}} series to ''Series/GameOfThrones'', Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik took over as showrunners from the ''Game of Thrones'' ones, Creator/DavidBenioff and Creator/DBWeiss. Sapochnik had previously directed some episodes of ''Game of Thrones''.

* Both the anime and the manga of ''Manga/FairyTail'' have been subject to many distinct changes of production. The first anime was criticized for being somewhat OffModel from the manga's designs, featuring over-saturated colors, using magic circles for all the spells cast that weren't in the manga, and toning down a lot of the violence and {{Fanservice}}. This was the setup before the anime went on hiatus in 2013. In 2014, the anime went under new production which toned the colors back to more like what is seen in the traditional ink-colored art of the manga, removed the spell circles, made the characters accurate to their designs in the manga, and gained better reception. However, it also had some faults, coming at the cost of losing nearly all its signature songs (the rights of which belong to Creator/{{Ponycanyon}}) and replacing them with shaky imitations by the same composer. The second anime ran until 2016, with a third anime to cap off the run of the original manga to air in October 2018. On top of all this, ''Fairy Tail'' advanced over to a new author (Atsuo Ueda) while Creator/HiroMashima stayed on as a storyboard artist, co-creating ''Manga/FairyTail100YearsQuest'' while launching a new series, ''Manga/EdensZero''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoVsTeenTitans'', a crossover movie between ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' follows this for both shows. None of the crew members from the former such as Glen Murakami and David Slack were involved due to the team for the series dissolving after ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTroubleInTokyo''. As for the latter, while Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath ''are'' credited as executive producers, their role is still minimal, while no one else currently working on the series is involved.

* After Creator/DouglasAdams died with his ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' series finishing on an unsatisfactory note, Creator/EoinColfer was brought in to write a final book, which was released to mixed reviews. Although Adams said in interviews that he eventually intended to write a sixth book, what few notes he left on the subject are unrelated to Colfer's ''...And Another Thing'' and were instead packaged together with a half-finished ''Dirk Gently'' manuscript and various other scraps and musings and [[PosthumousCollaboration posthumously]] released as ''The Salmon of Doubt''.

* Both the anime and the manga of ''Manga/FairyTail'' have been subject to many distinct changes of production. The first anime was criticized for being somewhat OffModel from the manga's designs, featuring over-saturated colors, using magic circles for all the spells cast that weren't in the manga, and toning down a lot of the violence and {{Fanservice}}. This was the setup up before the anime went on hiatus in 2013. In 2014, the anime went under new production which toned the colors back to more like what is seen in the traditional ink-colored art of the manga, removed the spell circles, made the characters accurate to their designs in the manga, and gained better reception. However, it also had some faults, coming at the cost of losing nearly all its signature songs (the rights of which belong to Creator/{{Ponycanyon}}) and replacing them with shaky imitations by the same composer. The second anime ran until 2016, with a third anime to cap off the run of the original manga to air in October 2018. On top of all this, ''Fairy Tail'' advanced over to a new author (Atsuo Ueda) while Creator/HiroMashima stayed on as a storyboard artist, co-creating ''Manga/FairyTail100YearsQuest'' while launching a new series, ''Manga/EdensZero''.

In film, this often happens when the original director steps back into a producing or consulting role and is sometimes accompanied by a "soft reboot" in which previous installments are still canon in BroadStrokes but there is a major tonal shift. As such, the line between this and a full ContinuityReboot can sometimes get fuzzy.

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'': Although he occasionally did some minor consulting or character design work, Creator/AkiraToriyama largely left the ''Manga/DragonBall'' franchise in the hands of various other writers and artists after the end of the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' anime; most notably, he had little involvement in SequelSeries ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', which many fans treat as a DorkAge. This changed with the newer SequelSeries ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', the first Toriyama-headed ''Dragon Ball'' series in almost two decades. However, the case of ''Super'' is a ZigZaggedTrope: for the anime, he provides most character designs and the plot outline to Toei, which they are able to adapt to their liking; for the manga, he's only slightly more involved, providing the same story outline and designs he gave to Toei, occasionally illustrating and writing some pages, but most of the work of illustrations, dialogue and adaptation of the outline it's mainly Toyotaro's work as he has expressed that Toriyama rarely gives him advice, something Toriyama does in an attempt to not make Toyotaro dependant on himself. Notably, ''Super'' finally showed ''GT'' being CanonDisContinuity to the mainstream not aware of Toriyama never considering the series a canonical sequel of his work. In a subversion, Toriyama is the main writer of the movie ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', which is considered canonical to both the anime and manga versions of ''Super''.

* ''Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy'' was originally supposed to be a ten-book series, but Stieg Larsson died after completing only three books. Another writer was hired to continue the series with ''The Girl in the Spider's Web''. Although Larsson reportedly left behind partial manuscripts for a fourth and fifth book, they are in the possession of his girlfriend, who does not approve of the continuation of the series by ghostwriters, and these materials are not used in ''Spider's Web''.

* ''Series/{{iCarly}}'' creator Creator/DanSchneider had no involvement with the [[Series/ICarly2021 2021 sequel series]] at all, though he is still credited for creating the original show. The massive controversy surrounding him[[note]]He has been accused of ephebophilia and other abusive behavior towards those who worked for him, though none of these allegations have been definitively proven.[[/note]] likely doesn't help.

[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools On the other hand]], sometimes a fresh set of hands can lead to a SurprisinglyImprovedSequel or EvenBetterSequel; if and when the original creators do return to a franchise, they might be surprised to find that fans now consider the "B-team" to be MyRealDaddy. In [[UpToEleven extreme cases]], the cycle can continue with the B-team becoming the new A-team when the franchise is handed off to a ''third'' creator years or even decades down the road.

When executives have a hit on their hands, the first thing they tend to want is a sequel to cash in on the hype. But sometimes the creators don't cooperate. Maybe it would take a long time to really do a sequel justice and the execs want a quick turnaround. Maybe the creators have become [[FranchiseZombie tired of the franchise]] and want to move on to something new. {{Sequelitis}} Or maybe one or more key creators DiedDuringProduction.

[[folder:Video Games]]

[[AC:Action-Adventure]]
* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate'': The game was made by Ubisoft Quebec after Ubisoft Montreal took a break following the infamous ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'', making them rethink the future of the series.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'' was also made by Ubisoft Quebec, following the footsteps of Ubisoft Montreal's ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins''.
* ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamSeries'':
** After ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' and ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', A-team developer Rocksteady wanted plenty of time to create the last game in the trilogy, ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight''. To keep the series going, WB Games Montreal was given a turn at the wheel with the prequel ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'', using modified assets from the previous games. [[note]]Depending on game development, revamping the UsefulNotes/GameEngine takes up a good portion of development time. The goal was to keep ''Arkham Knight'' on the next gen consoles ([=PS4=], Xbox One) versus trying to split it between the previous gen ([=PS3=], Xbox 360), which meant they had to ensure it ran at optimal capacity for the next gen consoles. ''Origins'' is largely built on the prior games' framework, while Knight is essentially a new game rebuilt from the ground up.[[/note]] General consensus is the gameplay is too derivative of ''Arkham City'' but the story takes the series in an interesting direction.
** Creator/PaulDini wrote the first two games, but not the latter two.
* ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'', the fourth game in the series, was developed by Creator/SanzaruGames, the company that handled the ''HD Trilogy'' re-release, rather than Creator/SuckerPunch. While the game itself was well-received for staying true to the series, what pissed the fanbase off was the TwistEnding that was [[spoiler:Penelope's FaceHeelTurn]] and [[spoiler:ending the game on a {{Cliffhanger}} with Sly stuck in the past]] and then announcing that they weren't making a sequel for it. These wound up tainting Sanzaru's reputation and [[FanonDiscontinuity lead to many fans disowning the game]].
* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' falls square into this. Series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki supervised the production of the game, but most of his attention and that the original ''VideoGame/{{Dark Souls|I}}'' team was on making ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', which was in development around the same time. To add to this, the original director, Tomohiro Shibuya, left the project under uncertain circumstances (though it's been alleged that the original version didn't feel very much like a ''Souls'' game) and a new director took over from there, around the halfway point in production. This goes some way toward explaining why ''Dark Souls II'' is considered the weakest game of [[VideoGame/DarkSouls the franchise]] by many.
* Downplayed by the mainline 2D (and TwoAndAHalfD) ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' games. Due to restructuring of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s internal development studios, the R&D1 studio that developed ''Metroid'' (among [[VideoGame/WarioWare other]] [[VideoGame/RhythmHeaven series]]) was now mainly responsible for overseeing the production of games made with external partners rather than making their own. As such, after the release of ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'', every non-''Prime'' entry in the franchise has been a co-production between what remains of the core ''Metroid'' design team and whatever external studio is open to working them.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' is a three-way collaboration between the 2D ''Metroid'' team at Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 1, [[Creator/KoeiTecmo Team Ninja]] of ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' fame, and animation studio D-Rockets under the name "Project M".
** ''VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' are co-productions between the 2D ''Metroid'' team at Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 7 (Nintendo had restructured their studios yet again by this point) and Spanish developer ''Creator/MercurySteam''.

[[AC:Adventure]]
* When ''VideoGame/{{Dizzy}}'' creators Philip and Andrew Oliver decided to concentrate on developing games for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem, Creator/{{Codemasters}} sought another developer to continue the series on home computers. Big Red Software's ''Magicland Dizzy'' went over well enough that Codemasters made Big Red their new A-team, and let them develop almost all subsequent ''Dizzy'' games aside from the few that the Oliver Twins coded for the NES. ''Crystal Kingdom Dizzy'', however, was assigned to another B-team, Visual Impact.

[[AC:Driving Game]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Stuntman}}'' is an interesting double example in that the sequel had both a different developer and publisher. The original was developed by Reflections and published by Creator/{{Infogrames|EntertainmentSA}} under the Creator/{{Atari}} brand name. The sequel, ''Stuntman: Ignition'', was developed by Creator/ParadigmEntertainment and published by Creator/{{THQ}}. Also interesting is that the companies that worked on the first game outlasted the companies that worked on the sequel.

[[AC:Eastern RPG]]
* ''VideoGame/LunarDragonSong'': Primary development duties were outsourced by Creator/GameArts to Japan Art Media, the same company that developed ''[[VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar Lunar: Silver Star Story]]''.
* The first five games in the ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' series were first developed by Creator/RedEntertainment and Sega. ''VideoGame/SakuraWars2019'' is the first game not to involve Red Entertainment; instead, it was developed by Sega in their first solo outing.
* In general, ever since the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series rose to fame, the mainline ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series fell to this with most of the recognized and talented names either working on the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series or stepped down to let others forward. During the development of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', Team Maniax was undergoing a shift in their workforce, and when ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' began development, practically the entire team was now new people.
* After ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', all future development for the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series save for the DS games was handed off from Square Enix's main studio in Tokyo to a secondary studio in Osaka (the developers of ''VideoGame/{{Einhander}}'', ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve2'', ''VideoGame/BraveFencerMusashi'' and ''VideoGame/MusashiSamuraiLegend''). For the record, these games are: ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII''.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': The mainline installments and expansions, which are those developed for home systems, were created by a primary team at Capcom; the oddballs are ''Monster Hunter 4'' and the expansions ''3 Ultimate'' and ''4 Ultimate'', which were released on the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS[[note]]''3 Ultimate'' being available on the UsefulNotes/WiiU as well[[/note]] but also developed by them. The handheld installments and expansions (with the aforementioned exceptions), as well as ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'' which was released on the hybrid UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, were developed by a secondary team (usually led by Yasunori Ichinose). Some of the most beloved games in the series are in fact from the second group.

[[AC:First-Person Shooter]]
* After the success of ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'', creator Ken Levine and developer Irrational's ambitious plans for what eventually became ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' made for a six-year wait. In the meantime, publisher 2K tasked B-team 2K Marin with creating ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', which turned out to be a ContestedSequel. Detractors criticized the recycled setting, derivative premise, slow start, and shoehorned multiplayer; proponents cite the improved gameplay and mechanics and excellent third act, and even the solid-but-forgettable multiplayer found an audience. The ''Minerva's Den'' [[DownloadableContent add-on]] is lauded as one of the best pieces of DLC ever made by those who actually played it, although a late PC release doomed it to relative obscurity.
* After "[[BlatantLies finishing the fight]]" with ''VideoGame/Halo3'' and performing a few victory laps with ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' and ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', A-team Creator/{{Bungie}} officially handed the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise over to B-team Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries starting with ''VideoGame/Halo4''. 343 was spun off from [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft Studios]] specifically to shepherd the franchise after Bungie's departure from Microsoft in 2007.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** Nintendo's decision to entrust the then-unknown American developer, Creator/RetroStudios, with the task of creating a successor to the immensely acclaimed ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' was quite controversial when first announced. The revelation that they were going to bring the series into 3D by way of FirstPersonShooter didn't help matters. Of course, this reaction was totally flipped around when the game, ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', actually came out, with it receiving high praise from both fans and critics. The ''Prime'' games have gone on to not only be a major pillar of the franchise alongside the 2D sidescrollers, but also come to [[SequelDisplacement overshadow them]] as the defining image of the series to the wider gaming public. And for a short period after the disastrous ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'', Retro Studio [[MyRealDaddy was more trusted]] by the fanbase than series co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto to handle the property.
** The multiplayer-focused handheld entries remain straight examples of this trope, with ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' being developed by Nintendo Software Technology and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce'' being handled by Creator/NextLevelGames.
** Zig-zagged with ''Metroid Prime 4''. It was initially announced that it was not being developed by Retro Studios, but by a new, unknown development team. Fast-forward nineteen months and, in rare move for any gaming company, Nintendo publicly admitted that development was going so poorly that they would have to start from scratch, and that they've decided to give the reins back to Retro Studios. Granted, in the years since making the original ''Metroid Prime Trilogy'', the creative leads behind it had left the company to create [[Creator/BluepointGames other studios]], meaning ''Metroid Prime 4'' will still largely be made by a new team.
* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series was created by developer Infinity Ward. However, after the success of the second game, Creator/{{Activision}} tasked developer Treyarch and later developer Sledgehammer Games to make their own installments so that a ''Call of Duty'' game could be released every year. After Jason West and Vince Zampella were fired from Infinity Ward in 2010, which studio is the A-Team became a lot more arguable.

[[AC:Platformer]]
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** The [[VaporWare aborted]] UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn game ''VideoGame/SonicXTreme'', which was intended as the ''Sonic'' series' major leap into the third dimension, was developed by the Western-based Sega Technical Institute and was made with no involvement by Creator/SonicTeam at all, who were burned out on the series after making a quadrology of games for it, and were wrapped up working on the games ''VideoGame/{{Ristar}}'', ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'' and ''VideoGame/BurningRangers'' anyway. After ''X-Treme'' went through a [[TroubledProduction disastrous production]] that ended with both its cancellation and [[CreatorKiller the dissolution of the Sega Technical Institute]], Sega used ''[=NiGHTS=]'' and an [[PolishedPort upgraded port]] of the Traveller's Tales spin-off game ''VideoGame/Sonic3DBlast'' to fill in as the KillerApp for the Saturn while Sonic Team were forced to take the reigns back on the series, beginning work on a prototype 3D engine (later used for the Sonic World hub of ''VideoGame/SonicJam'') that would end up becoming the basis for Sonic's real 3D debut, ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''.
** Starting in 1999, Sega started commissioning a series of handheld 2D ''Sonic'' platformers developed by Creator/{{Dimps}}. They got their start as the B-team of ''Sonic'' with ''[[VideoGame/SonicAdvanceTrilogy Sonic Advance]]'' for the GBA, leading to a string of successful 2D ''Sonic'' games from 2001 to 2007 (quite notable in that the main Creator/SonicTeam-developed games were going through a notorious DorkAge towards the end of this period). However, this string ended with the underperformance of ''[[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries Sonic Rush Adventure]]'' on the DS, and Sega relegated Dimps to [[ReformulatedGame making adaptations]] of Sonic Team's games for handhelds. Dimps was also tasked with creating ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4'', which sadly turned out to be one of the most divisive 2D games in the series.
** ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' was created by [=PagodaWest=] Games and Headcannon, including experienced Sonic fangame creators and with a soundtrack by Tee Lopes, well known for his Sonic remixes. [[WinBackTheCrowd The result is one of the most well-received Sonic games.]]
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'': After finishing their work on the ''Metroid Prime Trilogy'', Creator/RetroStudios were tasked with reviving yet another Creator/{{Nintendo}} series, ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'', which again received high approval from fans, with their follow-up ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze Tropical Freeze]]'' dethroning ''[[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest DKC2]]'' as the best entry in the franchise for many. This was also a case of the original creators being unavailable to take the job, as Creator/{{Rare}} (developers of the SNES ''DKC'' games and ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'') had left Nintendo to be a first-party developer under [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] years prior.
* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
** While Creator/KeijiInafune and his team at Creator/{{Capcom}} created the story and characters for ''VideoGame/MegaManX3'', most of the actual game development was palmed off to Minakuchi Engineering -- who had previously handled the line of ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' games on the UsefulNotes/GameBoy -- as Capcom were in the process of transitioning their development systems from 16-bit to 32-bit. The end result was generally considered to be fairly mediocre, though still better than the later, Capcom-developed ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX7 X7]]''.
** The Game Boy ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' games (otherwise known as the ''Rockman/Mega Man World'' series) qualifies on its own, with ''I'' and ''III'' through ''V'' being developed by the aforementioned Minakuchi Engineering. While these games turned out to be respectable in their own right since the director assigned to them was a fan of the series and wanted to do it justice, the second game was developed by a B-team of the B-team--Biox (then Japan System House), whose programmers were used to working on the Game Gear and were relatively unaccustomed to the Game Boy's hardware, and on top of that knew very little about what makes the ''Mega Man'' series fun to play. The results show badly, and ''Mega Man II'' is generally viewed as the weakest of the Game Boy titles by far.
** ''VideoGame/MegaMan11'' [[ZigZaggedTrope zig-zags]] with this trope. While development for it moved back to in-house at Capcom (''[[VideoGame/MegaMan9 9]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan10 10]]'' were both made by Creator/IntiCreates), it's the first main entry in the classic timeline to not be made with [[Creator/KeijiInafune Keiji Inafune's]] involvement due to him leaving the company, instead being made by those who worked on ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce''.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins'' were both helmed during development by the mentor of Shigeru Miyamoto, Gunpei Yokoi, instead of Miyamoto himself. ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros2'' was developed by a younger team, as the veterans were working on ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' at the time. While the former two games were very well-received, the latter one garnered mixed reactions (though all of them have been commercial successes).
* ''Switch Blade'' was developed over several years as almost a solo project for Simon Phipps. Having left [[Creator/GremlinInteractive Gremlin Graphics]] for Creator/CoreDesign before the game was released, Phipps had no involvement with the sequel, which Gremlin assigned to the team previously responsible for the PlatformGame ''Venus the Flytrap''.
* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankSizeMatters'' and ''VideoGame/SecretAgentClank'' were developed by Creator/HighImpactGames instead of Creator/InsomniacGames, who worked on the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' Future trilogy during this period.
* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' started at Creator/NaughtyDog for [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot1996 the]] [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack first]] [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped four]] [[VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing games]], then switched hands numerous times. ''VideoGame/CrashBash'' was developed by Eurocom. ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex'' and ''VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity'' were developed by Creator/TravellersTales. ''VideoGame/CrashNitroKart'' was by Vicarious Visions. ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing'', ''VideoGame/CrashOfTheTitans'' and ''VideoGame/CrashMindOverMutant'' were by Creator/RadicalEntertainment. ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy'' brought development back to Vicarious Visions, followed by ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacingNitroFueled'' by Beenox, and now ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime'' by Toys for Bob. And that's not even getting into the various handheld games.

[[AC:Rhythm]]
* After A-team Harmonix was purchased by Viacom and left to develop ''VideoGame/RockBand'', the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' franchise was purchased by Activision and given to B-team Neversoft starting with ''Guitar Hero III''.

[[AC:Role-Playing Game]]
* The first ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'' game was published by Creator/{{Activision}} and developed by Raven Software, with Vicarious Visions helping with the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] and UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} versions. For the second game, it was more complicated: while all versions were once again published by Activision, the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PS3]] and UsefulNotes/Xbox360 versions were developed by Vicarious Visions, while the Wii, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] and [[UsefulNotes/NintendoDS DS]] ones were handled by N-Space, and the PSP one by Savage Entertainment.
** ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance3TheBlackOrder'' not only changed developer once again but publisher as well. The game was published by Creator/{{Nintendo}} and developed by Team Ninja for a UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch-exclusive release.

[[AC:Sports]]
* A-team Neversoft handed the keys to the ''VideoGame/TonyHawkProSkater'' series over to B-team Robomodo in 2007. The series was already the poster child for {{Sequelitis}}, but Robomodo managed to make it even worse by tying their debut effort, ''Tony Hawk Ride'', to [[{{Waggle}} a barely-functional skateboard peripheral]], resulting in record lows for the series in both review scores and sales. Ironically, Neversoft left its signature franchise to itself become a B-team, first for ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' and then briefly for ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' before being absorbed into Infinity Ward.

[[AC:Sandbox]]
* ''VideoGame/JustCause3'' was developed by a new American branch of Avalanche Studios, as the Swedish studio responsible for the previous game was busy with a ''Film/MadMax'' [[VideoGame/MadMax2015 game adaptation]].

[[AC:Real-Time Strategy]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Homeworld}}'' received a very literal MissionPackSequel in the form of ''Homeworld: Cataclysm''; it was allegedly supposed to be an expansion pack but the new visual effects and game mechanics that B-team developers Barking Dog wanted to add required some major modifications to the game engine. Gameplay-wise it was quite well-received but the GenreShift into CosmicHorror was not universally popular with the fans, to put it mildly.
* Another Relic example: ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'''s third expansion pack, ''Soulstorm'', was developed by Iron Lore Entertainment, whose previous credentials included the ''VideoGame/TitanQuest'' series, as Relic themselves had moved on to development of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWarII''. The end result produced enough backlash after ''Soulstorm'' was filled with bugs and had very {{Narm}}y dialogue, even by 40k standards. [[CreatorKiller It proved enough to shutter Iron Lore.]]
* ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresIII'''s second expansion, ''The Asian Dynasties'', was developed by Big Huge Games (known for ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'' and ''VideoGame/RiseOfLegends'') as Ensemble Studios was busy with ''VideoGame/HaloWars'' at the time.

[[AC:Third-Person Shooter]]
* A-team Epic Games handed the ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' franchise over to B-team People Can Fly for the fourth installment, ''Gears Of War: Judgment''. PCF's previous effort, ''VideoGame/{{Bulletstorm}}'', could almost be seen as an elaborate application for the job.
* PlayedWith regarding ''VideoGame/PostalIII'': while it was supposedly co-developed by franchise creator Running With Scissors and Russian developer Akella, RWS later [[CreatorBacklash distanced themselves from it]] due to the game turning out as an utter trainwreck.

[[AC:Western RPG]]
* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] by the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series. It's a little difficult to tell who exactly is the A-team and who's the B-team. ''VideoGame/{{Fallout|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' were created by Creator/BlackIsleStudios, which had dissolved by the time Creator/{{Bethesda}} bought the rights and released ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', which is almost more of a reboot than a sequel. The follow-up, the Creator/{{Obsidian|Entertainment}}-made ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', would be a straight example, filling a blank spot on the release schedule until Bethesda could get done with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' and move onto the long-rumored ''VideoGame/Fallout4''... except that Obsidian hired several ex–Black Isle creators to make it, and they reused several concepts from [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Black Isle's cancelled version]], codenamed ''[[VideoGame/FalloutVanBuren Van Buren]]''. Whether OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight or MyRealDaddy is just as good or better, or even who the "creator" and "my new daddy" ARE at this point, are points of debate among the fandom.
* Creator/ObsidianEntertainment started off by making sequels to two Creator/BioWare games: ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' to ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' and ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' to ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights''. They later picked up the ''VideoGame/DungeonSiege'' series from Creator/GasPoweredGames and created its third installment.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}}'': due to some misunderstandings between the creators (Piranha Bytes) and the publisher ([=JoWood=] Productions), the latter ended up taking away the rights to the series from the creators and gave them to two different studios: Spellbound Studios was to make the actual fourth installment of the series, whereas Trine Games was to quickly whip up an expansion pack to the third game. While [[BrokenBase it's a point of debate]] whether ''Arcania'' (the fourth installment by Spellbound) is good or not, the results of Trine Games working under unrealistic time constraints were... [[ObviousBeta not pretty]].
* ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' was developed by [=BioWare=] Montreal, a team that only previously developed multiplayer components and DLC content.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* While there was no official [[ContinuityReboot reboot]], the tone of the Film/BatmanFilmSeries shifted notably between the Creator/TimBurton–helmed ''Film/Batman1989'' and ''Film/BatmanReturns'' and the Creator/JoelSchumacher–helmed ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''. Most fans consider the latter of two films to be an irredeemable DorkAge, although a minority find it SoBadItsGood. Fans are divided on ''Returns'' and ''Forever''.
* After Creator/RichardDonner left partway through the filming of ''Film/SupermanII'', ''Film/SupermanIII'' and ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace'' were helmed by the B-teams of Richard Lester and Sidney J. Furie, respectively. Reactions were so bad that Creator/BryanSinger considered them CanonDiscontinuity when he directed ''Film/SupermanReturns'' almost twenty years later, although that one fared only slightly better.
** Lester was supposed to direct ''Film/{{Supergirl}}'', but it didn't pan out.
* Creator/RidleyScott had moved on by the time the producers got serious about making a sequel to ''Film/{{Alien}}'', so they tapped then-newcomer Creator/JamesCameron for ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' instead. Both films are well-regarded, although questions of which is the ''better'' film [[BrokenBase often become heated]]. Other B-teams took over for ''Film/Alien3'' and beyond.
* Creator/BryanSinger left the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' for ''Film/SupermanReturns'' after directing the well-regarded ''Film/XMen1'' and ''Film/X2XMenUnited''; the Creator/BrettRatner–directed ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'' and subsequent spinoffs under various other B-teams were... [[ContestedSequel somewhat more poorly regarded]]. The franchise got back on track with Creator/MatthewVaughn's prequel ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', and Singer returned for ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' and ''Film/XMenApocalypse''.
* Creator/JamesCameron declined to return to write and direct ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'', saying that he had finished the story with the classic EvenBetterSequel ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''. The rights having changed hands a couple times since ''T2'', this didn't stop various B-teams from taking a crack at sequels anyway, with [[ContestedSequel hotly contested]] but generally less-well-received results. Cameron returned to the franchise in a producer role for ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate''.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Franchise/StarTrek'' went through this quite a bit. After the disappointing ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', Roddenberry was KickedUpstairs and largely locked out of the production process as essentially Producer Emeritus for about seven years (especially after the film ran way over budget and Roddenberry's pitch for a sequel had the ''Enterprise'' crew have to ensure the assassination of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy). The B-team consisted of producer Harve Bennett during these years, with Creator/NicholasMeyer and then Creator/LeonardNimoy helming the [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel vastly improved]] ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', and ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome''. Roddenberry wouldn't return himself to the center seat until ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', with his death in the '90s necessitating another B-team, Berman and Braga, taking over.
** After near–FranchiseKiller ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', the torch was passed again, this time to Creator/JJAbrams, who used some TimeyWimeyBall magic to softly reboot the franchise with ''Film/StarTrek2009'' and follow up with ContestedSequel ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness''.
* ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' is the first full-fledged ''Franchise/StarWars'' film not to directly involve Creator/GeorgeLucas, instead created by Creator/JJAbrams. Due to the severely BrokenBase over [[Film/ThePhantomMenace the]] [[Film/AttackOfTheClones Prequel]] [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Trilogy]], this is a rare case of the B-Team Sequel being ''more'' anticipated ''because'' of a changing of the guard from the original creator.
** Lucas' involvement with ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' and ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' was minimal, as he had such a miserable time directing ''Film/ANewHope'' that he decided to take a producer role.
** Neither Abrams nor Creator/LawrenceKasdan returned for ''Film/TheLastJedi''.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** ''Iron Man'': ''Film/{{Iron Man|1}}'' and ''Film/IronMan2'' were both directed by Creator/JonFavreau. Favreau refused to direct the third installment thanks to all the ExecutiveMeddling he put up with on the first one, so ''Film/IronMan3'' ended up being directed by Creator/ShaneBlack.
** ''Captain America'': ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' was directed by Creator/JoeJohnston. The two sequels, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' and ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', were both directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.
** ''Thor'': ''Film/{{Thor}}'' was directed by Creator/KennethBranagh. Creator/PattyJenkins was brought in to direct ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' but was fired and replaced with Alan Taylor. Taylor criticized Marvel's ExecutiveMeddling, so ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' was directed by Creator/TaikaWaititi.
** ''The Avengers'': ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' and ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' were both directed by Creator/JossWhedon. However, once again, ExecutiveMeddling reared its ugly head during filming of the second film, and Whedon declined to direct the third installment. The above-mentioned Russo brothers replaced him as the directors of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.
** ''Doctor Strange'': ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' was directed by Creator/ScottDerrickson, who stepped down from ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' due to CreativeDifferences. Creator/SamRaimi stepped in as director.
%%** ''Captain Marvel'': ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' was directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. A sequel has been announced, but they will not be returning, though they are working on a Disney+ series.
* [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Planned]] for the ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' film series. Originator/Director Creator/BlakeEdwards and star Creator/PeterSellers were not getting along during the production of ''Film/RevengeOfThePinkPanther'' so Sellers was in the middle of arranging for another ''Pink Panther'' to be made without Edwards' involvement. But then Sellers died, and Edwards made the sequel without Sellers instead.
** Neither Edwards nor Sellers had anything to do with 1968's ''Film/InspectorClouseau'', as they had both moved on to ''Film/TheParty''.
* The first ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' is largely regarded as a great movie and was directed by a young Creator/StevenSpielberg. ''Film/Jaws2'' was a mediocre sequel helmed by Jeannot Szwarc, but it has its fans, and then the series went downhill with ''Film/Jaws3D'' and ''Film/JawsTheRevenge'' being helmed by Joe Alves and Joseph Sargent, respectively. Additionally, Creator/RoyScheider and Music/JohnWilliams returned for ''Jaws 2'', but left the series after that. In fact, Scheider signed onto ''Film/BlueThunder'' just so he would be contractually unavailable for ''Jaws 3D''. Creator/RichardDreyfuss didn't do any of the ''Jaws'' sequels, having made ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'' with Spielberg while ''Jaws 2'' was in production.
* A similar creative team were behind both ''Film/JurassicPark'' and ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'': both were based on novels by Creator/MichaelCrichton, adapted for the screen by Creator/DavidKoepp, directed by Creator/StevenSpielberg and scored by Spielberg's regular composer Music/JohnWilliams; none of these people were involved with ''Film/JurassicParkIII''. A second B-Team took over for ''Film/JurassicWorld'', then ''another'' took over for ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom''.
* ''Film/ExorcistIITheHeretic'' was made without director Creator/WilliamFriedkin or writer William Peter Blatty. The results spoke for themselves. Blatty did write and direct ''Film/TheExorcistIII'', which was a vast improvement. Friedkin and Blatty also had no involvement with ''Film/ExorcistTheBeginning''.
* ''Film/DamienOmenII'' was made without director Creator/RichardDonner or writer David Seltzer. Donner was busy directing ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', while Seltzer wasn't interested in doing a sequel.
** Donner also didn't return for ''Film/OmenIIITheFinalConflict'', as he was involved in a lawsuit against Creator/WarnerBros following his dismissal from ''Superman II''.
* Neither Creator/JohnMilius nor Creator/OliverStone had any involvement with ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer''. The result was a sequel that went for a PG rating by toning down the violence and nudity.
* Neither Creator/JohnHughes nor Creator/HaroldRamis had any involvement with ''Film/NationalLampoonsEuropeanVacation''. Ramis was busy with ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'', while Hughes had no idea the film had even been made until he saw a [=TV=] spot. Hughes did return to write ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'', which is widely considered to be the best in the series.
* ''Film/Predator2'' was made without Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger or director Creator/JohnMcTiernan. Arnie didn't have much confidence in the idea, while [=McTiernan=] was busy directing ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober''.
** [=McTiernan=] didn't return for ''Film/DieHard2'' for the same reason.
* Not only did ''Film/Grease2'' fail to get back Creator/JohnTravolta or Music/OliviaNewtonJohn, but also the original director and screenwriter.
* ''Film/TheNextKarateKid'' was not only made without Creator/RalphMacchio but without the director and screenwriter of the first three films.
* Creator/PaulWSAnderson had no involvement with ''Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation'', as he was busy working on ''Film/EventHorizon''.
** He didn't return for ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse'', as he was working on ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator''.
* The sequels to ''Film/RoboCop1987'' were made without Creator/PaulVerhoeven or the original screenwriters.
* While Creator/JohnHughes returned to write ''Film/HomeAlone3'', Creator/ChrisColumbus did not and neither did Music/JohnWilliams.
* Creator/JamesWhale didn't return to direct ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein'', as he had wanted to move away from horror films.
* ''Film/KickAss2'' was made without Creator/MatthewVaughn and Jane Goldman, as they had moved on to ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService''.
* The ''Film/MissionImpossible'' films have been through several directors, with only Creator/ChristopherMcQuarrie lasting more than one film:
** Creator/TomCruise attempted to get Creator/BrianDePalma to return for ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'', but he declined.
** Creator/JJAbrams was unable to return for ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'', as he was committed to ''Film/StarTrek2009''.
** Creator/BradBird was unable to return for ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation'' as he was busy with ''Film/{{Tomorrowland}}''.
* ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'':
** John G. Avildsen was unable to return to direct ''Film/RockyII'', as he had moved on to ''Film/SaturdayNightFever''...which he was later fired from. Creator/SylvesterStallone wound up directing. He attempted to persuade Avildsen to return for ''Film/RockyIII'', but Avildsen convinced him to do it himself. Avildsen did return for ''Film/RockyV'', the only sequel not directed by Stallone.
** ''Film/RockyIV'' is the only film in the series not to be scored by Music/BillConti, as he was busy working on ''Film/TheKarateKidPartII'', also directed by Avildsen. Vince [=DiCola=] scored the film instead.
** Creator/RyanCoogler didn't return for ''Film/CreedII'', as he was busy working on ''Film/BlackPanther2018''. Steven Caple Jr. directed instead.
* Creator/ZackSnyder only wrote the ''Film/ThreeHundred'' sequel, ''Film/ThreeHundredRiseOfAnEmpire'', as he was very busy working on the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse with ''Film/ManOfSteel'' and ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. The film was directed by Noam Murro instead.
* Creator/StephenSommers had no involvement with ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor''.
* Creator/GuillermoDelToro didn't return for ''Film/PacificRimUprising'' as he was busy with ''Film/TheShapeOfWater''.
* Creator/DavidAyer wrote and directed the 2016 movie ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}''. A follow-up titled ''The Suicide Squad'' is being written by Creator/JamesGunn for release in 2021 which is envisioned as a soft reboot focusing on a largely new cast with little or no connections to the prior film.
* ''Film/JohnnyEnglish'' changed directorial hands three times: The first film was directed by Peter Howitt; ''Reborn'' was by Oliver Parker; ''Strikes Again'' was by David Kerr.
* The ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' trilogy had different directors. The first had Creator/MartinBrest, [[Film/BeverlyHillsCopII the second]] had Creator/TonyScott and [[Film/BeverlyHillsCopIII the third]] had Creator/JohnLandis. The third also wasn't produced by Creator/JerryBruckheimer and Don Simpson, nor was it scored by Harold Faltermyer.
* Film/JamesBond:
** Creator/TerenceYoung didn't return to direct ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' after directing ''Film/DrNo'' and ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' due to a dispute with the producers that saw him denied a percentage of the film's profits. He did ''The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders'' instead. He came back for ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'' however, which therefore was this for Creator/GuyHamilton.
** Maurice Binder, who designed the title sequences for the majority of the Bond films, didn't work on ''From Russia with Love'' or ''Goldfinger'' due to a dispute with the producers.
** Creator/LewisGilbert replaced both Young and Hamilton on ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' and ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' respectively.
** Editor and second unit director Peter R. Hunt replaced Gilbert on ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService''. Guy Hamilton came back for ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' and the first two Creator/RogerMoore films.
** Creator/JohnGlen took over from Gilbert on ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' and directed all of the Bond films of TheEighties.
** Creator/MartinCampbell replaced Creator/JohnGlen and didn't return to direct ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' after ''Film/GoldenEye'', as he didn't want to do two Bond films in a row. He did ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro'' instead. This is most likely the reason he didn't return for ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' after directing ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}'', with Creator/MarcForster replacing him. He was also offered ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'' and ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', but declined.
** Roger Spottiswoode didn't return to direct ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'' due to the TroubledProduction of ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', Creator/MichaelApted replaced him.
** Lee Tamahori took over for ''Film/DieAnotherDay''.
** Creator/SamMendes, who replaced Marc Forster, stepped down from directing ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' after directing ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' and ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' (in fact, it was reported that it took Creator/BarbaraBroccoli quite some time to convince for him to direct the latter). Creator/CaryFukunaga replaced Mendes, after CreativeDifferences threw Creator/DannyBoyle out of the picture.
* Because Creator/DavidCronenberg and his ProductionPosse had moved on to ''Film/DeadRingers'', ''Film/TheFlyII'' was directed by Chris Walas, the makeup/special effects designer from the first film, and written, scored, etc. by other hands. Crosses over with ChangingOfTheGuard as it deals with a mostly new set of characters headed up by the SpinOffspring of the first film's protagonist.
* For obvious reasons, Creator/RomanPolanski had no involvement in ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'''s sequel ''Film/TheTwoJakes''. Creator/JackNicholson [[DirectedByCastmember directed it himself]].
* Creator/JohnWoo didn't return for ''Film/ABetterTomorrow: Love and Death in Saigon'', due to a falling out with producer Tsai Hark.
* Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Jim Abrahams initially agreed to make ''Film/AirplaneIITheSequel'', and then balked at the idea at a later date. The movie went ahead without their permission, and despite their protests - thus, they refused to watch a single frame of it upon its release - and still have not over twenty years later.
* Creator/WesCraven refused to work on ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreetPart2FreddysRevenge'' because he never wanted or intended to have the first film become an ongoing franchise (and even wanted it to have a happy ending). He also didn't like the idea of Freddy manipulating the protagonist into committing the murders.
* Creator/TimBurton stepped down as director on ''Film/AliceThroughTheLookingGlass'', though he still produced. James Bobin took over.
* Burton also had no involvement with ''Film/BigTopPeeWee'', as he was transitioning from completing ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' to beginning pre-production on ''Film/Batman1989''.
* Stephen Herek declined to return as director for ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'' because he thought it was "almost a parody of a movie that was already a parody".
* ''Film/BladeTrilogy'':
** Stephen Norrington declined to return for ''Film/BladeII'', as he wanted to move on to other things. He was asked to direct ''Film/BladeTrinity'', but declined after reading the script.
** Creator/GuillermoDelToro was asked to direct the third film, but he was busy with ''Film/Hellboy2004''.
* Creator/RidleyScott was said to be helming ''Film/BladeRunner2049'' himself back in 2011, but his work on ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'', ''Film/TheCounselor'', ''Film/ExodusGodsAndKings'', ''Film/TheMartian'' and ''Film/AlienCovenant'' resulted in him taking a step back into an executive producer capacity only.
* The only ones to return for ''Film/CaddyshackII'' were Creator/ChevyChase and Kenny Loggins. Creator/HaroldRamis was involved, though his script was heavily rewritten.
* ''Film/DeathWish'':
** Creator/MichaelWinner showed no interest in directing ''Film/DeathWish4TheCrackdown'' because he had heard that Creator/CharlesBronson had a terrible experience filming ''Film/DeathWish3''. He was also preoccupied with filming ''Appointment With Death''.
** He was available to direct ''Film/DeathWishVTheFaceOfDeath'', but was never asked to do so. According to Winner, his lack of interest in directing the previous film may have led Menahem Golan to count him out.
* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'':
** Neither Rob Cohen nor Creator/VinDiesel returned for ''Film/TwoFastTwoFurious'', as they worked on ''Film/{{xXx}}'' at the time.
** Creator/JustinLin didn't return for ''Film/FuriousSeven'', as the studio wanted to produce the film on an accelerated schedule for release in summer 2014. This would have required Lin to begin pre-production on the sequel while performing post-production on ''Film/FastAndFuriousSix'', which he considered would affect the quality of the final product.
** Diesel attempted to get Cohen to return for ''Film/TheFateOfTheFurious''.
* ''Film/FridayThe13thPart2'':
** Steve Miner, associate producer on the first film, stepped in to direct this film and the next one after Sean S. Cunningham opted not to return to the director's chair.
** Creator/TomSavini was offered to return to do the effects, but he chose to do ''Film/TheBurning'' instead.
* The first six Franchise/{{Godzilla}} films were all directed by Creator/IshiroHonda, scored by Music/AkiraIfukube, and featured special effects by Eiji Tsuburya, with the exception of the second film, ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain'' which was directed by Motoyoshi Oda and scored by Masaru Sato. Beginning with [[Film/EbirahHorrorOfTheDeep the seventh film]] however, directorial duties were handed over to Jun Fukuda and the music was provided by Sato once more, after which Tsuburaya became less involved with the series to focus on ''Series/{{Ultraman}}''. Since then the series has never held onto a main creative team for more than a few movies at a time, with directors, composers, and special effects supervisors coming and going on a regular basis.
** Creator/GarethEdwards was originally set to return to direct ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'' after taking a break from blockbusters, but he decided to take on ''Film/RogueOne'' in that time instead, meaning that his break was delayed to the point where it encompasses the time he could have directed this.
* ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'':
** Creator/JohnCarpenter left the directing reigns on ''Film/HalloweenII1981'' to Rick Rosenthal, though he did co-write and score the film, as well as directing additional scenes.
** ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' was where Carpenter bailed on the series. He wanted to turn ''Halloween'' into an anthology series, as opposed to continuing the Michael Myers story.
** Carpenter was originally considered to direct ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater''. But Moustapha Akkad balked when he asked for $10 million as his directing fee - which he believed was compensation for the revenue he had never received from the original. Supposedly he stayed on as an uncredited producer.
* The original creative team behind ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' (primarily Creator/JonathanDemme and Creator/JodieFoster) was enthusiastic about working on ''Film/{{Hannibal}}''... right up until the book they would be adapting was finally published. Demme declined to helm the film early on in pre-production, finding the source material excessively "lurid". Screenwriter Ted Tally (who hadn't been as vocal in his enthusiasm for working on a sequel, but had worked well with Demme and did subsequently adapt ''Literature/RedDragon'') also took a pass, simply deeming it "excessive". Foster was more equivocal initially but finally declined to return as well, officially citing scheduling conflicts (with her film ''Flora Plum''). Some years later, she also revealed that she was displeased with Clarice's character arc in the novel, as was Demme. Demme and Foster turned down massive paychecks, with talks of a $15 million salary for Foster (and Creator/AnthonyHopkins), and as much as a $20 million director's fee for Demme. Obviously that was enough to entice Hopkins, who (as noted above) subsequently expressed misgivings about the finished film anyway. Had Harris written a more... "acceptable" version of ''Literature/{{Hannibal}}'', it does seem much likelier that Demme, Foster, and Tally might have all returned alongside Hopkins.
* ''Film/HarryPotter'':
** Creator/ChrisColumbus stepped down as director on ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'' due to family commitments. He stayed on as producer and then vacated the series.
** Creator/AlfonsoCuaron was offered the chance to direct ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', but declined, as he would still be working on the post-production for the previous film. Also, Music/JohnWilliams was unable to score the film, as he was working on ''Film/MemoirsOfAGeisha''.
** Creator/MikeNewell decided not to return to direct ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', leaving Creator/DavidYates to helm the rest of the series.
** Creator/SteveKloves, who wrote the screenplays for the first four ''Potter'' films, also opted out of ''Phoenix'' and was replaced by Michael Goldenberg. Kloves left in order to work on a movie version of ''Literature/TheCuriousIncidentOfTheDogInTheNightTime'', but it ended up in DevelopmentHell. He returned to the series for ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'' and the ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' films, leaving ''Phoenix'' as the only entry he didn't adapt.
* Creator/JoeDante was never offered the chance to direct ''Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch''. The rights to the book ''The Howling II'' was owned by one of the producers and by Gary Brandner, the author of the book. Brandner, who was not a huge fan of Dante at the time, was not likely going to consider him to make the sequel after his displeasure with the director loosely adapting the first ''Literature/TheHowling'' novel.
* Creator/TobeHooper was originally going to be involved in ''Film/LeatherfaceTheTexasChainsawMassacreIII''. He had submitted a treatment to New Line execs, but bowed out of the project due to scheduling conflicts concerning his film ''Film/SpontaneousCombustion''.
* Creator/AntoineFuqua refused to direct ''Film/LondonHasFallen'' because he didn't like the script.
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
** Creator/GoreVerbinski was unable to return for ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides'' due to his commitment to ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}''. He passed on ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales'', feeling that "there's no reason other than financial" in making the film.
** Rob Marshall didn't return for ''Dead Men Tell No Tales'', as he was busy with ''Film/IntoTheWoods''. Music/HansZimmer also didn't score the film, as he was busy working on ''Film/{{Dunkirk}}''.
* Creator/DenisVilleneuve could not return to direct ''Film/SicarioDayOfTheSoldado'' due to scheduling conflicts with ''Film/{{Arrival}}'' and ''Film/BladeRunner2049''.
* Hal Needham and Creator/BurtReynolds were not interested in making ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBanditPart3'' as they were developing ''Film/StrokerAce''. Reynolds ended up making a very brief cameo appearance though, in the final scene.
* Creator/LucBesson still wrote and produced ''Film/{{Taxi}} 5'', but no director nor main actor from the first batch of films (bar two supporting roles, Bernard Farcy and Edouard Montoute) returned.
* Film/HammerHorror stalwart Terence Fisher was originally slated to direct ''Film/TheEvilOfFrankenstein'' and ''Film/DraculaPrinceOfDarkness'', but had to bow out after an automobile accident, leaving cameraman Freddie Francis at the helm.
* Creator/StanleyKubrick was offered the chance to direct ''Film/TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact'', but had zero interest in doing it.
* Penelope Spheeris was approached by Paramount to direct ''Film/WaynesWorld2''. Spheeris immediately declined the offer due to the fact that Creator/MikeMyers had been so difficult to work with during the making of the first film. Instead Stephen Surjik was chosen to direct. Spheeris would not make peace with Myers until after the release of ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery''.
* Creator/VinDiesel and Rob Cohen signed on for ''Film/XXxStateOfTheUnion'' two months before the first film opened. Both ended up leaving the project as Diesel disliked the script, while Cohen worked on ''Film/{{Stealth}}''. Cohen remained as an executive producer.
* Creator/JohnMcTiernan was initially attached to direct ''Film/PatriotGames'', but departed when Creator/AlecBaldwin dropped out. He moved on to ''Film/MedicineMan'', which reunited him with Creator/SeanConnery, the star of ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober''.
* ''Film/ScaryMovie'': The first two movies were directed by [[Creator/TheWayansFamily Keenan Ivory Wayans]]. David Zucker took over for the next two installments, while Malcolm D. Lee directed the fifth one.
* Neither Creator/TobeHooper nor Creator/StevenSpielberg had any involvement in any of the sequels to ''Film/Poltergeist1982''.
* Neither Creator/TerryZwigoff nor Creator/TheCoenBrothers had any involvement with ''Film/BadSanta2''. The film also had different writers.
[[/folder]]

!!Examples: