History SpiritualSuccessor / LiveActionFilms

{{Spiritual Successor}}s in live-action {{Film}}s.

[[/index]]

{{Spiritual Successor}}s in LiveAction {{Film}}s.

* [[SpiritualSuccessor/LiveActionFilmsNToZ N to Z]]

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* ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'' is a high school version of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'', albeit with the original story's misogynistic undertones re-examined.
* ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'' is basically ''Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids'' [[RecycledInSPACE but with]] [[ZombieApocalypse zombies]]. In fact, one could say the same about a lot of works in the ZombieApocalypse genre, as most of its common sub-tropes (ApocalypticLogistics, NoFEMAResponse, [[AnAesop pointed social commentary]] about the fragility of modern civilisation) appeared as [[UnbuiltTrope unbuilt]] examples in the book.
* Music/RobZombie's ''Film/ThirtyOne'' is the closest we'll likely get to a film adaptation of [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]]' SurvivalHorror title ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}''. Both stories revolve around a bunch of wealthy sickos who have people kidnapped and force them to fight for survival in a DeadlyGame, sending them into grimy mazes in abandoned buildings where they are hunted down by psychopaths wearing masks, face painting, and strange outfits. The main difference is that in ''Manhunt'', it's part of a SnuffFilm operation, while in ''31'', the villains are just doing it for their own pleasure -- though if the comments made by [[BigBad Starkweather]] throughout ''Manhunt'' are any indication, there's definitely an element of that involved there as well.
* ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'' is this to ''Film/IndependenceDay'' and ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow''.
* ''Film/The6thDay'' to ''Film/TotalRecall1990''. Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger star vehicles that are high concept sci-fi films. Schwarzenegger even originally wanted Creator/PaulVerhoeven to return to the director's chair.
* ''Film/{{Accepted}}'' is this to ''Film/CampNowhere'' except with a college setting.
* ''Film/{{Adventureland}}'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/GardenState'' than anything, as they feature very similar narratives, characters and settings (Pennsylvania borders New Jersey).
* ''Film/AdventuresInBabysitting'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'' as well as ''Film/AfterHours''. In the former, both are UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}-based movies that have a French restaurant scene, a musical scene, and a nick-of-time ending with protagonists returning home just before parents arrive. For the latter, both movies go heavy on the sense of urban paranoia over the course of [[OneCrazyNight a single night]].
* The obscure 1966 film ''After the Fox'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{The Pink Panther|1963}}'': a caper movie with a fast-moving AnimatedCreditsOpening featuring a FunnyAnimal based on the title and starring an outrageously accented Creator/PeterSellers. Only in ''After the Fox'', Sellers is the thief, not the detective.
* ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossTheEighthDimension'' was probably the closest thing to a film adaptation of the work of Creator/ThomasPynchon until ''Film/InherentVice'' was made. The mix of convoluted storytelling, surreal plotting, [[PunnyName Punny Names]] and arcane [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] was all very much in the Pynchon spirit. The film even borrowed the corporation name Yoyodyne from ''Literature/TheCryingOfLot49''.
* ''Film/{{Alien}}'' was at least partially inspired by 1958's ''Film/ItTheTerrorFromBeyondSpace''. Both films involve a starship crew trapped aboard their vessel with a murderous alien.
* ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' is often referred to as not only a stealth adaptation of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', but a far superior one to [[Film/StarshipTroopers the later, officially licensed film]] -- and one that, like Creator/PaulVerhoeven's version, still contains a lot of satire of the basic premise, albeit done in a different direction.[[note]]Verhoeven's ''Starship Troopers'' depicted the {{space marine}}s at the center of the story in such a manner that was designed to [[PuttingOnTheReich call to mind the Nazis]], as he saw the politics of Heinlein's novel as borderline fascist. ''Aliens'', meanwhile, portrays its space marines as [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam-era grunts]] in space, undisciplined and woefully ineffective against a menace that [[CombatPragmatist hides in the shadows and fights dirty]] despite their superior firepower.[[/note]] And even though it was just one suit, ''Aliens'' even had more PoweredArmor than the actual ''Starship Troopers'' film franchise (at least until the third film, which went DirectToVideo). Creator/JamesCameron has not only acknowledged the influence, he even said that, upon hearing about Verhoeven's film, he thought: "Why are they making a ''Starship Troopers'' film? I already did it!"
* ''Film/AnnaAndTheApocalypse'' could just as easily have been called ''VideoGame/DeadRising: TheMusical'' with only the most minor changes to the plot, between its HorrorComedy take on the ZombieApocalypse, the focus on creative weapons (most notably Anna's giant novelty candy cane) to kill zombies that are MadeOfPlasticine for maximum BloodyHilarious carnage, and [[spoiler:Headmaster Savage's [[SanitySlippage slow descent]] into becoming a textbook Psychopath straight out of any one of the games, complete with his own [[VillainSong boss theme]]]]. The film's [[AnAssKickingChristmas Christmastime setting]] specifically calls to mind [[VideoGame/DeadRising4 the fourth game]], which was also set in a small town around Christmas.
* ''Film/{{Antebellum}}'', in which a modern-day Black female writer is sucked back in time to a [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica pre-Civil War]] plantation in the DeepSouth, has often been compared to Creator/OctaviaButler's ''Literature/{{Kindred}}'', only [[PlayedForHorror done as a horror movie]] [[spoiler:and with TheReveal that she hasn't actually gone back in time]].
* ''Film/AntMan'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Innerspace}}''. In both movies, an unnamed UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco company is trying to [[ShrinkRay shrink]] a pilot using [[LostTechnology unknown technology]]. Pretty soon, the bad guys foil and steal the experiment.
* Creator/StevenSpielberg's ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'' serves as this to his earlier film ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''.[[note]]Note the similar titles.[[/note]] Both movies revolve around innocent young suburban male protagonists, and both work archetypal science-fiction tropes (aliens in ''E.T.'', robots in ''A.I.'') into {{Coming of Age Stor|y}}ies. Since the movie was originally going to be directed by Spielberg's close friend Creator/StanleyKubrick prior to his death (with Kubrick ultimately handing the project to Spielberg because he felt that it was "closer to his sensibilities") it's possible that Kubrick envisioned it as a partial homage to Spielberg's previous work.
* Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Hook}}'', where an iconic literary character returns to a fantastical land after many years away to face old adversaries.
* The Music/TupacShakur biopic ''All Eyez on Me'' is considered to be this to the Music/TheNotoriousBIG biopic ''Notorious''. This is helped by the fact that Jamal Woodward played Biggie in both films.
* Bart Layton's second film ''Film/AmericanAnimals'' splits the difference between his first film ''The Imposter'' (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/{{Apostle}}'' is a far better modern remake of ''Film/TheWickerMan1973'' than the [[SoBadItsGood infamous]] [[Film/TheWickerMan2006 2006 version.]]
* ''Film/AtlanticWall'' is often compared to ''Film/LaGrandeVadrouille'', being a comedy set in France during the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII German Occupation]], and starring two actors from that film (Creator/{{Bourvil}} and Creator/TerryThomas). Bourvil plays a [[NiceGuy good-natured]] but reluctant average Frenchman who must help a shot down British bomber pilot in both films.
* One of the most famous examples: ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' is generally held to be the greatest adaptation of Creator/JosephConrad's ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'' ever made, albeit with a SettingUpdate from [[DarkestAfrica colonial Africa]] to UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. Everybody involved understood that they were adapting ''Heart of Darkness'' in all but name -- the book was required reading for the entire cast (though Creator/MarlonBrando infamously [[ThePrimaDonna slacked off on doing so]]), the villain is named Kurtz as a ShoutOut, and [[spoiler:his FacingTheBulletsOneLiner ("The horror! The horror!") is lifted directly from the book]].
* ''Film/{{Arrival}}'', upon TheReveal, can be seen as an adaptation of [[spoiler:Creator/KurtVonnegut's ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive''. Both stories are about people who are [[TouchedByVorlons gifted by aliens]] with the ability to see all the events of their lives, past, present, and future. One key difference, though: while Billy Pilgrim in ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' [[YouCantFightFate can't change the future]], Louise Banks' story in ''Arrival'' hinges on her being able to choose whether or not to follow the future laid out for her.]] The film itself is also a direct adaptation of the novella "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang.
* ''Film/AustinPowers'' is a spiritual successor to all the ''Film/JamesBond'' spoofs of TheSixties, particularly ''Film/OurManFlint'' and 1967's ''Film/{{Casino Royale|1967}}''.
** ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'' is actually, also a spiritual successor to ''Film/DemolitionMan''. Both movies involve the protagonist and his nemesis frozen for many years, and then having difficulties with the social morays of my time. Both movies also include the protagonist falling in love with the woman (Creator/ElizabethHurley and Creator/SandraBullock's characters respectively) assigned to assist and acclimate the him to modern times.
* According to movie critic Nathan Rabin, ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' is one to ''Film/BillyJack'': both are movies about a MightyWhitey veteran siding with a community of ActualPacifist natives against the establishment; both movies survived an extended period in DevelopmentHell thanks to their directors obsessive perseverance, and both went on to be incredibly successful. But, Rabin described ''Avatar'' as a "forgotbuster" in that, despite having the biggest box office in movie history, it failed to leave lasting impressions in pop culture... just like ''Billy Jack''.
* ''Film/TheBabadook'' to ''Film/TheExorcist''. Their respective premises and executions are remarkably similar, though ''The Babadook'' largely replaces ''The Exorcist'''s overtly religious themes with an emphasis on the broader theme of storytelling. Both of them feature a single mother struggling to help her child cope with a [[AmbiguousDisorder mysterious mental illness]] that forces them into complete isolation, both of them prominently feature DemonicPossession, and both of them [[ClosedCircle take place almost entirely in the family home]]. Much like ''The Exorcist'', ''The Babadook'' is generally agreed to be all the more effective as a horror film because it focuses more on the breakdown of the family than on the monster that causes it.
* Both ''Film/{{Babel}}'' and ''Film/TwentyOneGrams'' which were directed by Creator/AlejandroGonzalezInarritu are considered the spiritual sequels of the Mexican film ''Film/AmoresPerros'' (also directed by him). The three films also share a screenwriter. The director and screenwriter consider the three films a trilogy.
* ''Film/BadBoys1995'' with Creator/WillSmith and Creator/MartinLawrence is a spiritual successor to ''Film/RunningScared1986'', ''Film/PoliceStory'', and ''Series/MiamiVice''.
* With the official ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' movie only having recently gotten out of DevelopmentHell, ''Film/TheBananaSplits'', an [[DarkerAndEdgier R-rated horror adaptation]] of the [[Series/TheBananaSplits '60s Hanna-Barbera series]] in which [[HostileAnimatronics the animatronics start killing people]], more or less beaten it to the punch.
* Before the Creator/DisneyChannel made [[Film/KimPossible an official one]], ''Film/BarelyLethal'' was probably the closest we'd come to a live-action ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' movie. Both are comedies about a female TeenSuperspy who has to pretend to be a high school student, with [[CastOfExpies a remarkable number of similarities within the cast]]; Agent 83/Megan is Kim, Roger is Ron, Liz is Bonnie, Cash is Josh, Hardman is a [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] Dr. Director (herself a gender-flipped ComicBook/NickFury, amusingly enough given that Hardman is played by Creator/SamuelLJackson), Victoria Knox is a gender-flipped [[BigBad Dr. Drakken]], and [[spoiler:Agent 84/Heather is Shego]]. It even has a Disney Channel star, Creator/DoveCameron, playing Liz.
* ''Film/BatmanBegins'' works pretty well as an adaptation of ''Radio/TheShadow'' and ''Comicbook/DoctorStrange'', respectively. In fact, when the trailer for the actual ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}'' movie was released over a decade later, many audiences claimed it was a rip-off of ''Batman Begins''. The fact that ''Batman Begins'' writer David Goyer previously wrote an unproduced ''Doctor Strange'' screenplay probably has a lot to do with it.
* Website/SomethingAwful's [[http://www.somethingawful.com/d/current-movie-reviews/expendables2-paranorman.php?page=5 review]] of ''Film/BeastsOfTheSouthernWild'' called it "the closest you can get to capturing the feeling of a [[Creator/HayaoMiyazaki Miyazaki]] film in live-action."
* ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'' is Disney's spiritual successor to their adaptation of ''Film/MaryPoppins'', right down to sharing a lead actor (Creator/DavidTomlinson).
* The 2007 adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beowulf|2007}}'' is probably the best movie version of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' that we're ever likely to see.
* ''Film/BestInShow'', ''Film/AMightyWind'', and ''Film/ForYourConsideration'' are all spiritual successors to ''Waiting for Guffman'', which in itself was a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap''.
* ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' to ''Film/CoogansBluff''. Whereas Creator/ClintEastwood was a [[CowboyCop country cop]] who had gone to the [[BigApplesauce big city]] in ''Coogan's Bluff'', Creator/EddieMurphy was a streetwise Detroit policeman who undergoes a [[FishOutOfWater culture shock]] while in [[HollywoodCalifornia Beverly Hills]].
* ''Film/BigFish'' is kinda similar to ''Film/ForrestGump''. Both are set in Alabama and are about an innocent Everyman telling stories about his life in the past to people in the present; both also have a hint of the supernatural about them; and both have a prominent female character named Jenny!
* Creator/NicholasRay, the director of ''Film/BiggerThanLife'', was greatly inspired by Creator/ArthurMiller's ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'' and saw his film as a cinematic adaptation of its "working-class tragedy", with the failure deriving from its [[TheEveryman everyman]] hero [[ConspicuousConsumption living and stretching himself beyond his means]].
* ''Film/BlackSheep1996'' is the spiritual successor of ''Film/TommyBoy'', both starring Chris Farley and David Spade with very similar characteristics and antics.
* ''Film/BlackSwan'':
** It has been compared by many, ''many'' people to ''Anime/PerfectBlue''. Both are about an overworked, up-and-coming actress so stressed that she (and the audience) are unable to tell what's real and what isn't, to disturbing effect.
** It's also described as the closest viewers will get to a live-action ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' movie.
** Creator/DarrenAronofsky has stated that ''Black Swan'' was a "companion piece" to his previous film ''Film/TheWrestler''. In a way, the former is the latter's foil: ''The Wrestler'' is about finding beauty in a brutal sport while '' Black Swan'' is all about the brutality of a beautiful artform.
* ''Film/BlessTheChild'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheGoldenChild''. Both are Creator/{{Paramount}} releases about ordinary people (Creator/KimBasinger and Creator/EddieMurphy respectively) chosen to save a mysterious child with a destiny based on the unexplainable from those who would corrupt them. The plots of both movies in particular, concern a child with supernatural abilities being kidnapped by groups with malicious intents. Said groups are hellbent on exploiting the (respective) child's supernatural powers for their own gains. And whatever decision the child chooses may affect the fate of the whole world.
* Some people have described Creator/CormacMcCarthy's ''Literature/BloodMeridian'' as [[HardToAdaptWork unfilmable]] due to its [[{{Gorn}} sheer graphic violence and bloodshed]] guaranteeing that any remotely faithful adaptation would get an NC-17 rating. S. Craig Zahler must have taken that as a challenge when he made ''Film/BoneTomahawk'', which captures a very similar DarkerAndEdgier [[TheWestern Wild West setting]] full of [[ExploitationFilm grindhouse gore]].
* ''Film/BloodWork'' is probably the closest we can get to a sixth ''Film/DirtyHarry'' movie.
* ''Film/{{Boar}}'' to ''Film/{{Razorback}}'', both being Australian-made films about [[FullBoarAction giant boar]] rampaging around the outback.
* ''Film/BoneTomahawk'' is remarkably similar to ''Film/TheBurrowers'' -- both of them are indie {{GenreMashup}}s of Western and horror and feature similar setups (i.e. a search party goes to rescue missing relatives but encounters a non-human antagonist along the way). Both of them avert PoliticallyCorrectHistory and have an equally cynical outlook on life with themes of HumansAreTheRealMonsters.
* ''Film/TheBookOfEli'':
** The screenwriter for the film is a self-proclaimed fan of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. It's pretty much the movie of the game, but with no ghouls and the search for clean water replaced with Literature/TheBible.
** It's also arguably the best ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' movie ever made by a Western studio. Minus the exploding heads and with a [[spoiler:blind]] badass Creator/DenzelWashington.
* ''Film/{{Booksmart}}'', a teen comedy about a pair of disaffected, InsufferableGenius teenage girls who look down on their [[HiddenDepths (seemingly)]] dumbass classmates, is probably the best live-action ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' movie since the ''Film/GhostWorld'' adaptation, albeit with the protagonists' sense of superiority getting [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype quickly deflated]].
* ''Film/TheBradyBunchMovie'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheAddamsFamily''. Besides both movies being [[TheFilmOfTheSeries based off of old TV shows]], they also featured [[SociallyAwkwardHero awkward]] families being placed in [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]] moments with real world people.
* Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's 1992 film ''Film/BramStokersDracula'' was billed as [[TruerToTheText a more faithful adaptation]] of the original ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' novel than past adaptations had been. While it certainly does bear this influence, it also bears that of Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', particularly in how it takes a classic literary/cinematic villain and reimagines him as a TragicMonster while focusing on his [[StarCrossedLovers doomed romance]] with a normal human woman. [[WebVideo/VampireReviews Maven of the Eventide]], while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAzJKf_Pa6I discussing the film,]] even remarked that the filmmakers must've been big fans of Webber's ''Phantom'' -- and indeed, the film's {{tagline}}, "Love Never Dies", went on to be used as the title to [[Theatre/LoveNeverDies the sequel]] to Webber's ''Phantom''.
* ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'' is a morality play about a group of people stuck in detention (which, for them, is a metaphorical {{Hell}}) who spend the movie scrutinizing and [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype deconstructing their respective character archetypes]] and what they did to get sent to detention. In short, it's a non-supernatural teen comedy version of Creator/JeanPaulSartre's ''Theatre/NoExit''. ''Entertainment Weekly'', when [[https://ew.com/gallery/50-best-high-school-movies-0/?slide=383548#383548 naming]] ''The Breakfast Club'' the greatest teen movie ever made, explicitly used the comparison. [[https://prezi.com/xy6q8azi6cdo/comparison-between-characterization-in-the-breakfast-club-an/ This presentation]] goes into more detail, specifically comparing Andrew to Garcin as the one who is most susceptible to worrying about how others see him, Claire to Estelle as the vain RichBitch, and Bender to Inès as the one who is [[AtLeastIAdmitIt the most honest about being a jerk]]. ''The Breakfast Club'' ends a bit more optimistically, though, the characters' lessons sticking with them a bit better than they did for their counterparts in ''No Exit''.
* The Creator/{{Netflix}} original film ''Film/{{Bright}}'', an UrbanFantasy police thriller about fantasy races (specifically, humans, orcs, and elves) living in modern-day UsefulNotes/LosAngeles and dealing with magic and FantasticRacism as everyday issues, has invited many comparisons.
** The obvious one is ''Series/AlienNation'', given that the protagonists are a human cop and his non-human partner, albeit with the latter being an orc instead of an alien.
** It can also be seen as ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' minus the {{cyberpunk}} elements.
** A cop hunting fairytale-like creatures and siding with one of them? Basically ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' as a movie.
* ''Film/{{Brightburn}}'' is widely considered an amazing adaptation of ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}''. It’s also frequently compared to [[Creator/AlanMoore Alan Moore’s]] seminal run on ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}''. [[spoiler:The end credits revealing the existence of other dark superhero [[{{Expy}} Expies]] and a heroic CaptainErsatz of Lex Luthor has caused many to consider it an adaptation of the various [[MirrorUniverse Crime Syndicate]] storylines from Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica.]]
* ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods'':
** It makes for a pretty good adaptation of (warning: major spoilers) [[spoiler:the Wiki/SCPFoundation, of all things. The main bad guys are a nebulous organization of questionable morality that possesses an enormous catalog of monsters and other dangerous supernatural items (in this case, horror movie baddies), which it keeps and controls so as to prevent [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt an XK-Class end-of-the-world event]]. And when the heroes find out about the lengths they're willing to go to, they take one look and say "fuck it, better to let the world end." Furthermore, [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/sandrewswann-s-proposal S. Andrew Swann's proposal]] for SCP-001 is that it's the people in RealLife who are writing the website -- and the main subtextual thrust of ''The Cabin in the Woods'' is that [[EldritchAbomination the Ancient Ones]] represent [[YouBastard horror fans]]. It's no surprise that the site's users have declared it to be ''[[http://www.scp-wiki.net/forum/t-461238/the-cabin-in-the-woods Containment Breach: The Movie]]''.]]
** It's also a very good ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' film, with the young protagonists battling a supernatural mystery that's not what it seems at first glance. [[spoiler:The ScoobyDooHoax, however, turns out to have something far more sinister behind it.]]
** In the updated 2019 edition of Seth Grahame-Smith's book ''Literature/HowToSurviveAHorrorMovie'', when adding this film to the list of "additional study materials" (i.e. recommended horror films) at the end, he referred to it as "the reason there will never be a movie adaptation of the book you're currently reading."
* ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit''. It also has much in common with ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld''.
* Due to both being superhero period pieces by the same director, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' could be this to ''Film/TheRocketeer''.
* ''Film/CarlitosWay'' to ''Film/{{Scarface|1983}}''. Both are about Latino crime bosses and have the same director (Creator/BrianDePalma) and star (Creator/AlPacino).
* ''Film/CasaDeMiPadre'' is probably the closest we will see to a feature-length version of the Conando sketches from Creator/ConanOBrien's stints hosting ''Series/LateNight'' and ''Series/TheTonightShow'', as both feature the concept of an obviously white actor appearing in an AffectionateParody of telenovelas in which RuleOfFunny appears heavily.
* The 2003 live-action film version of ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'' was Imagine Entertainment's attempt to duplicate the success of their popular take on another Creator/DrSeuss book, ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'', down to the casting of comic star Creator/MikeMyers as the Cat as its equivalent to Creator/JimCarrey's Grinch.
* ''Film/CantHardlyWait'' to ''Film/AmericanGraffiti'' minus the period piece backdrop. Both movies are about a group of recent high school graduates and their adventures over the course of [[OneCrazyNight a single night]]. ''Can't Hardly Wait'' also shares some similarities with ''Film/SomeKindOfWonderful'' with Preston being Keith, Amanda Beckett being Amanda Jones, Denise being Watts, and Mike Baxter being Hardy Jenns. Finally, the entire setting of it being at a WildTeenParty could be reminecent of the one seen at Jake Ryan's house in ''Film/SixteenCandles''.
* ''Film/CemeteryMan'' is widely considered a better live-action ''ComicBook/DylanDog'' than the comic's actual film adaptation, which was a generic monster movie bordering on InNameOnly. Moreover, the main character in ''Cemetery Man'' is played by Rupert Everett, who was the visual inspiration for Dylan Dog's facial features.
* ''Film/{{Charade}}'' was famously called the "best Hitchcock movie that Creator/AlfredHitchcock never made".
* While the 2019 ''[[Film/CharliesAngels2019 Charlie's Angels]]'' movie is a continuation of [[Series/CharliesAngels the '70s TV series]] and [[Film/CharliesAngels2000 the 2000 film]], a lot of fans of the ''Film/{{Kingsman}}'' films have also argued for it being an unofficial [[DistaffCounterpart girl-team]] SpinOff. The Townsend Agency is portrayed less as a PrivateDetective agency like on the show and more as a private ''spy'' agency in full TuxedoAndMartini mode (or in this case, Cocktail Dress and Martini), doing the jobs that government intelligence services are portrayed as [[ObstructiveBureaucrat too constrained by bureaucracy to get done]], with a heavy focus on the protagonists' lavish lifestyles -- a description that also just about perfectly applies to the Kingsmen.
** The first ''[[Film/CharliesAngels2000 Charlie's Angels]]'' film from the year 2000 is a spiritual successor to ''Film/SpiceWorld''. Both movies feature themes and elements of [[PublicExposure pin-up]] [[FeministFantasy feminism]] and a [[MediumAwareness winking]] [[SelfDeprecation self-consciousness]]. Not only that, but they both present a [[AsceticAesthetic glossy]], [[DenserAndWackier goofy]], [[ColorWash hypersaturated]] look.
* ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'':
** The film is a spiritual successor to ''Film/MaryPoppins''. Both films starred Creator/DickVanDyke with music by Music/TheShermanBrothers and set in TheEdwardianEra. Dick Van Dyke even quipped "This will out-Disney Creator/{{Disney}}." on the eve of its release.
** Since the screenplay was written by Creator/RoaldDahl and includes some of his favorite tropes (e.g. a candy factory, [[ChildHater child-hating villains]]), some view the film as an honorary Dahl novel, even though he didn't write the source material.
* ''Film/ChristopherRobin'' is widely considered a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Hook}}'', much like ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'' if not more so. Both films show a little boy character from classic children's literature now grown up, having lost his childhood idealism and imagination, and having become a workaholic who [[WhenYouComingHomeDad spends too little time with his child/children.]]. But then the fantastical characters from his childhood unexpectedly come back into his life, helping him rediscover his inner child by the end.
* ''Film/{{Chronicle}}'':
** Many point to it as a good Western live-action adaption of ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', in that both are about teenagers who are bestowed with superpowers and proceed to use them in terrifying ways.
** While Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'' has had more than one worthy adaptation (the [[Film/Carrie1976 1976 version]] in particular being considered an outright horror classic), this film makes for a great [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]], {{capepunk}} remake of the story. Andrew Detmer, like Carrie White, is a troubled teen raised in a toxic, {{abusive|Parents}} environment at home (Carrie by her widowed, [[TheFundamentalist religious fanatic mother]], Andrew by his [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic father]] while his mother is dying of cancer) and the target of relentless bullying at school, and both of them have [[MindOverMatter telekinetic powers]] that, towards the end of their respective stories, they use to get revenge on everybody whoever wronged them. Max Landis, the film's writer, even [[https://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/09/18/chronicles-max-landis-doesnt-want-you-to-call-his-new-show-a-superhero-show/ pointed this out]] when disputing the argument that it was a superhero film, arguing that it drew more from ''Carrie'' than anything and that, under any standard by which ''Chronicle'' could be considered a superhero story, so could ''Carrie'' and another King novel, ''Literature/{{Firestarter}}''.
* Anthony Mann's ''Film/ElCid'' starring Creator/CharltonHeston has multiple films that qualify as spiritual successors.
** When it comes to films that involve some of the same players involved in their making you have...
*** ''Film/FiftyFiveDaysAtPeking'' qualifies as it was the immediately following Samuel Bronston 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/TheFallOfTheRomanEmpire'' is the one most often considered to be a spiritual successor to ''El Cid'' as both are historical epics produced by Samuel Bronston, directed by Anthony Mann and featuring Creator/SophiaLoren as the leading female. Heston was even originally planned to play the lead role. However because of his tenuous relationship with Loren as well as dissatisfaction with the script, in part because he felt it was too similar to ''Ben-Hur'', he wound up declining the part. And after genre veteran Creator/KirkDouglas turned down the part it wound up going to Heston's ''Ben-Hur'' co-star, Creator/StephenBoyd. Both films also deal largely with the themes of tolerance and honor. They both also have a leading character who is a high-ranking warrior that seeks to bridge his people with their long-standing enemies and contends with his stubborn ruler who they try to remain loyal to in spite of their growing tension as he continually refuses to listen to pleas for unity and peace. However, ironically enough, things end up in near opposite manners. It is also notable that the English actor Douglas Wilmer is in both films.
*** ''Film/TheWarLord1965'' was a subsequent Medieval epic starring Heston as a knight.
*** ''Film/{{Khartoum}}'' like ''El Cid'' is a large-scale historical epic that has Heston play a successful and revered historical figure and military commander as well as a devoted and stalwart Christian. One however who has managed to gain the respect and loyalty of members of both the Christian and Muslim faiths. The conflicts of these films having them square off against a fanatical fundamentalist Muslim leader with an eye for conquest. Along the way he must also contend with the corruption within the system he serves. Each film also prominently features, and comes to end with, the battle for a key city. And both stories ultimately end with [[spoiler:the lead heroes becoming martyrs]]. It is also notable, like for another example listed, the English actor Douglas Wilmer also appears in both movies.
** And when it comes to films that came out a good deal later and don't involve the same cast or crew, but were definitely influenced by it to a sizable degree you have three of the most well known modern Medieval based historical epics...
*** ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' was influenced by it and was a film Mel Gibson grew up with and admired. Both are historical epics set in the Middle Ages that centers around a European country's national hero. Both films centering around their battle to try and keep their countries free and stable. Having to deal with a corrupt outside force trying to take control over them as well as the corruption in his nation's own hierarchy. Both ultimately manage to inspire unity in their people but [[spoiler:die as martyrs in the process]]. It is also notable that the arcs for the young royals Alfonso VI of León & Castile and Robert the Bruce as well as their relationships to the lead heroes are quite comparable up to a point.
*** ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' like ''El Cid'' is a Medieval based historical battle epic centering around a conflict between Christians and Muslims, wanting to teach a lesson about tolerance to the audience. And it has been said that Ridley Scott was first inspired to wanting to make a crusader movie after having seen ''El Cid'' in the theater when he was a young man. Both films center around a historical noble who seeks to create stability in his land of residence, and manages to win the admiration and loyalty from people of both faiths. Both because of his honor, as well as displays of mercy.
*** ''Film/RobinHood2010'' is a film to also take into consideration given the previously mentioned affinity the film's director Ridley Scott has for ''El Cid''. Both films are Middle Ages set historical epics that center around a famous hero from a European nation. (though whether or not Robin Hood actually existed is still in question) The main conflict in either film centers around a foreign ruler trying to conquer the lead hero's nation. Both plan on first making it easier by sowing discord among the nobles of that country who already have tenuous relationships with each other before coming in with his invasion force. The assassination of his brother as a part of this plan leads to a younger and more questionable noble to taking the throne as king. The leading hero manages to bring his nation together as the foreign power is starting its invasion on the coast, with of course a grand battle ensuing.
* ''Film/{{Circle}}'' is one to ''Film/{{Cube}}''. An OntologicalMystery of people from different walks of life who were abducted by mysterious forces and placed into a confined DeathTrap where they start dying one by one unless they somehow find a way out. Also, the circle itself can be seen as a different form of SinisterGeometry.
* The Kid 'n Play movie ''Film/ClassAct'' is really just ''Film/HouseParty'' without the house party, with most of the movie taking place in school instead.
* Creator/JJAbrams stated that ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'' was his attempt to do an American take on ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXc7hpMgofQ This video]] by Up From the Depths goes into more detail, specifically calling it an American version of [[Film/Godzilla1954 the original 1954 film]] in how it portrays its monster, using it as a metaphor for contemporary fears ([[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki nuclear weapons]] in ''Godzilla'', [[PostNineElevenTerrorismMovie terrorism]] in ''Cloverfield'') and having it be nearly invulnerable to conventional weaponry such that humans are almost powerless against it.
* ''Film/{{Clueless}}'' has been called a better film adaptation of Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/{{Emma}}'' than any of the official adaptations, taking the plot and characters and relocating them to a Beverly Hills high school.
* ''Film/ComingToAmerica'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/TradingPlaces''. Both films were made by Creator/JohnLandis, feature Creator/EddieMurphy, and both deal with [[SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty issues of wealth and poverty]]. ''Coming to America'' even includes a cameo by [[spoiler:Creator/DonAmeche and Creator/RalphBellamy as the still-poor Duke Brothers.]]
* ''Film/TheCommitments'':
** The films ''The Snapper'' and ''The Van'' were spiritual successors to ''The Commitments''. They all revolve around a Dublin family with a father played by Colm Meaney and all are based on Roddy Doyle novels. (The novels themselves were actual successors, but due to copyright issues, the name of the family in each of the films was changed).
** In ''The Commitments'', Outspan ended up as a busker on the streets of Dublin. Twenty years later the same actor, Glen Hansard, starred in ''Film/{{Once}}'' which opened with his character ...busking on the streets of Dublin. Bonus points due to his character in ''Once'' being unnamed.
* ''Film/ConAir'' to ''Film/TheRock''. Both are "''Franchise/DieHard'' [[DieHardOnAnX on an X]]" type films (on a prison transport plane and the prison Alcatraz Island respectively) that were produced by Creator/JerryBruckheimer and star Creator/NicolasCage.
* ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer'' is essentially a ''Dungeons and Dragons'' movie.
* 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.
* The ''Film/{{Crank}}'' duology is also this to the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series as a whole.
* The 2004 film ''Film/{{Crash}}'' to the 1991 film ''Film/GrandCanyon''. Both movies feature the interconnected lives of and then tensions between people of different races and classes in Los Angeles.
* ''Film/ACureForWellness'', in a way, is the Creator/GoreVerbinski's closest way to adapting ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock}}'' like he tried to do all those years ago. To wit: A secluded community of very rich people lead by a megalomaniac guru, an outsider trapped inside said community after an accident, a creepy young girl wearing a blue dress and corrupted by the villain, omnipresence of water, a life-altering substance processed from a water animal, a villain who turn to be [[spoiler: a character from the backstory than everyone thought was dead]], and great amounts of {{Squick}} and NightmareFuel.
* ''Film/TheCuriousCaseOfBenjaminButton'' has been considered by some by some reviewers as a spiritual successor to ''Film/ForrestGump''. The films share a screenwriter.
* ''Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula'' is closer to Comicbook/DoctorDoom's origin story than the one in the actual ''Film/FantasticFour2005'' film, or the one in the [[Film/FantasticFour2015 2015 reboot]], for that matter.
* ''Date Movie'', ''Epic Movie'', ''Meet the Spartans'', and ''Disaster Movie'' (the only real link being [[Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg their directors]], their inability to actually parody the genre they claim, and their total lack of quality), though this dubious quartet probably couldn't come across as more contrived and crass by being a series of ''actual'' sequels.
* ''Film/DaveMadeAMaze'', an indie comedy about a slacker artist who builds a fort/maze out of cardboard in his living room only for it to grow into a MagicRealism monstrosity, has often been described as feeling like a feature film adaptation of ''Series/{{Community}}'', particularly in terms of that show's more fantastical episodes.
* ''Film/DayOfTheAnimals'' to its director William Girdler's previous film ''Film/{{Grizzly}}'', since it has a similar location, plot, and shares some of the cast.
* ''Film/DaysOfThunder'' to ''Film/TopGun''. Creator/TomCruise controls (pilots) an extremely fast piece of machinery, deals with a [[HeroicBSOD crisis]] about 2/3's of the way in following a traumatic accident involving a friend, only to come out of it at the end and win the heart of his [[UptownGirl higher-class love interest]]. All with a power ballad soundtrack. Both of them are also directed by the late Creator/TonyScott.
* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
** The action scenes in ''Film/ManOfSteel'', in which Superman engages General Zod and his Kryptonian army in no-holds-barred, superpowered brawls in Smallville and Metropolis, have been pointed to as a better Western take on the fight scenes from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' than the actual, much-maligned Hollywood adaptation of such, ''Film/DragonballEvolution''. Faora in particular has been [[http://comicsalliance.com/man-of-steel-faora-vs-dragon-ball-z-vegeta-art-chart/ called]] the best live-action Vegeta ever (albeit a [[GenderFlip female version]] thereof).
** ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'':
*** Daniel Dockery of ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' has said that it came [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/why-you-shouldnt-give-up-hope-suicide-squad-2-yet/ closer to the feel]] of the ComicBook/SuicideSquad than the actual ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}'' movie. This was intended as a knock against both films, however. He felt that the point of the Suicide Squad in the comics was that they were {{Anti Hero}}es whose actions [[DesignatedHero stretched the "hero" part to the breaking point]], a description that he felt fit the portrayal of ComicBook/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Superman}} in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse to a tee. The [[DesignatedVillain ostensible]] {{Villain Protagonist}}s of the ''Suicide Squad'' movie, meanwhile, were mostly decent (if [[GoodIsNotNice rough]]) people who had made mistakes and were awaiting a shot at redemption.
*** It has also been seen as Creator/ZackSnyder adapting ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' for a second time.
** Some have compared ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'' to a [[LighterAndSofter PG-13 version]] of ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist''.
* Given [[AllThereInTheManual the revelation]] that the titular monsters are actually an alien bioweapon, it's safe to call ''Film/TheDeadlySpawn'' the best [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Tyranid]] movie without any Tyranids in it.
* 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 ends up unable to be with the woman they love. And 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]].
* ''Film/DeadSnow'' might as well be a Norwegian adaptation of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty''[='=]s VideoGame/NaziZombies mode. All that's missing are the hellhounds and rayguns.
* ''Film/DeathRace'', a 2008 remake of Creator/RogerCorman's ''Film/DeathRace2000'', [[InNameOnly may not have been particularly faithful]] to the original, but it ''was'' a very close adaptation of ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal''. Frankenstein's in-universe "mascot" mystique is treated in a manner akin to [[MonsterClown Sweet Tooth's]], and it now has the cars equipped with {{weapon|izedCar}}s activated by driving over icons on the track, a feature pulled out of many a VehicularCombat game. And in turn, the 2012 reboot of ''Twisted Metal'' had a number of cars seemingly based on those from the ''Death Race'' remake and its sequels.
* ''Film/{{Defiance}}'' could be considered one to ''Film/{{Glory}}''. Both are war films that were directed by Edward Zwick and, at least somewhat like the last pair of film ironically enough, center around members of an oppressed group striking back as well as fighting for their freedom.
* ''Film/DefinitelyMaybe'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/LoveActually''.
* The Creator/SylvesterStallone vehicle ''Film/DemolitionMan'' is said to have captured the humor of the ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' comics better than the actual ''Judge Dredd'' movie starring Stallone!
* ''Film/TheDeparted'' to ''Film/GangsofNewYork'' two ''Creator/MartinScorsese'' films which follow two young Irish-American man infiltrators who grows up poor and without a father figure, treating themes as violence, religion and race.
* French 1982 comedy ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deux_heures_moins_le_quart_avant_J%C3%A9sus-Christ Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ]]'' (literally "Quarter to Two B.C.") is a peplum parody set in the Roman Empire era, full of deliberate anachronism, and with Caesar and Cleopatra as characters. It feels like an unofficial ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' live-action adaptation (although much coarser) predating the official ones by two decades.
* ''Film/TheDevilsCarnival'' to ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera''. The film was made instead of a sequel to Repo! after creators Terrance Zdunich, Darren Smith, and Darren Lynn Bousman lost the rights to it. As well them both being rock-horror musicals, they both star Terrance Zdunich, Alexa Vega, Nivek Ogre, Bill Moseley and Paul Sorvino.
* ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' has been said to be so to ''Film/IngloriousBasterds''. Both films were directed by Creator/QuentinTarantino, and feature members of an oppressed group striking back violently against their oppressors. (Jews against Nazis and a slave against Antebellum South Slave Owners) Both also feature Creator/ChristophWaltz in a major supporting role that garnered him an Oscar win.
* ''Film/DoctorMordrid'', a low-budget fantasy film made by Creator/FullMoonFeatures, was originally intended as a ComicBook/DoctorStrange adaptation, but Charles Band's rights to the property expired before he could begin production. Undeterred, he simply [[SerialNumbersFiledOff rewrote the script]] to be an original property.
* Creator/KevinSmith's religious comedy ''Film/{{Dogma}}'', with its satire of the finer points of the Christian faith combined with BlackComedy and very R-rated sensibilities, is the closest we've gotten to a film adaptation of ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', albeit with more of a focus on [[GrossOutShow gross-out humor]].
* ''Film/DoubleImpact'', starring Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme, is considered a better adaptation of the ''[[VideoGame/DoubleDragonI Double Dragon]]'' video game than the official ''Film/DoubleDragon1994'' movie starring Scott Wolf and Mark Dacascos. It even had Bolo Yeung playing an Abobo-like henchman who throws oil drums at his enemies. Coincidentally, the long-haired version of Abobo from ''VideoGame/DoubleDragonIITheRevenge'' is named Bolo in most versions of that game.
* ''Film/DraculaUntold'':
** The closest we'll get to a ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' movie. The fact that Dracula's vampire mode here is portrayed very similarly to his portrayal in those games helps.
** The closest we'd ever get to a live-action ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' prequel.
** The story (historic prince gains magical powers from an ancient being which he uses to defeat his enemies) bears some similarities to the origin of ComicBook/BlackAdam.
* ''Film/Dune2021'' is the best live-action adaptation of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' we're going to get, which makes sense considering that the original ''{{Literature/Dune}}'' was one of the inspirations for Warhammer 40k.
* ''Film/DragMeToHell'' could just as easily have been called ''Franchise/EvilDead 4'', and nobody would have batted an eye. Not only was it written and directed by Creator/SamRaimi and billed as his return to horror, it has virtually all the characteristic elements of the prior films: the emphasis on BloodyHilarious carnage, the mix of demonic horror with slapstick comedy, a demon-possessed man acting like a Deadite, and the protagonist Christine coming across as more of a DistaffCounterpart to Ash (at least from [[Film/TheEvilDead1981 the first movie]]) than the actual [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] version of Ash from [[Film/EvilDead2013 the remake]]. Even the PG-13 rating doesn't take ''that'' much away from the mayhem. It can also be considered this to ''Literature/{{Thinner}}'', [[WholePlotReference which also involves]] an upper class protagonist in a RaceAgainstTheClock to remove a gypsy curse from them before their time is up. Interestingly enough, the music composer for ''Thinner'' Daniel Licht was a protege of Christopher Young, the music composer for this film. Both Licht's and Young's ensemble orchestras performed for those movies were even the Northwest Sinfonia.
* ''Film/{{Duplex}}'' has been called a spiritual successor to ''Film/ThrowMommaFromTheTrain''. Both are black comedies directed by Creator/DannyDevito 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/EasyA'' is a high school version of Creator/NathanielHawthorne's ''Literature/TheScarletLetter'', which the heroine pays tribute to by wearing a giant red "A" on her shirt.
* ''Film/{{Elysium}}''
** It is as close as we get to a ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' film, for now. It was directed by Neill Blomkamp, who originally was slated to direct the canceled ''Halo'' movie, and features a ringworld colony that shares its name with Master Chief's birthplace, dropships similar to the Pelicans, and a protagonist wearing PoweredArmor, among other similarities.
** It has also drawn comparisons to ''{{TabletopGame/Shadowrun}}'': the class warfare, the StreetSamurai who gets his chrome attached by a street doc, runners tracking down a mark, the bad guy calling down a High Threat Response team, in turn, the pimped-out guns, the Black ICE protecting the data... Only the metas were missing.
** ''{{TabletopGame/Shadowrun}}'' is based on the works of {{Creator/William Gibson}}. So ''{{Film/Elysium}}'' could also count as an adaptation of the short story ''Johnny Mnemonic''.
* ''Film/EnterTheVoid'' definitely comes across as ''some'' sort of successor to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', featuring the same kind of exploratory existentialism and drawn-out, trippy sequences. It's even harder to sit through due to the addition of [[WretchedHive general human degeneracy]] and [[FreudWasRight psychosexual issues]], however.
* According to critic Nathan Rabin, ''Film/{{Envy}}'' is a successor to ''Sour Grapes'', which was directed by ''Envy'''s producer Creator/LarryDavid - both movies feature best friends growing apart after one of them becomes rich - by winning a cassino jackpot in ''Grapes'', and patenting a revolutionary invention in ''Envy''. The "poor" friend, in both cases, becomes envious of the rich one and, in a moment of anger, destroys a beloved piece of his friend's property. Both movies also feature a bizarre homeless man becoming involved with the poor friend's life after he tries to hide his misdeed.
* ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}''
** It may be the closest thing to a mainstream, an internationally recognized adaptation that ''Literature/{{We}}'' will ever see, as straight adaptations are very few, far between, and obscure.
** Creator/BobChipman has called it a better adaptation of ''Literature/TheGiver'' than [[Film/TheGiver the official film adaptation]], spending [[http://moviebob.blogspot.com/2015/06/in-bob-we-trust-dissed-topia.html an entire video]] using it as a counterpoint to that film and to the young-adult dystopian genre in general.
* Film/ErnestPWorrell is like a live-action version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}}'', from his nature as a KindheartedSimpleton, to his distinctive southern drawl, to the amusing, cartoony slapstick brought on by his own obliviousness to every situation.
* ''Film/ErikTheViking'', written and directed by Creator/TerryJones 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.
* Time to talk a little Creator/ErrolFlynn...
** His breakout film was ''Film/CaptainBlood'', and that is a film with what can be considered two spiritual successors:
*** ''Film/TheAdventuresOfRobinHood'' like ''Captain Blood'' is a swashbuckler directed by Creator/MichaelCurtiz and also has Creator/OliviaDeHavilland and Creator/BasilRathbone as co-stars. The former as his upstanding love interest, and the latter as a major supporting villain who clashes blades with Flynn by the end.
*** ''Film/TheSeaHawk'' is again a swashbuckling adventure film starring Flynn as a charismatic pirate captain. And once again Curtiz is in the director's chair.
** Next up is ''Film/TheAdventuresOfRobinHood'' itself, which is possibly his most famous and popular film:
*** ''Film/TheMarkOfZorro1940'' while the only film in this bunch not to star Errol Flynn, the lead here being Tyrone Power, it is also a swashbuckler about a famous classic hero taking on corruption in his homeland. Both Creator/BasilRathbone and Eugene Pallette, actors who played supporting characters from ''Robin Hood'', are also featured in strikingly similar roles. The former again as the main antagonist's chief enforcer and rival to the lead, whilst the latter again plays a tough-as-nails holy man who serves as a close ally to the hero.
*** ''Adventures Of Don Juan'' 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/EscapeRoom2019'' is the closest we can get to a ''{{Franchise/Danganronpa}}'' or ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' movie.
* ''Film/EventHorizon''
** Many ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' fans consider it to be canonical, especially with its employment of HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace (specifically, Hell).
** Likewise, some ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' fans consider it to be a better ''Doom'' movie than [[Film/{{Doom}} the one the game actually got]]. The background of the game was that some scientists in space were experimenting with teleportation and created a portal that, instead of taking them from point A to point B, [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace led straight to Hell]]. And Hell's army comes out of the portal and threatens to doom our universe. That's the plot of the movie ''Event Horizon'' to a tee, made in 1997. And then, eight years later, some people just had to go and make another ''Resident Evil'' genetic experiment gone wrong movie and go and entitle the movie ''Doom''.
** Along those lines, ''Film/{{Doom}}'' is essentially the live-action film version of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheMercenaries3D''.
** It has also been seen as this for Creator/HPLovecraft's work in general, even though it can't be said to be even a loose adaptation of one story in particular.
** To those who have seen both, this film is considered the successor to Disney's ''Film/TheBlackHole'' (1979). Both are about the crew of a space ship investigating a much bigger derelict ship, only to find out that something horrible happened to the crew, and that the ship was designed to travel somewhere outside of normal reality [[spoiler:which both times turns out to be, [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace if not literally Hell, then somewhere that easily resembles Hell]]]].
* ''Film/EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce'' is a cheerfully surreal [[TheMultiverse multiversal]] adventure with a surprising amount of heart, about an Asian woman who can access all the memories and skills of her alternate selves. With ''Everywhere'' in the title. Sounds rather like a ''WebOriginal/JennyEverywhere'' movie, doesn't it? (Furthermore, while Evelyn isn't ''that'' similar to Jenny Everywhere, the film's primary antagonist [[spoiler: Jobu Topaki]] has considerable similarities with common takes on her arch-foe Jenny Nowhere, both of them being women who gained the ability to exist "everywhere, all at once" across the Multiverse and were turned into nihilistic villains by the [[GoMadFromTheRevelation experience]] even as it empowered them, making their newfound abilities a danger to the rest of reality.)
* ''Film/{{Evolution}}'' was, for a long time, the closest we had gotten to a proper ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} III''. It was a sci-fi comedy directed by Creator/IvanReitman about a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits group of misfit scientists]] battling an unnatural menace using creative applications of advanced technology, and even featured Creator/DanAykroyd in a bit part as the governor of Arizona. The script was originally written as a serious, R-rated horror movie inspired by ''Film/TheThing1982'' and ''Film/TheAndromedaStrain'', but Reitman saw potential in it as a comedy, and had it rewritten into something more like ''Film/Ghostbusters1984''.
* ''Film/EXistenZ'' is essentially ''Film/{{Videodrome}}'' for the new millennium.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:F-L]]
* Though the tropes in ''Film/TheFaculty'' are obviously OlderThanTheyThink and chiefly inspired by ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers'' and ''Literature/ThePuppetMasters'' (which are together described below, and which the film even lampshades), to its late '90s teen audience it could also be seen as ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}: The Movie'', albeit without the super-powered heroes. The aliens in the film are even shown to be slug-like creatures that live in water, and [[PuppeteerParasite possess their hosts]] by [[OrificeInvasion entering through the ear]].
* While the [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheKillingJoke official adaptation]] of ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' was [[BrokenBase polarizing]], ''Film/FallingDown'' still makes for a remarkably good live-action film version, albeit set in the "real world" without superheroes. The comparisons between the VillainProtagonist Bill Foster and the SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Martin Prendergast -- two men confronted by tragedy who responded in very different ways, the former turning to crime and nihilism and the latter committing himself to justice, with the film ultimately siding with the latter's perspective -- are uncannily similar to those between ComicBook/TheJoker and ComicBook/{{Batman}} in that story. And in turn, the 2019 film ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'' was noted as having drawn heavily from this film, among others, in how it portrayed Arthur Fleck's downward spiral amidst a CrapsackWorld that abused people like him.
* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'':
** Many ''Franchise/GIJoe'' fans argue that Wrestling/DwayneJohnson channeled out more Roadblock in ''Furious 7'' than he did in ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation''.
** The car stunts and chases have also been compared to the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series, while the over-the-top action is seen as a throwback to TheEighties to the point that some have called them better ''[[Film/TheExpendables Expendables]]'' movies than the actual ''Expendables'' movies...
* ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'' is the first of a new series of ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' prequel films. While it looks, feels, and reads very much as a ''Harry Potter'' film, it wouldn't be out of place in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' universe if you just replaced some of the names and treated the titular fantastic beasts as aliens. The main character New Scamander is a lot like The Doctor himself, with many of the same quirks and mannerisms as everyone's favorite Time Lord (being played by a British actor is a plus), and the suitcase he carries around with him is bigger on the inside just like the TARDIS. Jacob Kowalski could easily be one of The Doctor's companions, an ordinary human being suddenly thrust into the fantastical world of Newt/The Doctor. Tina and Queenie fit in as allies of The Doctor who are already in-the-know and understand what he's talking about for the most part. The Magical Congress of the United States (or [=MACUSA=]) can be taken as any of the {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s that hinder The Doctor and his companions. Finally, [[spoiler: Grindelwald is a shoo-in for The Master, a background antagonist of similar origins who ultimately ''does'' come into conflict with the heroes]].
* ''Film/FantasticFour2015'' has been described by many as basically being ''[[{{Film/Chronicle}} Chronicle 2]]''. It was even made by the same director (Josh Trank) and features one of the actors from that film. The general opinion is that this resulted in the movie [[InNameOnly barely resembling the comic it was based on]].
* Martin & Porter's ''DVD & Video Guide'' calls ''Film/AFewGoodMen'' "the best Franchise/PerryMason movie ever made."
* 1997's ''Film/FierceCreatures'' featured the same core cast and much of the same crew as 1988's ''Film/AFishCalledWanda'', and includes at least one explicit ShoutOut to the earlier film, although they are in no way connected to each other. The actors also play more-or-less similar characters, with Creator/KevinKline as a dimwitted egomaniac, Creator/JamieLeeCurtis as seductive and manipulative, Creator/JohnCleese as a stuffy square, and Creator/MichaelPalin as a weird guy with a bit of a [[SpeechImpediment talking]] [[MotorMouth problem.]]
* Creator/LucBesson's ''Film/TheFifthElement'' was, for a long time, the best adaptation of the [[FrancoBelgianComics Franco-Belgian]] sci-fi comic ''ComicBook/{{Valerian}}'' ever made, with Jean-Claude Mézières himself, one of the co-creators of ''Valérian'', even working on the production design... that is, until twenty years later, when Besson finally got the opportunity to adapt ''Valérian'' for real. And to bring it full circle, the resulting film, ''Film/ValerianAndTheCityOfAThousandPlanets'', was often described by critics as Besson's spiritual successor to ''The Fifth Element''.
* ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' has much less to do with ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' and more to do with ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}''. A futuristic war with aliens, with commandos, that [[CollisionDamage die in one touch]]? Definitely.
* ''Film/FindingForrester'' is often considered to be a spiritual successor to ''Film/GoodWillHunting''. Both are films directed by Gus Van Sant 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/AFistfulOfDollars'', ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'', and ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' are all SpaghettiWestern films by Creator/SergioLeone, with Creator/ClintEastwood as one of the stars. They form a ThematicSeries, often called "[[Film/DollarsTrilogy The Man with No Name]]", and some promotional material states that they exist in the same world.
* Seeing how the subject matter of an ambitious but flawed man struggling with his inner demons and addiction are similar, ''Film/{{Flight}}'' could very well be a higher-budgeted and more graphic update of ''Film/TheLostWeekend''.
* Either Creator/JohnCarpenter's ''Film/TheFog1980'' was a damn good adaptation of Creator/StephenKing's short story ''Literature/TheMist'', or vice versa; they both came out the same year (1980). Less debatable is that the 2007 film adaptation of ''The Mist'' was a much better remake of ''The Fog'' than the latter film's own remake in 2005.
* Creator/GeneRoddenberry openly admitted that ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet'' was '''the''' primary inspiration for ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', and its influence can be seen in everything from its premise, to its special effects, to its characters, to its dramatic cues. Depending on how you see it: either ''Forbidden Planet'' is an unofficial feature-length ''Star Trek'' episode or the original ''Star Trek'' is an unofficial television spin-off of ''Forbidden Planet''.
* ''Film/ForbiddenZone'' is probably the best live-action ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'' adaptation we're ever gonna get, which makes sense given that one of the film's big influences was old Fleischer cartoons.
* ''Film/FoxyBrown'' was the successor to ''Film/{{Coffy}}''. It was originally meant to be a sequel titled ''Burn, Coffy, Burn'', but the [[ExecutiveMeddling producers changed it at the last minute]]. As a result, we have two films with similar plots and very similar protagonists, both played by Creator/PamGrier.
* ''Film/FreeGuy'':
** Based on the humor in the trailers, it has been trumpeted as possibly being the closest possible live-action adaptation of ''Roleplay/NoPixel''.
** Being about a man who finds out he's an NPC in an MMORPG, it could also be inspired by the [[Creator/BenCroshaw Yahtzee Croshaw]] novel, ''Literature/{{Mogworld}}'', which itself is a SpiritualAdaptation of [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'']].
** The popular visual novel ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' also focuses on the concept of a videogame NPC becoming aware that they're in a game, although Monika doesn't take this revelation as well as Guy does.
** The anarchic game world that the film takes place in, a modern-day city where players are encouraged to carry out bank robberies and other criminal activities with an arsenal of weapons and vehicles ranging from mundane to exotic to flat-out sci-fi, has also been compared to the excess of ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Grand Theft Auto Online]]''.
* ''Film/FridayNightLights'' like ''Film/VarsityBlues'', is set within the world of high school football in West Texas.
* There's a reason that ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood'' is affectionately called "[[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason]] vs. Literature/{{Carrie}}" by many fans of the franchise. Both ''The New Blood'' and ''Carrie'' feature traumatized teenage girls with [[MindOverMatter telekinetic powers]] and AbusiveParents [[spoiler:who they kill with their powers]], the former having her as the FinalGirl with an alcoholic father and the latter as the AntiVillain [[VillainProtagonist Protagonist]] with a fundamentalist mother. If you ignore the little detail that the name of the female lead in ''The New Blood'' is "Tina Shepard", the movie is the world's first, best, and ''only'' [[MonsterMash horror crossover]] starring Carrie White.
* ''Film/FromBeyond'' shares ''Film/ReAnimator'''s over-the-top approach to [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraftian]] source material, as well as a significant chunk of the cast and crew. Both star Creator/JeffreyCombs as a MadScientist (borderline) VillainProtagonist.
* The miniseries ''Series/FromTheEarthToTheMoon'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/Apollo13'', as an in-depth look at the Apollo program from the late '60s and early '70s. Both were produced by Creator/RonHoward and Brian Grazer, with Creator/TomHanks onboard, only in the capacity of narrator (except in the last episode). ''Apollo 13'' is itself a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheRightStuff''.
* ''Film/TheFullMonty'' is a [[ForeignRemake British remake]] of ''Film/{{Flashdance}}'' only with six steelworkers instead of one young woman. It's even invoked by the film itself when the protagonists are watching ''Flashdance'' so they can strip.
* ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/ThreeAmigos''. Both movies are about washed up actors who played these cool characters in the past. Then this group of people in need, mistake the actors for the real deal. The actors show up thinking it's an acting gig, only to get their butts kicked. But then they really become their roles they played to succeed.
* ''Film/GangsterSquad'' to ''Film/TheUntouchables''. Both films are about a man (Sgt. John [=O'Mara=] and Eliot Ness respectively), putting together a [[TheTeam small team]] to go after a real life criminal (Mickey Cohen and UsefulNotes/AlCapone respecitvely). Both films rightly or wrongly, also totally butcher [[ArtisticLicenseHistory historial accuracy]] for the sake of entertainment.
* Creator/GeorgesMelies:
** Multiple academic articles have been written about how Georges Melies's films are the spiritual successors of the ''féerie'', a spectacular theatrical genre popular in 19th-century Paris.
** And hardly any film theorist has been able to talk about the work of the mid-20th-century filmmaker Creator/KarelZeman without either implying, or flat-out stating, that Zeman is the spiritual successor of Méliès.
* 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 ''[[Film/BenHur1959 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.
* The 2015 film ''Get Hard'' is this to ''Trading Places'' (1983), but with the 2008 financial crisis as a backdrop: Both films feature a snooty white financier whose fortunes take a hit after being accused of fraud (or more precisely, being framed by his mentor/father-in-law) and eventually joins forces with a street-smart black character.
* ''Film/GetOverIt'' is a high school version of Shakespeare's ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'', a performance of which figures heavily in the plot.
* ''Film/TheGirlNextDoor2004'' was pretty blatantly conceived as "''Film/RiskyBusiness'' for the [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s]]". The protagonist's love interest is an adult film star instead of a prostitute, the villain is a porn producer instead of a pimp, and the climax features the main characters filming a pornographic movie at their school instead of turning their house into a brothel--but they're otherwise similar enough that one easily could have been a remake of the other.
* The Creator/DisneyChannel Original Movie ''Film/GirlVsMonster'' is about a blonde-haired teenage girl who finds out that she comes from a lineage of [[HunterOfMonsters monster hunters]], and suddenly has to put her teenage life on hold in order to fulfill the "save the world" part of WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld. In other words, it's the closest thing to a DCOM version of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' that we're likely to ever see.
* 15 years before ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' came along, the ''Film/StreetFighter'' movie was far more Franchise/GIJoe than it was ''Franchise/StreetFighter''.
* ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' has a couple of films that serve as spiritual successors to it...
** ''Film/RobinHood2010'' is often considered a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' because of how both are historical battle epics starring Creator/RussellCrowe and directed by Creator/RidleyScott. This is the one that is most often talked about in this light.
** ''Film/KingArthur2004'', ironically enough another film that serves as a more grounded and gritty retelling of a renowned figure in British folklore, also qualifies as a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' just as much. Both stories were initially conceived by David Franzoni, Music/HansZimmer provided the scores for both, and the two films are Roman era historical battle epics that center around a great and respected officer in the Roman military who has never been to Rome but holds an idealized image of it in his head as the light in a dark and cruel world. An image that becomes effected as their stories go on.
** ''Film/ExodusGodsAndKings'' is also pretty obviously one as well. Both films are directed by Creator/RidleyScott, the trailers getting a lot of mileage with the "From the Director of ''Gladiator'' tagline", and both are prominently advertised as the story of "One man facing the might of an empire". The parallels are further compounded by how the main antagonist in either film is the lead character's royal surrogate brother (though that comes with the territory given how things go down in the Biblical book of Exodus) but also in how Moses is being portrayed as a military commander before he goes into exile and becomes an agent of God. (Though it was an idea touched upon in ''{{Film/The Ten Commandments|1956}}'')
** ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' also could have a case made for qualifying as one. ''Gladiator'' often coming up in the marketing. Naturally there are the connections concerning them both being directed by Ridley Scott and both being in the same historical epic/swords-and-sandals genre but there are some other things to note. Like how the lead hero in each film is set on his main journey after the deaths of his wife and child which naturally takes a toll on him emotionally, their main mission is tasked to them by a father-figure who planned to pass their power to them and wind up being killed earlier on, the hero in one way or another begins a new life where he becomes a hero to the people, he gets a new love interest in the form of an upstanding princess, the princess has a son that she's devoted to who is in the royal line of succession, the lead villain is a man who holds the woman in some form of bondage to him, connives to ensure he becomes the ruler, and follows up a more idealistic king. Both films in terms of locations feature journeys starting in frosty European woodlands, move into scorching deserts, and end up in sprawling major cities of the ancient world.
** It could be argued that ''Film/RobinHood2010'' is just as much a spiritual successor to Scott's other preceding historical epic ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' as it is to ''Gladiator''. As both are epics set in the Middle Ages, and touch on the corruption and politics of the time. What makes the connections all the more interesting however is the fact that one of the last scenes in ''Kingdom'' had that film's lead Balian comes across King Richard the Lionheart on his way to go on the crusade to retake the Holy Land from Saladin. In ''Robin Hood'' the film opens up with King Richard and his men on their return journey from his decade long crusade. They even have the lead character Robin Longstride when asked criticize Richard's crusade as well as a massacre of Muslims in the city of Acre. Harkening back to some of the major themes of ''Kingdom of Heaven''.
* ''Film/GodsOwnCountry'': ''Film/MySummerOfLove'' was the lesbian and 15-years-too-early version of this film, which is set in the same place and mixes the lesbian movie's story with that of ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' (to which it's ''also'' a spiritual successor).
* Despite being a Godzilla movie, ''Film/{{Godzilla|2014}}'' (2014) comes across as this to the other Reboot of his rival franchise, ''Film/GameraGuardianOfTheUniverse''. The main monster being a hero in a way that it doesn't really care for humanity but merely protecting it without realizing it? Check. The enemy monster having a Flying creature with Batlike wings with its mate threatening to kill humanity, not be flat-out destroying them, but by spawning more monsters? Check. An attempt to reboot the franchise in a way that's somewhat Darker and Grittier then how most people remember the Titular Monster? Check.
* ''Film/GoodBoy'' is essentially the film adaptation of ''The Starlight Barking'', the sci-fi sequel to ''Literature/TheHundredAndOneDalmatians'', that Disney will never make, where alien dogs come to take Earth dogs back to the dog star Sirius after deeming humanity unworthy of them.
* ''Film/GoodBoys'', an R-rated comedy about a group of adolescent boys who go on a lewd, raunchy adventure across town in which their cluelessness about "adult" ideas is PlayedForLaughs, is the closest thing to a live-action ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' movie that's ever been made, albeit without the political humor or [[EnfantTerrible Cartman]]. With the leads being a 12 year old kid that gets into insane situations trying to fix a problem only making things worse with every shortsighted decision they accidentally make, a snarky NiceGuy black best friend whose color scheme involves orange, and a wannabe tough ladies man that thinks they're super popular when its the opposite this could be considered/joked about as Seth Rogen's Hard R ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball''.
* ''Film/GoodMorning'' is this to a previous film named ''Film/IWasBornBut''. They were done by the same director. They both feature similar dressing brothers wearing baseball caps causing mischief in early 20th century Japan (the 1950s and the 1930s respectively).
* ''Film/Goosebumps2015'' can be seen as one to ''Jumanji'', at least in the aspect of fictional creatures running amok in the real world, and everything getting sucked back to where they came from in the end.
* In some key respects, ''Film/GranTorino'' is to the ''Film/DirtyHarry'' series what ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'' was to the ''Dollars'' trilogy above.
* ''Film/{{Gravity}}'' (2013) is the Spiritual Successor to ''Film/Apollo13 (1995)'', as it is a "serious" space disaster film based on current technology and starring astronauts rather than a straight sci-fi. Ed Harris [[ShoutOut even resumes]] [[CastingGag his role]] as MissionControl.
* ''Film/TheGreatWall'' can be considered a Hollywood-Chinese LiveActionAdaptation of ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', minus the shape-shifting abilities and AncientConspiracy and with the smiling naked giants replaced with green alien lizards.
* ''Film/TheGreenMile'' is a great film on its own, but it's also an interesting spiritual successor to ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'' (made by the same director). Both are period dramas inspired by Stephen King stories, but instead of going the usual route of looking at his horror stories, Frank Darabont instead looked to some of his unusual works- neither of which was part of the horror genre and one of which had no supernatural elements whatsoever. Both are period dramas set in American prisons during the 20th century dealing with themes of injustice (one involves a man being sentenced for a crime he didn't commit, the other involves a man who tries to comfort prisoners on death row... and then having to carry out their executions). It's also interesting to note the point of view changes between them- ''Shawshank'' is told from the point of view of a prisoner, ''Green Mile'' is from the perspective of a guard, both of whom are subjected to injustices and try to make the best of their situations with help from a few friends.
** Also in a way, ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'' itself can be considered a spiritual successor to ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'', as both involve a certain character going to a place where healing is supposed to happen, but the authorities in charge have caused the place to do the exact opposite. As a result, [[MessianicArchetype they both take it upon themselves to bring hope and love to a place which has none to give]], and [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty the authorities in charge eventually face the consequences for their actions at both films' ends.]]
* ''Film/GrossePointeBlank'' itself is a spiritual successor to ''Film/SayAnything'' - although there are some important differences in the backstory, Martin Blank feels in many ways like an alternate history version of Lloyd Dobler 10 years later, with the point of departure being when he joins the army out of high school instead of hooking up with the girl. They're both played by John Cusack (and they both kickbox).
* ''Film/GroundhogDay'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Scrooged}}''. In both movies, Creator/BillMurray initially plays a cold-hearted cynic but through a series of unpleasant events, he sees himself in the mirror and decides to change his life from an unlikable cynic to a lovable optimist.
* ''Film/TheGuest'' shares a lot more of its plot and structure with David Morrell's novel ''Literature/FirstBlood'' than the actual [[Film/FirstBlood film adaptation of that book]] does. Both are about a SociopathicSoldier who was [[JustifiedCriminal abused and then abandoned by the government]] who terrorizes a small town and kills several people, and his former commanding officer/handler is one of the people trying to stop him, with ''The Guest'' giving the story a SettingUpdate to UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. The film of ''First Blood'' famously altered the story to [[AdaptationalHeroism portray John Rambo in a more sympathetic light]], from having him kill only one person to [[spoiler:[[SparedByTheAdaptation letting him survive]] and surrender to Trautman at the end]], making him more of an AntiVillain with the local police coming off worse than him.
* ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Film/{{Psycho}}''. Not only does [[Creator/JamieLeeCurtis Janet Leigh's daughter]] play the FinalGirl, but the hero of the movie, Sam Loomis, has the [[NamesTheSame same name]] [[ShoutOut as Marion's lover]]. Many stylistic choices are clearly influenced by Hitchock, like the simple {{Leitmotif}} theme music, and the camera work in Michael's first kill, where we never see knife penetrate flesh.
* ''Film/TheHangover'' to ''Film/VeryBadThings''. The former features nearly the exact same premise as the latter, but LighterAndSofter (for one, a baby replaces the dead hooker in ''The Hangover'').
* ''Series/HappyDays'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/AmericanGraffiti''.
** ''Film/DazedAndConfused'' is another successor to ''American Graffiti''.
** Likewise, ''Series/That70sShow'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/DazedAndConfused'', perhaps even ''Series/HappyDays'' rebooted for a new generation in a different decade.
* ''Film/HappyGilmore'' and ''Film/TheWaterboy'', even more than the rest of Creator/AdamSandler's mid-[[TheNineties 90s]] "abrasive man-child" ''oeuvre'', are this to ''Film/BillyMadison''. Sandler even named his production company "Happy Madison" after the first two films.
* ''Film/HarbingerDown'' was made by two of the special effects technicians who did the PracticalEffects on ''Film/TheThing2011''. They were disappointed to see their work painted over in post-production with CG, a sentiment shared by people who saw their behind-the-scenes footage of the effects they had worked on, and so they decided to create a ''Thing''-like film of their own.
* As ''Film/HardcoreHenry'' is heavily inspired by FirstPersonShooter video games, there are arguments that it's one for several examples: ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' in its hectic gunfights and action scenes, ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' with the UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective and Henry's HeroicMime status, ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' in the chases and fistfights, ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'' due to having a psychic commander as the BigBad, and [[spoiler:''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' for the protagonist's memory being tampered with and altered, while MissionControl turns out to be evil]].
* ''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.
* ''Film/TheHatefulEight'' is, on closer examination, a spiritual successor in many ways to the ''Film/TheThing1982''. Both are paranoid, suspenseful thrillers about an almost entirely male group of shady characters [[note]] ''The Thing'' 's cast is entirely male except for the voice of the computer, while ''Eight'' has one woman in the main cast for TheSmurfettePrinciple, and a couple others in flashbacks [[/note]] trapped in a snowbound location by the blizzard and are totally unable to trust one another or figure out who's dangerous or not. Sam Jackson's character identifies and disposes of the threats in much the same way as [=McCready=], and both movies are also ''extremely'' [[{{Gorn}} gory.]] Music/EnnioMorricone scores both films, and he even got to re-use some of his unused tracks for ''The Thing'' in ''Hateful''. They also both end in almost exactly the same fashion: [[spoiler: the only two survivors, a black guy and a white guy, who previously had an antagonistic relationship, sharing a moment of companionship as they both realize that neither of them is likely to survive.]]
* ''Film/AHauntedHouse'' is the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/ScaryMovie''. Both films were written by the Wayans brothers and spoof various contemporary horror movies.
* ''Film/{{Head}}'' and ''Film/TheTrip1967'' are two very trippy movies both written at least partly by Creator/JackNicholson, and there are definite commonalities, to the point where ''Head'' plays almost like a parody of ''The Trip'' at times.
* ''Film/{{Heat}}'' in some respects, can be looked at as being a spiritual successor to ''Film/Batman1989''. Both Neil [=McCauley=] and Bruce Wayne are [[LonelyAtTheTop lonely]], brooding, methodical men whose worlds are virtually turned upside down when they meet a [[NiceGirl kind]], caring, if rather naïve woman (Eady and Vicki Vale respectively). And both Neil and Bruce struggle to reconcile with the desire to [[IJustWantToBeNormal live a "normal" life]] with the [[BroodingBoyGentleGirl women that they love]] in no small part, due to wanting to [[RevengeBeforeReason enact revenge]] against the men (Waingro/[[Characters/BatmanTheJoker Jack Napier]]) who in effect, ruined their lives.
* ''Film/{{Hereditary}}'' is, in many ways, a very similar story to ''Film/TheWitch'', but set in the 21st century. Both are horror movies that were produced and distributed by Creator/A24 and are centered around a grieving family being haunted by a witch-like supernatural entity, and both of them end with [[spoiler: the eldest child, the only survivor of the family, being possessed by a demon and welcomed into a supernatural cult.]]
* The French horror film ''Film/HighTension'' has been noted as having drawn many comparisons to the Creator/DeanKoontz novel ''Intensity'', with writer/director Creator/AlexandreAja admitting to having read the book and being aware of the two works' similarities when asked about it at Sundance. Strangely, it's also a ''{{Disowned|Adaptation}}'' Spiritual Adaptation, as Koontz himself also noticed the similarities and considered suing for UsefulNotes/{{plagiarism}}, but decided not to because he hated ''High Tension'' so much that he didn't want it associated with his book.
* ''Film/{{Highwaymen}}'' is one to director Robert Harmon's earlier film ''Film/TheHitcher''. Both heavily feature car chases, pursuit along the highways, and a serial killer with a fixation on the male protagonist.
* Other Clint Eastwood westerns, including ''Film/HighPlainsDrifter'', ''Film/PaleRider'' and ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'' are considered to be spiritual successors to his earlier films with Leone, with the style and his character drawing obvious inspiration. ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'' in particular was created as a spiritual sequel and deconstruction of his Man With No Name character.
* ''Film/TheHitmansBodyguard'' is a good preview of what a team-up movie between ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, ComicBook/NickFury and ComicBook/{{Elektra}} could look like in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse especially with their respective actors and actresses playing key characters in the film.
* ''Film/HorribleBosses'' to ''Film/OfficeSpace''. Both feature three men getting revenge on a boss and have Creator/JenniferAniston in a supporting role.
* ''Film/HotBot'' to ''Film/WeirdScience'' with elements of ''Film/TheReturnOfTheLivingDead'', ''Film/OneCrazySummer'', ''Film/Cherry2000'', and ''Film/{{Superbad}}'' thrown in for good measure.
* ''Hotel Colonial'' is a very loose adaptation of Creator/JosephConrad's ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'', with Marco as a stand-in for Marlow and his brother Roberto as a stand-in Kurtz. Creator/RobertDuvall is cast as Roberto, an ActorAllusion to his role in ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', another loose adaptation of Conrad's novella.
* From the TimeTravel, to the MisterSandmanSequence, to standing up to the bully and his toadies, to the [[ALittleSomethingWeCallRockAndRoll A Little Something We Call Hip-Hop]] scene, to the search for the AppliedPhlebotinum in order to get back, to the minor part played by Creator/CrispinGlover, ''Film/HotTubTimeMachine'' is ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' for a new generation... or more like the same generation, but inverted.
* ''Film/HouseParty'' to ''Film/AfterHours''. Both movies feature their main characters experiencing a series of misadventures in a single night.
* As the story goes, Creator/StevenSpielberg once casually mentioned to Creator/GeorgeLucas that he’d always wanted to direct a Film/JamesBond movie. Lucas said "I have a character even better than Bond", and that's where Franchise/IndianaJones came from. Given that both series have a habit of cavalier wit, action prologues, beautiful women and exotic locations (and [[Creator/SeanConnery the first of the movie Bonds]] plays Indy’s father), you can certainly see the resemblance.
* With its combination of action and slapstick, the main character being a GentlemanThief, and the overall feel of the film, some people have called ''Film/HudsonHawk'' a better live-action ''Franchise/LupinIII'' movie than the ''actual'' live-action ''Lupin III'' movie. This may explain why it was [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff so popular in Japan]] despite having [[BoxOfficeBomb flopped]] in the US.
* ''Film/{{Hugo}}'' is by far, the best LiveActionAdaptation of Creator/{{StudioGhibli}}'s works in terms of tone and themes.
* Creator/DavidLynch's latest and supposedly last movie, ''Film/InlandEmpire'', is very much a spiritual successor to ''Film/MulhollandDrive'', itself a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/LostHighway''.
* The 1983 vampire film ''Film/TheHunger'', as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7RimYtgOu4 noted]] by [[WebVideo/VampireReviews Maven of the Eventide]], effectively translated Creator/AnneRice's [[Literature/TheVampireChronicles Vampire Chronicles]] and its portrayal of vampires to the big screen eleven years before the official film adaptation of ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'' came out. While ''The Hunger'' was adapted from a different novel, director Creator/TonyScott was a huge fan of Anne Rice, and his interest in directing an adaptation of ''Interview'' led Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer to hire him for this film.
* Creator/RichardMatheson's ''Literature/IAmLegend'' has been adapted multiple times to film, but the best adaptation is probably an unofficial one: Creator/GeorgeARomero's ''Film/LivingDeadSeries''. Heavily inspired by ''I Am Legend'' to the point where Romero himself outright called it a ripoff of Matheson's novel, it removed the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire-like characteristics]] [[spoiler:and [[ItCanThink intelligence]]]] of its ghouls but otherwise adapted its story of civilization being destroyed by a disease that turns humans into monsters quite faithfully, pioneering [[ZombieApocalypse an entire genre of horror fiction]] in the process. ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' and ''Film/DawnOfTheDead1978'' can be seen as unofficial prequels, while ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'' can be seen as a spinoff story set in Florida. Matheson noticed the inspiration and said that, while he harbored no ill will towards Romero, he thought ''Night'' was "kind of cornball".
* The plot of ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'', which depicts a society that has been dumbed down by a combination of [[LowestCommonDenominator mind-rotting pop culture]] and the stupid outbreeding the smart, comes off like an unauthorized adaptation of both Creator/RayBradbury's ''Literature/{{Fahrenheit 451}}'' and Creator/CMKornbluth's short story "The Marching Morons", only PlayedForLaughs. And ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' is pretty much the LighterAndSofter sequel to ''Idiocracy''.
* ''Film/IgbyGoesDown'' may be the closest we'll ever have to a film about Holden Caulfield from ''Literature/{{The Catcher In The Rye}}'', though there aren't many similarities other than the main character.
* ''Film/{{Inception}}'':
** It's the only ''{{Anime/Paprika}}'' live-action film you'll ever see, which also happens to have a surreal homage to ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' (though calling it an adaptation makes ''Film/{{Constantine}}'' look like a word-for-word lift of ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'').
** As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWa1eiHPhKw this mashup proves]], calling ''{{Film/Inception}}'' a DarkerAndEdgier ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' reboot is surprisingly fitting.
** The dream technology is so similar to that introduced in the series ''Series/StargateSG1'' that some feel it's the closest we'll ever get to a big-budget film set in that universe.
** It may also be the best (or ''[[DevelopmentHell only]]'') ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'' movie that we ever see. It's about a thief who specializes in covertly stealing data with the aid of a machine that puts him in lifelike VR simulations, and it involves said thief taking a job from a mysterious businessman who agrees to help him reverse the effects of a major screw-up from his past. Over the course of the movie, he assembles a team of allies who eventually help him perform an elaborate heist in an ornately designed building with [[{{Bizarrchitecture}} strange architecture]] and [[GravityScrew gravity]]--all while coping with regular visits from the hallucinatory ghost of [[TheLostLenore a dead woman from his past]]. Both works even include a scene where the protagonist gets trapped in a VR construct of a surreal seaside locale, where [[YearInsideHourOutside time moves at a fraction of its normal speed]].
* ''Film/IndependenceDay'':
** Creator/LindsayEllis has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KioF1sTQFtE described the film]] as being closer to the spirit of Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' than any of the official adaptations of that book, using the [[Film/WarOfTheWorlds 2005 film]] as a counterpoint (and even describing that film as something of a SpiritualAntithesis). Both are about the preeminent world power in a time of global peace and prosperity -- UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire in [[TheGayNineties the 1890s]] and UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates in [[TheNineties the 1990s]], respectively -- being invaded and almost destroyed by ScaryDogmaticAliens who represented the dark side of that world power's attitude on the world stage. In ''The War of the Worlds'', the aliens are explicitly described as imperialists who inflict upon Britain the same abuses that the European imperial powers inflicted upon many of their subject peoples, and while ''Independence Day'' isn't as overt, the aliens there are likewise depicted as PlanetLooters, reflecting a common criticism of American consumerism. It should also be noted that both alien invasions were devastated by viruses -- the ''War of the Worlds'' aliens devastated by a biological virus, and the ''Independence Day'' aliens devastated by a ''computer'' virus.
** Its sequel, ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'', was being called "''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'': TheMovie" even before it came out.
* Franchise/IndianaJones got one port movie to game (''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade The Last Crusade]]'') and one port game to movie (''[[VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheFateOfAtlantis The Fate of Atlantis]]''). Many people don't know about the latter movie. This may be because [[Series/MacGyver1985 it was filmed with MacGyver]].
* ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'' to ''Film/{{Contact}}''. Both films set out to examine popular sci-fi tropes through a realistic lens, both are based on the writings of RealLife astrophysicists (Creator/CarlSagan for ''Contact'', Kip Thorne for ''Interstellar''), both involve space flights through wormholes and spaceships built in secrecy, both end with [[spoiler:the protagonist journeying to a pocket dimension and revisiting an important incident from his/her past]], and both feature Creator/MatthewMcConaughey in a starring role
* ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness'', like ''Film/EventHorizon'' above, has also been compared to the work of Creator/HPLovecraft, in spirit if not in terms of a specific story. .
* The Creator/DeeWallace comedy ''Film/InvisibleMom'' had both a spiritual successor, ''Invisible Dad'', and an official sequel, ''Invisible Mom 2''. More confusingly, it had a second spiritual successor, released a year earlier than the sequel, named ''Mom's Outta Sight'', written by the same people (although the director [[AlanSmithee used an assumed name]]), and which can occasionally be found masquerading as ''Invisible Mom 2'', right down to using the other film's title instead of its own.
* ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers1956'' is a remarkably close film adaptation of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/ThePuppetMasters'', right down to the [[PuppeteerParasite alien pod people]] being [[RedScare a thinly-veiled allusion to communism]] (a comparison that was made explicit in Heinlein's book), though others have also read into it an anti-[=McCarthyism=] message.
* ''Film/IsParisBurning'' to ''Film/TheLongestDay''. Black and white historical EpicMovie, international AllStarCast, many characters, Allied victory in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, [[LaResistance French Resistance]] at work... you got it. It can very much serve as a sequel to it as far as historical events are concerned (if you skip the — very grueling for the Allies — Battle of Normandy that followed D-Day, that is). Also, both films had a soundtrack by Music/MauriceJarre and had Creator/GertFrobe in their cast.
* ''Film/{{Ishtar}}'' was intended to be a spiritual successor to the ''Film/RoadTo'' series, but failed.
** The animated ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'', on the other hand succeeded admirably.
** ''Film/SpiesLikeUs'' was, during production, described as a Road movie, and even features Creator/BobHope in a cameo ... hitting a golf ball into the same tent as the characters in the middle of Afghanistan.
** And, of course, the "Road to..." episodes of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' take this to the level of straight-up {{Homage}}.
* ''It's Always Fair Weather'' is a spiritual successor to Creator/{{MGM}}'s film version of ''Film/OnTheTown'', both being written by Creator/ComdenAndGreen, co-directed by Stanley Donen and starring Creator/GeneKelly as one of three military buddies.
* ''Film/{{Jabberwocky}}'' to ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', both films featuring Monty Python members set in TheDungAges.
* A lot of Creator/JackieChan movies can be considered spiritual successors of each other, especially his earlier works. You could argue this extends at least some extent to other martial arts movie starts like Creator/BruceLee and Creator/JetLi.
* ''Film/{{Jaws}}'':
** The film is about a [[ThreateningShark shark]] rather than a whale, but the scenes where the protagonists are hunting the shark make for the best adaptation of ''Literature/MobyDick'' ever filmed, with Quint especially making for a great translation of Captain Ahab in his obsession with catching his prey.
** The first half of the film, focusing on Brody's efforts to close the beaches in the name of public safety, recalls aspects of Creator/HenrikIbsen's play ''Theatre/AnEnemyOfThePeople'', where a well-meaning doctor becomes a pariah for trying to close down contaminated hot spring baths.
* For ''Film/JohnnyMnemonic'', there's the direct-to-video "Johnny 2.0", which isn't a sequel but seems to intentionally present itself as one.
* ''Film/JohnWick'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/PointBlank1967''. Although the former features some plot points similar to ''Film/RoadToPerdition'', 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/JohnWick'':
** It has often been called an amazing adaptation of ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' due to its gunfights and plot of a lone hitman against the Russian mob.
** It has [[https://www.reddit.com/r/WhiteWolfRPG/comments/br4hq7/is_john_wick_3_just_a_vtm_campaign_without/ also]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/WhiteWolfRPG/comments/btnc5d/want_to_run_better_world_of_darkness_games_then/ been]] [[https://twitter.com/ArrakeenNative/status/1129504178680651776?s=19 called]] a ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' film ''sans'' vampires. [[Film/JohnWickChapter3Parabellum The third installment]] in particular starkly captures the feel of a Kindred being on the wrong end of a Blood Hunt even as an Archon or Justicar (the Adjudicator) shakes things up with their presence on behalf of the Camarilla inner circle (the High Table), using as their services a local coterie (Zero and the Shinobi).
** The series is also much closer to ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'' than the actual movie adaptation. There exists a secret society of criminals in both works that is outright ignored by both the police and the general populace. The main character in both works is an expert marksman who is eventually betrayed and forced to fight society. The main difference is that the Fraternity in ''Wanted'' is literally made out of supervillains with powers, while the Continental is just an organization of assassins and crimelords.
* ''Film/Joker2019'':
** A modern remake of ''Film/TheKingOfComedy'' right down to the similar characters, crime-infested setting, and time period as well as the casting of Robert De Niro as Murray Franklin in a double ActorAllusion of sorts for his role as Rupert Pupkin and his idol Jerry Lewis which serves as the basis for his relationship with Arthur Fleck. In fact, this was very much intentional since the film's director Todd Philips cited the movie and ''Film/TaxiDriver'' as its inspirations.
** The screenwriter of ''Joker'' also wrote ''Film/EightMile'', and the film appears to take a lot of influence from Music/{{Eminem}}'s Slim Shady persona, mythology and moral panic from ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP'' (as a sort of alternative version of ''8 Mile'', which was based on the life of the real rapper). The protagonist is a mentally-ill white-trash outcast, shunned for his sick sense of humour, but with a special affinity with suffering children, who he tries to use his art to inspire and entertain. He fantasises about getting famous, gets into guns, becomes a BullyHunter, murders his flaky mother after figuring out that she was abusing him with MunchausenSyndrome, and develops an obsession with his absent father. After dyeing his hair and making some extremely controversial appearances on TV, he inspires [[WaxingLyrical a million others just like him to act like him and dress like him]], and rise up against the corrupted society that made them what they are. Even the character's LoonyFan aspects appear reminiscent of Eminem's SignatureSong, "Stan".
* ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', can easily be seen as a ''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}}'' movie, albeit a highly self-referential one. The fake video game that sucks in the teenage protagonists is even played on a cartridge on what looks like an old-school 1980's game console, ''a la'' the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 (albeit with far better graphics).
* ''Film/TheJungleBook2016'' was billed and marketed as a live-action remake of one of Disney's most popular animated movies. And it is -- it's the best LiveActionAdaptation of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' ever made. A ComingOfAgeStory set in the untamed jungle? Check. A KidHero who's forced to hastily grow to maturity after going into exile in the wake of his father figure's death? Check. A gluttonous, lazy, self-centered NonHumanSidekick? Check. A climactic BattleAmongstTheFlames with an interloping villain who takes over the hero's family clan by force? Oh, yeah.
* It has been argued that ''Film/JupiterAscending'' is a film adaptation of ''Franchise/MassEffect''[[note]] And therefore, by extension, ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'', ''Series/Babylon5'', and ''Literature/RevelationSpace''. See ''Mass Effect'''s own entry in "Video Games" for details.[[/note]], ''{{Literature/Dune}}'', and ''Anime/TenchiMuyo''.
* ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'', likewise, does a much better job of being an adaptation of Creator/JohnBrosnan's novel ''Literature/{{Carnosaur}}'' than [[Film/{{Carnosaur}} the 1993 film of the same name]], which was meant to cash in on ''Jurassic Park'', does.
* ''Just One of the Guys'' and ''Film/ShesTheMan'' were both based on Shakespeare's ''Theatre/TwelfthNight''.
* From the moment the first trailer premiered, the Creator/{{Netflix}} action film ''Film/{{Kate}}'', starring Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead as an assassin on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the mob, was immediately called the ComicBook/{{Huntress}} standalone film we never got, given Winstead's EnsembleDarkHorse performance as that character in ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020''.
* ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'' to ''Film/KickAss''. Both have the same director and are DeconReconSwitch of a specific genre (superheroes stories for ''Kick-Ass'', early Creator/RogerMoore era ''Film/JamesBond'' movies for ''Kingsman''), with generous amounts of BlackComedy. They're also both based on comic books written by Creator/MarkMillar, which were eventually revealed to be part of the same continuity.
* The Creator/JetLi film ''Film/KissOfTheDragon'' does a rather nice job of being an adaptation of ''Manga/FistOfTheBlueSky''.
* The 2007 movie ''Film/KnockedUp'' is considered by many to be a spiritual sequel to ''Film/TheFortyYearOldVirgin''. It was originally intended to be a direct sequel. And now a direct sequel of sorts to ''Knocked Up'' is ''Film/ThisIs40''.
* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' is a spiritual sequel to ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'', in so far as both films feature the puppeteering of the Creator/JimHenson corps, scenarios co-authored by Henson himself, and production design by Brian Froud. Creator/GeorgeLucas was also reportedly involved in the making of both films, though only credited in ''Labyrinth''.
* The ''[[ShowWithinAShow Jack Slater]]'' movies in ''Film/LastActionHero'' are the nearest we'll ever be to having a film adaptation of [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons McBain]].
* ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'' has no less than three films that fit the bill of being spiritual successors...
** ''Film/DoctorZhivago'': The film's producer Carlo Ponti deliberately wanted the film to be as grand as ''Lawrence of Arabia''. And thus he went on to recruit that film's team. Including director Creator/DavidLean, screenwriter Robert Bolt, cinematographer Freddie Young, production designer John Box and composer Maurice Jarre. Creator/PeterOToole was even Lean's initial choice to play the leading role, but he turned it down based upon his gruelling experiences making ''Lawrence of Arabia'' that created a rift between the two. The role would subsequently go to O'Toole's ''Lawrence'' co-star Omar Sharif. Also, Creator/AlecGuinness is featured in both films.
** ''Literature/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/AlecGuinness, 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 Guinness 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/LegallyBlonde'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Clueless}}''. Both are [[ComingOfAgeStory coming-of-age]] comedies about a [[RichPeople rich]], [[GenkiGirl bubbly]], and [[SuperEmpowering self-empowered]] [[EveryoneLovesBlondes blonde girl]]. Like Cher Horowitz, Elle Woods has a detailed knowledge of [[TheFashionista fashion]], [[SpoiledSweet unabashedly]] enjoys [[TheFashionista makeovers]], and carries a pen with a poofy-[[PinkMeansFeminine pink]] end. She even helps her father with his upcoming trial-casework. Both Cher and Elle ultimately show that their [[GirlyGirl girly-ness]] is not something to be overcome, but something that can be [[IAmWhatIAm embraced]].
** Until the ball got rolling on a Mattel-backed LiveActionAdaptation in 2021, this movie (and the sequel) were the closest thing to a live-action ''Franchise/{{Barbie}}'' film.
* ''Film/LegendsOfTheFall'' could be considered such to ''Film/ARiverRunsThroughIt''. The most obvious thing being that both star Creator/BradPitt in strikingly similar roles among other similarities in their stories. Including but not limited to that both movies take place in Montana. Both father figures play/played a predominant role in the community (Respected General & Priest). Pitt's character dates an Indian girl who's strongly discriminated against. His character is also openly the family favorite. Both movies have brotherhood as a central theme. The older brother is the more educated/successful one. Weak mother figure presence and importance in both movies. And Pitt's character is the member of the family who is the most 'wild' and who is most unbound by society's rules and expectations.
* Mexican director Luis Estrada has made a series of satirical films depicting the country's ailments, starting with ''La Ley de Herodes'' depicting the political corruption, continuing with ''Un Mundo Maravilloso'' portraying the poverty of the people and finishing the trilogy with the upcoming ''Infierno'' that will deal with the violence of the drug cartels. All of them cast the actor Damián Alcázar (aka:''[[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Lord Sopespian]])'' as the lead.
* ''Film/LifeIsBeautiful'' is often compared to ''Film/TheDayTheClownCried'', as well as ''Film/JakobTheLiar'', all about an entertainer in a concentration camp.
* The conflict between Captain Miller and Dr. Caspary in ''The Lightship'' is quite similar to that of Axel Heyst and Mr. Jones in Creator/JosephConrad's novel ''Victory''. The characters are quite close to their counterparts as well, particularly Caspary to Jones.
* ''Film/TheLionInWinter'' is a spiritual successor to the earlier film ''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''.
* There is the Creator/PeterBerg and Creator/MarkWahlberg, right now, trio of films about modern-day disasters and the people who rose to the occasion as heroes in the face of them. Whether they be a military mission gone awry that leads to soldiers trapped in enemy territory, a malfunction on an oil-right that leads to a massive inferno, or a terrorist strike and the ensuing manhunt. Those films being ''Film/LoneSurvivor'', ''Film/DeepwaterHorizon'', and ''Film/PatriotsDay'' respectively.
* ''Film/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|1923}}'' 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/{{The Phantom of the Opera|1925}}'' like ''Hunchback'' stars Lon Chaney with groundbreaking make-up effects in the form of a deformed Parisian who falls in love with a "normal" woman. With conflict ensuing between the multiple parties associated with and desiring her. Both are also based on classic stories from well known French authors.
** ''Film/TheManWhoLaughs'' from 1928 starring Creator/ConradVeidt is like ''Hunchback'' based upon a Creator/VictorHugo novel. Both centering around a malformed but misunderstood man who is mistreated by others and falls in love with, again, a regular woman. Both characters are also known for their iconic make-up effects that brought them to life.
* 1997's ''Film/LAConfidential'', despite being made by a totally different cast and crew, is considered by many fans to be the spiritual successor to 1974's ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'', as both are set in Los Angeles, both were made 40 years after the time period in which they are set, and both feature themes of betrayal, corruption of public institutions and officials, and "neo-noir" values. Oh, and both have scores by Music/JerryGoldsmith.
* Several Website/YouTube commenters have made the connections between the Classic Walt Disney cartoon short ''WesternAnimation/LonesomeGhosts'' and ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}''. Even one of the lines Goofy utters in the cartoon is directly lifted and placed into the main theme of the film.
-->'''Goofy''' (Chuckles nervously): I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts!\\
''I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts!''
* Between the 1920's nautical New England setting, Robert Egger's ear for AntiquatedLinguistics, and the presence of [[spoiler:monstrous mermaids and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation unknowable terror]]]], ''Film/TheLighthouse'' has been called one of the best Creator/HPLovecraft stories that Lovecraft never wrote.
* ''Film/{{Logan}}'':
** Some fans have taken to calling it ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs: ComicBook/XMen Edition''. Both works are about an old and cynical badass having to watch over a LittleMissBadass adolescent girl in the aftermath of a great catastrophe, and they share an overall dour and [[NewOldWest neo-Western]] look. Furthermore, Wolverine [[http://twinfinite.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/logan.jpeg as he appears in the film]] bears a downright uncanny resemblance to ''The Last of Us''[='=] protagonist [[http://8bitchimp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/the-last-of-us-joel-wallpaper.jpg Joel]]. When WebVideo/HonestTrailers did their episode on ''Logan'', they flat-out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_SyrpYk-Ik referred to it]] as ''The Last of Us'' at the end.
** Creator/BobChipman, meanwhile, has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGsymY_mJ5g called it]] the best adaptation of ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' ever made, albeit with the X-Men instead of Creator/DCComics' characters. Both stories are grim, {{deconstruction}}ist takes on the superhero genre about aging heroes called out of retirement to fight one last time while finding redemption by serving as a mentor to a young girl. Moreover, both of them relied on the context of the time and its cultural memory of their titular heroes for their deconstructionist elements; ''The Dark Knight Returns'' exploited the fact that most people in TheEighties knew Batman from the LighterAndSofter [[Series/Batman1966 Adam West TV show]], while ''Logan'' does the same with the pop culture knowledge of Creator/HughJackman's portrayal of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', and the fact that it's his last outing in the role. However, he fears that this trope could [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools manifest in a less pleasant way]] in the years to come, in the sense that, just as ''The Dark Knight Returns'' helped bring about UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, ''Logan'' could [[FollowTheLeader set off a similar wave]] of superhero movies that merely copy its DarkerAndEdgier aesthetic at the expense of storytelling and themes.
* Erich Segal at first wanted to do a film adaptation of ''Literature/TheBlueLagoon'' with the [[SettingUpdate setting updated]] from [[TheEdwardianEra the early 20th century]] [[UsefulNotes/{{Oceania}} South Pacific]] to the [[TheSixties then-contemporary]] UsefulNotes/NewYork. When an agreement with the estate of Henry De Vere Stacpoole couldn’t be reached, he instead wrote his original tragic love story, still influenced by ''The Blue Lagoon''. After the script was turned down by several studios, his agent pressed him to rework his rejected screenplay into a novel. When the rights to his story were purchased by Creator/{{Paramount}}, it became the project that saved the studio from being closed by its new parent company, Gulf and Western, ''Film/LoveStory''. Ironically, the success of ''Love Story'' revived interest on ''The Blue Lagoon'', but due to a lengthy and complicated DevelopmentHell and TroubledProduction, a proper ''Blue Lagoon'' [[Film/TheBlueLagoon film adaptation]] was only released in 1980, at a time movie audiences were tired of tragic love stories.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:M-S]]
* ''Film/{{Made}}'' starring Creator/VinceVaughn and Creator/JonFavreau is a spiritual successor to their previous movie playing best friends, ''Film/{{Swingers}}''. Both are written by Favreau.
* What with the lunatics shooting guns and driving cars held together by duct tape who consider death to be just another part of life before coming back for another go, ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' is either the best adaptation of the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' spinoff ''TabletopGame/{{Gorkamorka}}''[[note]]the Digganobz are essentially ork fanboys, pale-skinned humans with an affinity for technology who imitate the greenskins in every way they can[[/note]] (which is itself heavily inspired by the original ''Film/MadMax''), or the closest we'll ever see to a live-action Waaaagh!.
* ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'': Similar to ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' (see the [[SpiritualAdaptation/AnimatedFilm Animated Film page]]), the film serves as a live-action adaptation of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' with both works reimagining a traditionally villainous character in a heroic light by crafting a sympathetic backstory for how they became evil.
* ''Film/{{Mandy|2018}}'' 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 smelts his giant axe in the workshop is shot very similarly to the iconic ForgingScene from ''Conan.''
* ''Film/ManOfSteel'' can be considered a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Watchmen}}''. Both are superhero films directed by Creator/ZackSnyder that deconstruct their protagonists and alternate between past and present scenes. The World Engine (an squid-like alien construct with the ability to level an entire city and change the world to the villain's designs) could also be seen as an AuthorsSavingThrow for replacing ''Watchmen'''s squid-monster with a bomb.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' could be argued as a great movie adaptation of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', with both stories featuring a group of superheroes with attitude being recruited by a bald man with a presence to fight an alien with a fancy staff who wants to conquer Earth. To top it off, the SixthRanger was brainwashed into serving the villain before being knocked back into consciousness and has the closest relationship with TheChick (or in this film's case, the only woman) on the team. Together, they fight endless waves of mooks and giant monsters, and while they don't have a Megazord, they ''do'' have a [[AirborneAircraftCarrier helicarrier]]. In fact, in the wake of Joseph Kahn's ''[=Power/Rangers=]'' [[DarkerAndEdgier gritty]] fan film, those who didn't like it pointed to this film as a better alternative since while it's certainly darker than your average ''Power Rangers'' season, it still has the defining elements that made the show, most prominently teamwork and the sense of victory, as well as some lighthearted moments to balance out the darkness.
** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' may be the best movie adaptation of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' that we ever get to see, in particular ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. It's about a long-time veteran soldier, who's the sole survivor of a government program to create genetically-enhanced soldiers, coming out of retirement to fight a terrorist leader with ties to his past, having a rivalry with someone with a fake left arm, and working to uncover a conspiracy in the ranks of the government while they prepare to devastate the world with a powerful superweapon, [[spoiler: usually within the very organization they work for]]. The movie even has its own [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 tanker level]], and a scene where we find out that the government conspiracy is led by [[spoiler:a sentient ArtificialIntelligence that took over for the long-deceased human villains]]. Also, the eponymous Winter Soldier is revealed to be [[spoiler:[[Comicbook/BuckyBarnes an old friend of the veteran soldier]], presumed dead but taken from the battlefield and transformed against his will into a cyborg assassin]].
** ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'': A number of fans have pointed out the similarity of the film's central characters to the original regular characters of ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. (Peter = John, Gamora = Aeryn, Drax = D'Argo, Groot = Zhaan, and Rocket = Rygel.) Some of the changes made to the film characters compared to the original comic versions make them closer to the ''Farscape'' characters (in particular Peter being abducted by aliens and TrappedInAnotherWorld instead of voluntarily exploring space, and Drax being an alien rather than an augmented human). Notably, Creator/JamesGunn is a fan of the show, and [[https://io9.gizmodo.com/ben-browder-got-that-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-2-cam-1797535030 cast Ben Browder]] (who played John Crichton) in a small part in ''[[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 Vol. 2]]''.
** Just take a look at ''Film/AntMan1''[='=]s heist at Pym Tech if you want to know what a live-action ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' movie would look like.
** ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}'' is a better ComicBook/GreenLantern film then the actual ''Film/{{Green Lantern|2011}}'' movie, as pointed out [[https://youtu.be/y2AEXOlfYnM?t=5m35s here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sMUVCVbU7s here]] by Creator/JeremyJahns and Couch Tomato respectively.
** WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, at the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnyHqxxsD8g his video]] on ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'', called ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' the "real" [[Film/DisneyLiveActionRemakes live-action remake]] of that film. Specifically, both are epic stories set in Africa about an heir to the throne who is usurped by a tyrant who kills his father and leaves him for dead, and undertakes a long quest to return to his rightful place as king. Both have scenes where the hero and villain duke it out on a cliff's edge, and the heroes of both contact the spirits of their dead fathers, though T'Challa's reunion with his father is a bit more heated than Simba's. And both stories are themselves heavily inspired by ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. The heroes even both evoke big cats, though Simba from ''The Lion King'' is a literal lion while T'Challa in ''Black Panther'' is a human who uses the imagery of a panther.
** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' is an interesting example, in that it's a literal sequel to one film, but also a SpiritualSuccessor to another film set in [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse the same universe]]. To elaborate, it's the third in a trilogy with ''Film/{{Thor}}'' and ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', but it has much more in common with ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' 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 Music/MarkMothersbaugh of Music/{{Devo}}).
*** Additionally, many critics and fans have called ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' the best ''[[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse He-Man]]'' movie ever made. This is thanks to its mixture of sci-fi and SwordsAndSorcery, retro '80s score and aesthetic, colorful cast of heroes and villains, and the fact that it stars a muscular hero who wields swords and lightning.
** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'' has also been called pretty good adaptation of the ComicBook/GreenLantern mythos. It's an epic SpaceOpera centered on the origin of a superhero with energy manipulation powers, the main character is part of an elite intergalactic military force, and the story begins with a lost alien crashing to Earth. Even if the main character's name is "Carol Danvers" instead of "Hal Jordan", the story manages to hit all the beats that ''Green Lantern'' fans love: the colorful space battles, the exotic aliens, the lovably cocky hero who [[AcePilot flies fighter jets]]... It's all here.
*** A lot of viewers have noted that this movie makes for a surprisingly good live-action ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' film. Some even consider it to be a more faithful adaptation than the much reviled ''Film/DragonBallEvolution''. Like Goku, Carol is an immensely powerful warrior with the ability to fly and shoot energy from her hands, with no understanding of her past, and learns [[spoiler: she was part of a legacy of genocidal alien conquerors (the Saiyans/the Kree) who are the sworn enemies of a race of pointy-eared green aliens that later turn out to [[HeelFaceTurn not all that bad.]]]] The movie even climaxes with the main character [[spoiler:unlocking her hidden power and entering a glowing GoldenSuperMode to defeat the villains.]]
*** It could also be seen as one to WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower. [[spoiler:Both female leads gain superpowers and defect from an EvilEmpire after [[ObliviouslyEvil belatedly]] learning that it's, well, evil and that her enemies were GoodAllAlong.]] Carol's relationship with the Supreme Intelligence also calls to mind [[spoiler:Shadow Weaver's manipulative raising of Adora]].
** Many consider ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' to be one to, of all things, ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'', including such elements from story as Peter's secret identity being revealed and the consequences thereof, the involvement of Doctor Strange, [[spoiler: Aunt May being fatally wounded by one of Spider-Man's enemies and ending with everyone's memory of Peter's identity being erased, and Peter and MJ's relationship being erased with it]]. Unusually, the movie is considered a far ''superior'' story, utilizing elements of the general plotline in ways that are far more consistent with both the characterization and themes of Spider-Man.
* The ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' film is described on Website/ThatOtherWiki as being the best ''Creator/JackKirby's [[ComicBook/NewGods Fourth World]]'' movie ever attempted. Though WordOfGod from the director indicates he meant to do an homage to the work of Kirby in a general sense, not the Fourth World in particular.
* ''Film/TheMatrix'':
** It can be called a sci-fi version of ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'', as it's about a group of people who discover that their world is an illusion, unlocking great powers in the process, and are then pursued by just-as-powerful beings who are tasked with keeping the illusion alive.
** It was also ''very'' heavily influenced by ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'' with its mix of {{cyberpunk}} action and philosophical musings about the nature of humanity and consciousness. Creator/TheWachowskis were huge fans of its [[Anime/GhostInTheShell anime adaptation]], which they have cited as one of their favorite films and which they [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3tF7TL0Qh4 screened]] for producer Joel Silver in order to show him what they wanted to accomplish with their film, and many scenes are lifted more or less directly from it as [[ShoutOut shout-outs]]. In fact, the success and influence of ''The Matrix'' was a big part of why the [[Film/GhostInTheShell2017 2017 Hollywood adaptation]] of ''Ghost in the Shell'' met a lukewarm reception -- as far as most Americans were concerned, ''The Matrix'' [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny did it first]].
* ''Film/MaxKeeblesBigMove'' to ''Film/SnowDay''. Besides [[ThoseTwoActors both featuring]] Zena Grey and Creator/JoshPeck in supporting roles, both are [[{{Farce}} farcical]] kid-oriented movies (ironically, one made by Creator/{{Disney}} and the [[AlternateCompanyEquivalent other made]] by Creator/{{Paramount}}/Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}) from the [[TurnOfTheMillennium early 2000s]] that contain a flurry of [[VulgarHumor gross jokes]], [[SightGag sight gags]], and [[RepurposedPopSong disposable pop rock]]. Both basic plots concern a [[MouthyKid pee-wee wisenheimer]] with a [[BumblingDad clueless dad]] fighting [[InherentInTheSystem “the system”]] and besting a [[GenericDoomsdayVillain generically named]], [[SitcomArchNemesis over-the-top nemesis]]. In ''Max Keeble's Big Move'', the over-the-top nemesis is Creator/JamieKennedy as an ice cream man. While in ''Snow Day'', it's a seething snowplower played by Creator/ChrisElliott. There's also themes about [[StalkerWithACrush fawning over]] the [[FirstGirlWins wrong girl]].
* ''Film/MeanGirls'' is a LighterAndSofter spiritual successor to the [[CultClassic cult]] BlackComedy ''Film/{{Heathers}}''. It's worth noting that ''Heathers'' screenwriter Dan Waters is the brother of ''Mean Girls'' director Mark Waters, so the parallels are likely intentional on at least some level.
** This trope also applies to the [[Theatre/{{MeanGirls}} musical adaptations]] [[Theatre/{{Heathers}} of both movies,]] especially when you remember that Barrett Wilbert Weed portrayed a major character in the original casts of both shows (Janis and Veronica, respectively).
** ''Mean Girls'' could also be seen as a spiritual successor to ''Film/NeverBeenKissed'' albeit with a more cynical [[CynicismTropes edge]] to it. Both movies are [[FishOutOfWater fish-out-of-water]] tales about a female entering high school in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}. Josie in ''Never Been Kissed'' like Cady in ''Mean Girls'' eventually joins a competitive [[UsefulNotes/{{Mathematics}} math]] team. Josie and Cady also have to go [[TheInfiltration "undercover"]] to obtain information. Both Josie and Cady also befriend the resident female school outcasts in Aldys and Janice respectively. Janice is admittedly, more of a CoolLoser than Aldys and her "Nerd" description though. Meanwhile, the main [[AlphaBitch antagonists]] in both movies (The Plastics and Kirsten, Gibby, and Kristin respectively) are a group of 3 popular high school [[GirlPosse girls]]. Both movies even have a ForcedMeme with "rufus" in ''Never Been Kissed'' and "fetch" in ''Mean Girls''.
** ''Never Been Kissed'' in itself, could also be considered a LighterAndSofter version of ''Film/WelcomeToTheDollhouse'' when it pertains to the flashbacks to Josie's actual high school years. Plus, the entire premise of an aspiring female journalist who has to go undercover at a high school is reminiscent of ''Just One of the Guys''. Meanwhile, like Creator/DrewBarrymore's character in ''Never Been Kissed'', Creator/KathleenTurner's character in ''Film/PeggySueGotMarried'' gets to return to her own high school years and relive them through an adult's perspective.
** ''Mean Girls'' has once been called a spiritual successor to ''Film/{{Clueless}}''.
* ''Film/MeanStreets'', ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'', ''Film/{{Casino}}'' and ''Film/{{The Irishman}}'' are all directed by Creator/MartinScorsese, featuring a number of members from his ProductionPosse, plus the second and third films are both based on nonfiction books by Nicholas Pileggi. Scorsese has said that these films form a ThematicSeries of increasingly elevated steps on the mafia hierarchy adding The Irishman as a final look of this tetralogy.
* The indie film ''Meek's Cutoff'' is an accidental [[TheMovie film adaptation]] of ''VideoGame/TheOregonTrail'' series.
* ''Film/MichaelClayton'' has been called "the best Creator/JohnGrisham movie ever made".
* ''Film/MidnightCowboy'' is often described as being like an urban 1960s ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'', albeit one where [[spoiler: the "George" character (Ratso Rizzo) dies and the "Lennie" character (Joe Buck) survives instead of vice-versa.]]
* While the Conan O'Brian and Adam West comedy series ''Series/{{Lookwell}}'' never made it past the pilot, ''Film/{{Mindhorn}}'' serves as a good movie adaptation, albeit a British version.
* ''Film/TheMiracleOfTheWolves'' (1961) is the closest French cinema's ever had to 1952's ''Film/{{Ivanhoe}}'', with the adventures of a knight who's [[UndyingLoyalty deeply loyal]] to his king (protecting him against someone who plans to get rid of him and [[TheUsurper usurp him]]) and participates to TheTourney at one point, gets help from a [[MenOfSherwood useful gang of men]] who have [[JustLikeRobinHood turned outlaws against tyranny and hide in the forests and use bows]], a lady who's accused of [[BurnTheWitch witchcraft]] and a TrialByCombat in the form of a DuelToTheDeath to solve that latter issue.
* ''Film/{{Mirrormask}}'' was designed to be the spiritual successor to ''Labyrinth'' and, to a lesser extent, ''Film/TheDarkCrystal''. When the Creator/JimHenson Company hired Creator/NeilGaiman they told him to ”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.
* When the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAdpJw-MM-M first trailer]] for ''Film/MissPeregrinesHomeForPeculiarChildren'' came out, many called it ''Creator/TimBurton's ComicBook/XMen''.
* The fact that child actress Patty [=McCormack=] went from playing an EnfantTerrible to an EvilMatriarch 40 years later is the reason why the low-budget thriller ''Film/{{Mommy}}'' is considered the spiritual successor to ''Film/TheBadSeed1956''.
* ''Film/{{Moneyball}}'' to ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'', as both are critically-acclaimed biopics set in the early 2000s and written by Creator/AaronSorkin, known for their fast pace, witty dialogue, and making an engaging story out of a topic most people wouldn't find interesting (statistics in baseball for the former and the founding of Facebook for the latter).
* ''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 Rosie Perez while ''Money Train'' featured Music/JenniferLopez.
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfWzIxARhgk his video]] on ''Film/TheMonsterSquad'', Minty Comedic Arts called it the first unofficial movie adaptation of Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{It}}'', with a similar premise of a group of kids going up against monsters (in this case, the [[Franchise/UniversalHorror Universal monsters]] instead of a MonsterClown EldritchAbomination).
* ''Film/MortalEngines'' owes a lot to the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' franchise's SwordAndGun SteamPunk ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld mishmash. There's even "extradimensional energies" that act as MagicByAnyOtherName.
* The final act of ''Film/Mother2017'' is basically a bigger-budget studio remake of ''Film/{{Begotten}}''.
* ''Film/MoulinRouge'', although officially a loose retelling of [[Myth/ClassicalMythology the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice]], is basically a composite adaptation of the operas ''Theatre/LaTraviata'' and ''Theatre/LaBoheme''.
* ''Film/{{Movie 43}}'', between its VulgarHumor, its [[AllStarCast laundry list]] of celebrity guest stars, and it being an AnthologyFilm, is pretty much a live-action ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''.
* Creator/DavidLynch intended for ''Film/MulhollandDrive'' to be a spiritual successor to Creator/BillyWilder's ''Film/SunsetBoulevard''.
* ''Film/TheMummy2017'':
** It's an UrbanFantasy horror story about a secret London-based organization devoted to fighting supernatural evil, making it probably the closest we'll get to a film adaptation of the Templars from ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld''.
** The plot also shares more than a few elements lifted from ''{{Manga/Hellsing}}'', including Dr. Jekyll's role being virtually identical to Integra's, and his office in fact looking quite like her office. [[spoiler:At the end of the film, Tom Cruise is essentially a male Seras Victoria.]]
* ''Film/MysteryOfTheWaxMuseum'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/DoctorX''. The two films aren't part of the same continuity, but they overlap in genre (though ''Mystery of the Wax Museum'' lacks most of ''Doctor X'''s comedy elements), share [[ProductionPosse the same director and several cast and crew members]], and are filmed in the same visually-distinctive Technicolor process. In addition, both films include morgue scenes, wax statues (though they only appear briefly in ''Doctor X''), multiple characters portrayed as having disabilities (including [[spoiler:a villain who is more able than he lets on]]), and a plot based on investigative reporting.
* 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 James Garner as the co-star.
* ''Film/MyGirl'' can be viewed as a stealth adaptation of ''Literature/BridgeToTerabithia'' with the genders reversed. This has lead some fans to view the ''Terabithia'' film version as a stealth gender-bent remake of ''My Girl.''
* Some fans of Music/WeirdAlYankovic are convinced that ''Film/NapoleonDynamite'' is an AdaptationExpansion of the song "That Boy Could Dance" (from ''Music/WeirdAlYankovicIn3D''). After all, both involve a clumsy, geekish outcast who dazzles everyone at school with his amazing dance skills. [[https://youtu.be/8VWbuDYpMC0?t=60 Watch the video]] and decide for yourself.
* Creator/RayLiotta's ''Film/{{Narc}}'' has quite a bit in common with ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', moreso than the actual ''Film/MaxPayne'' film did.
* ''Film/NationalTreasure'':
** Several critics and moviegoers called it a better movie of ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'' than its actual film adaptation, which made it to theaters two years after ''National Treasure'' did. [[note]] The former currently has a 44% critical rating on Website/RottenTomatoes to the latter's 25%, and a 76% audience rating to ''The Da Vinci Code'''s 57%.[[/note]] It might have helped that ''National Treasure'' doesn't [[DanBrowned pretend to be historically accurate]], it wasn't [[OvershadowedByControversy dogged by religious controversy]], and it overall [[LighterAndSofter doesn't take itself nearly as seriously as]] ''The Da Vinci Code'' did.
** It also feels like something out of a point-and-click AdventureGame, what with the plot progression, strange puzzling devices, the clues, and the key items.
* ''Film/TheNeonDemon'', about a young model who becomes target of beauty-obsessed stylists, jealous competitors, [[StalkerWithACrush a creepy boyfriend]] and unpredictable criminals, plays like a westernized take on [[Creator/JunjiIto Junji Ito's]] ''Manga/{{Tomie}}'' series, including a gore-filled third act.
* ''Film/NeverBackDown'' is basically, a UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts take on ''Film/TheKarateKid'', with a little bit of ''Film/FightClub'' thrown in for good measure. Jake is Daniel, Baja is Ali, Ryan is Johnny, and Roquoa is Mr. Miyagi.
* ''Film/TheNightComesForUs'' and ''Film/HeadShot'' are both follow-ups to ''Film/TheRaid'' and ''Film/TheRaid2Berandal''.
* ''Film/{{Nightcrawler}}'' (2014) is the SpiritualSequel to ''Film/TaxiDriver'' (1976), two dramas inspired by the decline of human mental health in the wake of society.
* ''Film/{{Nine Lives|2016}}'' is one to the '''''bizarre''''' Creator/ChevyChase movie ''Film/OhHeavenlyDog'' in being talking animal comedies suffering from UncertainAudience involving a human dying [[BackFromTheDead and]] [[ForcedTransformation becoming]] [[KarmicTransformation a pet]].
* ''Film/NinjaAssassin'' is pretty much the best and closest one could get to a ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' movie.
* ''Film/NonStop'' has one in the form of the 2018 movie ''Film/TheCommuter''. 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/RobReiner made ''Film/{{North}}'' with the intention of it being the spiritual successor to ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. [[CreatorKiller It wasn't]]. To add insult to injury, many critics pointed out Reiner already had his spiritual successor with ''Film/ThePrincessBride''.
* The 1922 film ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'' is an unofficial German adaptation of Creator/BramStoker's ''Literature/{{Dracula}}''. It was originally going to be an official one, except Stoker's widow Florence Balcombe wouldn't sell the filmmakers the rights, causing them to [[SerialNumbersFiledOff change all the character's names]] (Dracula became Orlok, Jonathan and Mina Harker became Thomas and Ellen Hutter, Abraham Van Helsing became Professor Bulwer) and made a few alterations to the plot to distance itself from the source material. It didn't work, and Balcombe successfully sued to have the film banned for copyright infringement, though by that point prints had already been distributed worldwide and KeepCirculatingTheTapes took effect.
* ''Film/{{O}}'' is a high school version of Shakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}''.
* Creator/WalterMatthau and Creator/JackLemmon made a handful of movies that were all spiritual successors to the original ''Film/{{The Odd Couple|1968}}'' film. The spiritual successors began with ''Film/GrumpyOldMen'' and included ''Film/GrumpierOldMen'' and ''Out To Sea''... the actual sequel, ''Film/TheOddCoupleII'', was largely considered a lesser effort than all of the above.
* ''Film/OfficeSpace'', Creator/MikeJudge's satire of office jobs and the culture therein, is most likely the closest thing to a live-action ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' movie ever made.
* The indie horror film ''Offseason'', about a woman trapped in a [[TownWithADarkSecret resort town with a dark secret]] who had been drawn there by personal family business, has been [[https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2021/08/popcorn-frights-2021-day-3-cryptozoo.html compared]] to the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games, albeit set in [[OnlyInFlorida Florida]] with a SouthernGothic tone rather than [[LovecraftCountry New England]]. Many elements of both the aesthetic and the story, from the OminousFog to the seemingly abandoned setting to the crackling radios to the [[AlienGeometries shifting landscape]] to [[spoiler:the townsfolk worshiping a malevolent (and implicitly demonic) supernatural entity]]... they're all here.
* Ever wondered what if ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' was set during [[UsefulNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem the twilight of Hollywood's Golden Age]], with the player getting to drive in 1969 Hollywood with the radio blaring period music, with a mission of getting to [[spoiler:fight the members of [[UsefulNotes/CharlesManson the Manson Family]]]]? Look no further to ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'', specifically the day-to-day life of Cliff Booth.
* ''Film/Overlord2018'':
** It's an action-horror movie about a team of four paratroopers in Normandy (plus a photojournalist and a female French villager) the night before D-Day who discover [[StupidJetpackHitler Nazi mad science experiments]] to create [[NaziZombies undead]] {{Super Soldier}}s. In other words, it's ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies: The Movie''.
** The film's pulp sci-fi take on UsefulNotes/WorldWarII can also make it seem like a film adaptation of ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' that they couldn't get the rights to. Tiago Svn and Ed Stevens of ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' made note of it in [[https://www.cracked.com/article_26970_6-scenes-movies-shows-borrowed-from-gaming.html this article]], pointing out everything from the castle setting to the protagonist having a very similar facial scar to BJ's to specific plot and aesthetic elements right down to the fact that the title font is almost identical to that of ''Wolfenstein''.
** If anyone remembers the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 game ''VideoGame/OperationDarkness'', which had ThoseWackyNazis involved with the supernatural, then this is the closest to a movie adaptation of that game.
* ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' is pretty much a non-musical movie adaptation of ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'' since it serves as an origin story to a prominent character in the Oz mythos (specifically Oscar Diggs) and the Wicked Witch of the West plays a big role throughout the story even going so far as to show her backstory of how she became evil just like the novel.
* ''Film/PacificRim'', being Creator/GuillermoDelToro's love letter to classic HumongousMecha anime, has been compared to many works in that genre.
** Humanity building giant robots to combat an alien threat. While this may be a common plot in the mecha genre of anime, ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is probably the first show to come to mind for many, at least younger, anime fans. To specify: TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture (as opposed to the more common "far into the future" and "another world entirely" settings), aliens that are specifically interested in human extinction arrive, not from space, but from the depths of the Earth itself. These aliens are giant monsters who fight humanity directly, instead of using robots themselves. To combat these, humanity creates equally gigantic robots that requires the pilot to mentally synch not only with the robot, but also with a co-pilot. (While this is only done literally in ''[[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Evangelion 3.0]]'', in the original series [[spoiler: the "robots" had to have a human soul implanted in them to function and both this soul and the actual pilot had to synch with each-other and the "robot"]].) The monsters also appear one-by-one instead of organizing in an army. Oh, and let's not forget the yellow fluid and the journeys into characters' minds. The sequel ''Film/PacificRimUprising'' takes the similarities even further, introducing a counterpart to Shinji Ikari in the form of Jake Pentecost, the son of a war hero who was neglected growing up and is now in charge of piloting the mechas needed to save humanity, as well as [[spoiler:sending the teenage rookies out in the mechas during the climax (albeit in this case after the adult pilots are killed or incapacitated)]].
** ''Alternately'' alternately, it's the best ''Manga/GetterRobo'' movie we're ever gonna get.
** Go back a bit more, to the beginning. Rocket Punch. Breast Fire. Pilots in the head docking with the body. Hell, the whole drivable robot concept. It's ''Anime/MazingerZ'', all the way. By extension to almost all the above, this makes ''Pacific Rim'' the closest to a live-action ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' film ever.
** The movie has several (coincidental) similarities to the ''VideoGame/XCom'' franchise as well. Alien threat that forces the nations of the world to band together and form an organisation dedicated to fighting them? Check. Council of nations that threatens to pull their funding because they're not getting results? Check. The alien-fighting organization forced to sell alien components on the black market to make ends meet? Check. Researchers vivisecting alien corpses in order to better understand what they're fighting against? Check. [[spoiler: A final assault on the aliens' homeworld? Check.]]
** "Mysterious giant monsters are rising from the sea, and the nations of the world combat them by fielding stylish, two-pilot giant robots whose pilot teams all have a close relationship. On a tragic mission several years ago, our hero lost his trusted partner, and with a renewed crisis, he has to get back in his revived mecha with a new rookie girl who also serves as a love interest." Why, that sounds rather like ''Anime/{{Godannar}}''.
** Not mention it has been referred once or twice as an "adult" ''Franchise/PowerRangers''.
** It's also the best screen-adaptation of ''VisualNovel/MuvLuvAlternative'' we could ever get.
* ''Film/{{Paddington}}'' to ''Film/MaryPoppins'' and ''Film/NannyMcPhee''. Instead of a magical nanny bringing harmony to a British family, it's a adorable little magical bear from Peru looking for a new home. Furthermore, while both Mary Poppins and Nanny [=McPhee=] eventually leave their respctive families, Paddington stays.
* ''Film/{{Pandorum}}'' to ''Film/EventHorizon''. Two tales of cosmic terror, many see ''Pandorum'' as this century's ''Event Horizon''.
* ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' to ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject''. Just replace the search for a legendary witch with a demon haunting a young couple and they pretty much are the same movie.
* Despite being based on a book series that was previously adapted as ''Film/PointBlank1967'' and ''Film/{{Payback}}'', ''Film/{{Parker}}'' could be seen as an ultra-violent remake of the Creator/AudreyHepburn film ''Film/HowToStealAMillion'' as the two films share similar elements of a heist of priceless artifacts, the pairing of a gentleman thief with a female accomplice and stylish locales as their backdrops (Paris in ''How To Steal a Million'', West Palm Beach in ''Parker'').
* ''Series/ParkerLewisCantLose'' is seen as the SpiritualSuccessor to the movie ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff''; aside from the obvious grammatical parallels in the titles, both feature the [[HighSchoolHustler same type of protagonist]]. In fact, it captured the feel and spirit of the movie much better than the mercifully short-lived series which was the official TV follow-up to the movie.
* Creator/MelGibson's ''Film/ThePatriot'' is this to his previous film ''Film/{{Braveheart}}''.
** ''Film/WeWereSoldiers'' is another such historical war film with Gibson as the lead where he was reunited with the writer of ''Braveheart'' Randall Wallace 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 Robert Rodat and was also scored by Music/JohnWilliams.
* ''Film/{{PCU}}'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/AnimalHouse''.
* Moving backwards, ''Film/PhantomOfTheParadise'' is considered by many to be a spiritual predecessor to ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' and ''Film/ShockTreatment'', both of which it shares quite a large number of similarities with.
** Though "Phantom" came first -- just barely - its scene of a muscular, gay Frankenstein monster with a blond pudding-bowl haircut being born inside a tank is so similar to "Rocky Horror" that some screenings of the latter have edited this sequence into the film as a joke.
** A small number of fans feel that ''Film/ShockTreatment'' was intentionally harking back to "Phantom" - in a number of ways, the new Brad and Janet ARE Winslow and Phoenix, complete with Creator/JessicaHarper damn near playing the same role again.
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':
** The series is sometimes thought of as The Movies Of ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland''. If one were to see the trailer for [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl the original]] ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' while being unaware of what it was ''actually'' based on, it wouldn't be a huge leap to expect it to be a straight-up ''Monkey Island'' movie. This isn't surprising, as both were inspired by the same [[Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean theme park ride]] (after which the movie is named). The [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest second]] ''[=PotC=]'' especially features a few uncanny similarities to the ''Monkey Island'' games, such as Jack using a casket as a rowboat and a voodoo priestess hiding in a swamp. ([[OlderThanTheyThink Both borrow the casket thing]] from ''Literature/MobyDick'', though.)
** The films also bear a strong resemblance to the marine horror stories of Creator/WilliamHopeHodgson, especially ''The Ghost Pirates'' and "The Derelict".
* ''Film/PitchPerfect'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/BringItOn''. Both movies focus on an uncommon competitive "sport" (cheerleading and a cappella singing). At the start, the former Senior/Head ("Big Red"/Alice), who is an AlphaBitch [[ThreateningTropes threatens]] the new one. Pretty soon, the new Senior/Head, who is an [[{{Housewife}} uptight blonde]] (Torrance/Aubrey) is determined to [[GoodOldWays do things the old way]]. Along the way, they bring in a [[IneffectualLoner quirky new person]], who is also an [[AloofDarkHairedGirl introvert]] (Missy/Beca). The new person has a [[MovesetClone similar]], but not identical skill (being a DJ instead of a cappella singing; gymnast instead of cheerleader). Eventually, the group [[CurbStompBattle washes out]] in early stages of competition. Then, the [[TheHero main girl]] and her cultured male friend (Cliff/Jesse) have a big fight. After a [[TooQuirkyToLose fluke]] allows the group back into competition, they must completely change their routine to win. From there, the new girl's alternative [[ChekhovsSkill skill]] set is crucial to the change. Ultimately, they blow everyone away at the [[BigGame finals]]. Finally, the female lead and her edgy male friend have a [[BigDamnKiss big kiss]] at the end.
* ''Film/PineappleExpress'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/{{Superbad}}''. Both being written by Evan Goldberg and Creator/SethRogen, produced by Creator/JuddApatow and Shauna Robertson, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. In fact, ''Pineapple Express'' was greenlit based on the early positive reaction to ''Superbad'' footage.
* ''Film/ThePlaceBeyondThePines'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/Drive2011'': Both characters were stuntmen who used vehicles as part of their employment, both were taken in and given a job in a low paying mechanic job where they found them selves doing a crooked sideline to make extra cash, they were also pretty soft spoken but had an air of understated charisma, they both ended up in a precarious predicament due to their criminal activity as well as getting angry with their boss/friend.
* ''Film/{{Polaroid}}'' is the closest thing to a film adaptation of the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' book ''Say Cheese and Die!'' we're going to get -- both center around a cursed camera that does horrible things to anyone it takes a picture of, and both have major characters named Bird.
* ''Film/PowerRangers2017'':
** While the movie is an adaptation of the original ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' season, its plot beats and casting choices have also been compared to ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'', another ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' season:
*** Both stories star a RagtagBunchOfMisfits who become FireForgedFriends while fighting against evil with dinosaur-themed powers and weapons.
*** The Rangers in the 2017 movie have powers in human form just like the Dino Thunder team.
*** In the original show, the Mighty Morphin team were recruited by Zordon because of their fighting skills and moral fiber. In the movie, they discover Zordon's base and [[TransformationTrinket the Power Coins]] completely by accident and Zordon has to make do with them despite them being far from his first choice as heroes. This makes the movie Mighty Morphin team much more similar to the Dino Thunder Rangers who became heroes the same way.
*** The Power Coins [[PowerCrystal look more like crystals than coins]] making them more similar to the Dino Gems from Dino Thunder.
*** The villain has a personal connection to the BigGood and mentor.
*** The BigGood[=/=]mentor is a former Ranger himself.
** Jason is reinterpreted as a JerkJock who is revealed to have a HiddenHeartOfGold just like Conner, the Red Ranger from Dino Thunder.
*** The movie {{Race Lift}}s Billy from white teenager to a black teenager while retaining his role as TheSmartGuy. As a result, 2017 Billy is BlackAndNerdy just like Ethan, the Dino Thunder Blue Ranger.
** The film arguably works much better as an adaptation of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' than ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''. It's about five mismatched teenagers (a quietly competent leader, his wisecracking friend, an empathic nature-loving tomboy, a girly-girl with an edgy streak, and an outcast loner from a broken home) developing superpowers and fighting an alien invasion following a fateful encounter in a construction site, the characters get their powers from an alien mentor who suffers DeathByOriginStory, the BigBad has the same superpowers as the heroes, and the climax features an important location hidden under a RealLife fast food restaurant (Krispy Kreme instead of [=McDonalds=]). The film was criticized by many ''Power Rangers'' fans for being considerably DarkerAndEdgier than the original show, but it has many of the elements that made ''Animorphs'' stand out: the characters have believably clashing personalities, it offers a (mostly) realistic portrayal of teenage issues, and it's ultimately a fairly grim and somber story about teenagers forced to become soldiers against their will. It even features a scene set on prehistoric Earth, where it's revealed that [[PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs the dinosaurs were wiped out by aliens]]--which was a major plot point in one of the ''Animorphs'' books.
* ''Film/{{Predator}}'' is ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'', adapted to the 1980s and with an alien as Grendel. A group of elite warriors are called into a foreign land, where a mysterious creature is killing the locals. They manage to wound it once, but are slowly killed off until the leader sheds his armor and weapons to hunt down the beast.
* ''Film/PrideAndPrejudice'', directed by Joe Wright and starring Creator/KeiraKnightley, was highly touted and received a couple of Oscar nods. The two got together for ''Film/{{Atonement}}'', [[OscarBait a serious attempt at the awards]].
* ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'' is likely the closest (and [[VideoGameMoviesSuck best]]) we'll get to a live action ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', as its own film adaptation is seemingly locked in DevelopmentHell.
* ''Film/TheProphecy'' series can be seen as a spiritual successor to the ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' franchise. As it like its predecessor was created by Gregory Widen 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/TheProfessional'' is a Spiritual Successor to ''[[Film/{{Nikita}} La Femme Nikita]]''. Both movies were directed by Creator/LucBesson and involve a "cleaner" hitman played by Creator/JeanReno not to mention a young woman who trains to become an assassin. Likewise, ''Film/{{Colombiana}}'' can be considered a successor to ''The Professional'' (it was supposed to be a sequel to that film titled ''Mathilda'' but it eventually became a DivorcedInstallment instead).
* Years before Creator/LoisDuncan's novel ''Literature/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'' got [[Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer an official adaptation]], ''Film/PromNight1980'' could be said to have been the best film version of it out there. (Duncan would probably say it's a ''better'' film, in fact, as [[DisownedAdaptation she hated]] the ''I Know'' movie.) Both stories deal with a group of teenagers who had previously covered up an AccidentalMurder, and are now being harassed and attacked over it by somebody who knows their secret.
* ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'':
** Creator/GuillermoDelToro has [[http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/guillermo-del-toro-says-at-the-mountains-of-madness-is-dead remarked]] that ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' is a close enough adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Literature/AtTheMountainsOfMadness'' that his own planned adaptation of ''ATMOM'' [[DevelopmentHell will have an uphill battle]] [[WhatCouldHaveBeen entering production]] -- at this point, it would likely come off looking like a ripoff of ''Prometheus''. Later on, though, he went back on his decision to give up on his adaptation of ''ATMOM'', [[http://www.chud.com/122289/madness-guillermo-to-reattempt-the-lovecraft-mountain-climb/ saying]] "screw it, Lovecraft was there first."
** While it's quite far from the spirit of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', the black goo is generally considered the only movie depiction of the most iconic villain faction, Phyrexia.
** WebVideo/DiamandaHagan argued that the film is a film adaptation of ''Series/{{Bonekickers}}''. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hvlb36nWjY here]].
* ''Film/ThePurge'':
** Some critics consider it to be ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' but with adults.
** The sequels, ''Film/ThePurgeAnarchy'' and ''Film/ThePurgeElectionYear'', are this to ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' minus the SnuffFilm elements. A person (or a group of people in this case) try to survive the night against various gangs of masked psychopaths in a lawless city, including GasMaskMooks that look nearly like [[EliteMooks the Cerberus]]. ''Anarchy'' even has a plot line of [[spoiler:the wealthy capturing victims to hunt for sport]].
** The character of Leo from ''Anarchy'' and ''Election Year'', a VigilanteMan played by Creator/FrankGrillo who serves as a protagonist in both films, has been called a better translation of ComicBook/ThePunisher to the big screen than many of that character's ''actual'' film adaptations. Both films as a whole have also been seen as {{Genre Throwback}}s to '80s dystopian action films like ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' and ''Film/RoboCop1987''.
** [[http://www.movies.com/movie-news/the-purge-bioshock/12109 One writer]] has compared the films to the [[VideoGame/BioShock1 first]] ''VideoGame/BioShock'' game. To wit, while the films don't have that game's underwater city or genetic splicing, they do take place in a similar dystopian world where ultra-libertarian [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinism]] has caused society to degenerate into violent chaos for its own sake, justified by a MightMakesRight attitude. The masked psychos roaming the streets also resemble and behave like some of the more eccentric Splicers.
** On a similar level, the series can also be seen as ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' minus the zombies, such that Daniel Dockery of ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' has [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-terrible-movies-that-would-be-awesome-as-video-games/ suggested]] (at #1 on the list) that the films would work a lot better as video games drawing influence from ''Dead Rising''. Both works take place against the backdrop of [[AnarchyIsChaos a breakdown of law and order]] that causes people to let their primal urges run wild, as seen with ''Dead Rising''[='=]s psychopaths and ''The Purge''[='=]s more colorful participants, many of whom see the collapse of society as an opportunity to throw off its shackles and fully embrace [[ADarkerMe who they "really are"]]. The action operates on a CosmicDeadline; in the ''Dead Rising'' games (until [[VideoGame/DeadRising4 the fourth one]] got rid of the timer), you only have a certain amount of time to complete the story before the military destroys the city, while participants in the Purge have only twelve hours to let loose and/or survive before the final siren. They also serve up highly cynical satire of [[{{Eagleland}} American society]], portraying it as a land where people are [[GunNut obsessed with guns and violence]] and [[KillThePoor can't be bothered to care about the dispossessed]]. The only difference is in how it happens: ''Dead Rising'' uses a ZombieApocalypse as the catalyst, while the titular event in ''The Purge'' is an annual, government-sanctioned holiday.
** James [=DeMonaco=], the creator of the series, has [[https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2013/06/06/the-purge-director-admits-which-star-trek-episode-influenced-his-movie cited]] as inspiration the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS1E21TheReturnOfTheArchons "The Return of the Archons"]], in which the ''Enterprise'' visits a planet holding a "Festival" where the HiveMind temporarily relaxes its control over the populace and allows them to act out their most violent urges.
* ''Film/TheRaid'' unintentionally becomes a movie adaption of the ''[[VideoGame/DynamiteCop Dynamite Deka]]'' series, aka ''Die Hard Arcade'' and ''Dynamite Cop'', by Indonesia (with a Welsh director). The movie has it all: a SWAT team infiltrating the building, a bad guy barking orders on the top floor, and waves upon waves of mooks on each floor. Even some movie critics said the movie feels like an adaption of arcade [[BeatEmUp beat'em ups]] from the '90s.
* Uwe Boll's ''Film/{{Rampage|2009}}'' is a better adaptation of ''{{VideoGame/Postal}}'' (particularly [[DarkerAndEdgier the first game]] in the series) than [[Film/{{Postal}} his own movie adaptation]] (which was based more on [[LighterAndSofter the second game]]).
* The live-action adaption of ''Film/Rampage2018'' was for a while the closest the a Franchise/KingKong vs Franchise/{{Godzilla}} movie for the 21st century until the Film/MonsterVerse reached that [[Film/GodzillaVsKong point]].
* ''Film/RatRace'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld''.
* ''Film/ReadyPlayerOne2018'' is known right now to be an adaption of several works:
** It is not hard to imagine this as a film version of ''VideoGame/GarrysMod''. The premise, of being able to play and mess around in player-constructed environments and use iconic fictional characters as well as real historical people, is very similar to the game, just without the mechanics.
** Others have compared it to ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. This is helped by the usage of a SuspiciouslySimilarSong of "Pure Imagination" in the trailers (later confirmed to be an outright cover) and the fact that Creator/GeneWilder himself was approached with the role of Halliday.
** Some people, especially anime fans, also compared it a bit with resident MMO-gone-serious series ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' due to its premise, an opinion that seems to be shared by [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-01-18/sword-art-online-creator-one-punch-man-murata-come-out-for-ready-player-one-event/.126614 its own creator]]. Curiously enough and for enforcing this, Creator/YoshitsuguMatsuoka, who voiced the main hero Kazuto Kirigaya/Kirito, works in the Japanese dub of the film.
** The battle portion could be compared to ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''[='=]s [[Recap/SouthParkImaginationland Imaginationland]] trilogy/compilation movie, which culminates in a gigantic battle between good and evil armies consisting of hundreds of characters from pop culture and beyond.
** The film can also be considered this to [=VRChat=] to some extent when it comes to modified avatars.
** It could be also the closest thing to a ''Franchise/{{Neptunia}}'' movie, but minus the sexual content.
* The movie ''Film/RealSteel'' had been called ''Rock'em Sock'em Robots: TheMovie''. It's actually an adaptation of the 1956 story and 1963 ''[[Series/TheTwilightZone1959 Twilight Zone]]'' episode "Steel", which in turn is said to have been the inspiration for Rock'em Sock'em Robots.
* Some critics have described ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' as a 1950s ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' of sorts. Both deal with teenagers grappling with romance, violence, and alienation from the older generation and from society in general; James Dean's character Jim can be seen as the Romeo character, his love interest Judy as the Juliet, [[spoiler: doomed]] friend/[[HoYay semi-love interest]] Plato as the Mercutio, and Judy's [[spoiler: equally doomed]] original boyfriend Buzz as both Tybalt and Paris. Creator/NicholasRay actually cited ''Romeo'' as a strong influence on ''Rebel'', calling it "the best play written about juvenile delinquents." These parallels may have helped pave the way for ''Theatre/WestSideStory'', a more direct transplant of ''Romeo'' into the world of 1950s "juvenile delinquency," the film version of which starred [[Creator/NatalieWood the same leading actress]] as ''Rebel'', no less.
* The ''Film/{{REC}}'' movies have been compared to what the ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'' and ''Film/{{Doom}}'' movies ''should'' [[InNameOnly have been]].
* ''Film/RedRocket'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/TheFloridaProject'' because it's set in the far South of the USA (Texas and Florida) among lower class characters in midsummer where the protagonists (or co-lead in Halley's case) are sex workers - Halley is a prostitute and Mikey is a (technically ex) porn star. ''Red Rocket'' can also be seen as the SpiritualAntithesis to ''Florida'' because for all of Halley's jerk behavior, she is a vulnerable girl and StrugglingSingleMother with sympathetic traits. Mikey, on the other hand, is charming, but is ultimately a manipulative and misogynistic predator.
%%* ''Film/RedSonja'' to ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer''.
* When it was announced, ''Film/RedSparrow'' was frequently described as "the unofficial ComicBook/BlackWidow movie", albeit with Creator/JenniferLawrence instead of Creator/ScarlettJohansson and a general lack of superheroes. The film's director Francis Lawrence even [[https://screenrant.com/red-sparrow-black-widow-comparisons-director-comments/ commented]] on the comparisons.
* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''Film/ReservoirDogs'', where the guys have a SeinfeldianConversation about the 1970s cult TV show ''Get Christie Love!''. Nice Guy Eddie incorrectly recalls that Creator/PamGrier played Christie Love, and Mr. Pink clarifies that Pam Grier was exclusively a film actress, while ''Get Christie Love!'' was meant to be "the Pam Grier TV show without Pam Grier".
* Due to copious amounts of {{Gorn}}, grim tone, and similar time period, some have felt that ''Film/TheRevenant'' is about the closest we have gotten to a film version of Creator/CormacMcCarthy's ''Literature/BloodMeridian''.
* The film ''Literature/RevolutionaryRoad'' is an interesting subversion of SpiritualSuccessor status. It's set in America, it starred Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio and Creator/KateWinslet (as husband in wife) in their first film together after they'd co-starred in ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}''. Some people initially thought it therefore as ''Titanic'''s spiritual successor. The storyline, however, is, if anything, entirely the opposite of ''Titanic'' and only gets worse from there. Plus, it's based on a completely unrelated novel.
* The 2015 zombie film ''Film/TheRezort'' is about an island resort complex built after a ZombieApocalypse where tourists can come to hunt zombies for sport. While the ''Film/JurassicPark''-with-zombies inspirations are obvious, it can also be seen as a film version of ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'', although in this case, the zombies are supposed to be there.
* Creator/OrsonScottCard, author of ''Literature/EndersGame'', the [[Film/EndersGame adaptation]] of which [[DevelopmentHell took decades to premiere]], considers ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' to be [[http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2011-08-11.shtml "the first truly successful adaptation of my novel... to appear on the screen."]] In the past, he'd made similar statements about ''Film/{{Serenity}}''.
* Graham Dury of ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'' considers the 1987 British comedy ''Rita and Sue and Bob, Too'' to be a better film adaptation of ''Fat Slags'' than the [[Film/FatSlags eponymous film]].
* ''Film/TheRoad'' can be seen as an unintentional spiritual successor to ''Film/RoadToPerdition'' as they share many similar themes (apart from the title involving "road" that can easily be confused). Both center around the relationship between a father and son who have nothing left but each other (in both cases he had a wife but she's dead) who through events beyond their control are forced to travel down a "road" both literally and metaphorically trying to survive whilst bringing up questions about morality- the father trying to be a good man doing what's best for his son, trying to find a place for themselves and running into problems on the way, including people who want to kill them. [[spoiler: Even the endings are similar, as they both involve them coming to the end of their journey with the father dying but the boy seemingly going off to a better life (although how much better his life becomes in ''Film/TheRoad'' is debatable, given the apocalyptic setting)]].
* ''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 Michael Wincott in the role of a major supporting antagonist...
** ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1993'' gives off the vibe of deliberately aiming to be a spiritual successor to ''Prince of Thieves'' which came out two years prior. Both were re-iterations of classic stories of swashbuckling heroism, taking several liberties in the process, that center around a rag-tag group of heroes. Both star an awesomely over-the-top antagonist who has received a "Villain Upgrade" of sorts, given how the Sheriff and Richelieu now plot to take over their respective nations with plans that involve them getting with a woman of nobility. Both films also have scores by Music/MichaelKamen and have a pop song attached featuring Music/BryanAdams.
** ''Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo2002'' was a following swashbuckling adventure film based on a classic European tale from the same director of ''Prince of Thieves'', Kevin Reynolds. 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.
* ''Film/RoboCop1987'' is basically an adaptation of ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'', being the story of a visor-wearing supercop hunting criminals in the dystopian metropolis of the future, complete with political satire and BlackComedy. In fact, there were plans for a film adaptation long before [[Film/JudgeDredd the 1995 Stallone version]], but the release of ''[=RoboCop=]'' scuppered it.
* ''Film/TheRocketeer'':
** The film is the spiritual successor to the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' series.
** The film is for all intents and purposes the Art Deco ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' or ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' movie people have been crying for.
* ''Film/{{The Rookie|1990}}'' is essentially this to ''Film/DirtyHarry''. In both movies, Creator/ClintEastwood plays a veteran cop whose partners are killed. The movie is also directed by Clint Eastwood.
* Right after directing ''Film/TheOutsiders'' Creator/FrancisFordCoppola made a movie based on another SE Hinton novel, ''Literature/RumbleFish'' with many of the same cast and crew. The movie came out months after ''Film/TheOutsiders''.
* ''Film/RunawayBride'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/PrettyWoman'' (shared lead couple, same director).
* ''Film/RunHideFight'' is about as close as anybody is ever going to get to making a film adaptation of the Website/{{Newgrounds}} game ''[[VideoGame/{{Pico}} Pico's School]]'', albeit with a [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] protagonist. Both are unabashedly pulpy DieHardOnAnX stories about [[AxesAtSchool school shootings]], in which the protagonist is a student who fights back against a gang of four nihilistic, antisocial classmates who represent contemporary {{teen|sAreMonsters}} {{delinquent|s}} stereotypes ({{goth}}s in ''Pico's School'', [[PhoneaholicTeenager social]] [[AttentionWhore media]] [[SocialMediaIsBad addicts]] in ''Run Hide Fight''), all while [[PoliceAreUseless the police outside do nothing to stop them]].
* ''Film/RurouniKenshin'' would make for a good live-action epilogue for ''VideoGame/TotalWarShogun2: Fall of the Samurai''.
* The 2015 disaster film ''Film/SanAndreas'' is essentially the first act of ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'' stretched out into a feature film, even containing many of the tropes that Creator/RolandEmmerich used in his disaster flicks.
* ''Film/LeSamourai'' has influenced numerous filmmakers over the years so naturally there have been some movies that serve as unofficial remakes:
** ''Film/TheDriver'' is an Americanized version of the movie [[RecycledInSpace but with a getaway driver]].
** Creator/JohnWoo cited the film as a major inspiration for ''Film/TheKiller'' in terms of plot and characters. He even admitted in an interview that "Melville is god to me" and it's no surprise that he's been attempting to remake ''Le Samourai'' for years but his efforts never came to fruition so in the meantime fans of the film can look to ''The Killer'' as the closest that they'll get to the director's vision of a modern, setting-shifted reboot
** ''Film/TheProfessional'' is a [[TheNineties 90s]] themed version of the film set in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. Not only is the protagonist a very skilled hitman who's always dressed well for his assassination missions but he adheres to a rigid [[CodeOfHonour Code of Honor]] and lives as an outsider who has no other friends or companions other than a thing that he keeps at his apartment. He also has to protect a young girl and eventually sacrifices himself to save her from death. And much like that movie, the director Creator/LucBesson is French.
** Similar to ''The Killer'' example above, ''Film/GhostDogTheWayOfTheSamurai'' is a deliberate homage to the movie complete with an AntiHero contract killer as the main lead who follows the Japanese code of Bushido and uses a special key to steal other cars. He even dies at the end to project a young woman much like Jef Costello.
** As the film's [[Website/TVTropes own page on TV Tropes points out]], ''Film/TheAmerican'' is ''Le Samourai'' in UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}.
* In Creator/RogerEbert's review of ''Film/TheSandlot'', he proposes that the movie is this to ''Film/AChristmasStory''. A real sequel, ''It Runs In The Family'' came out the next year, and most people don't even know its exists. ''The Sandlot'', on the other hand, is considered a classic.
* ''Film/{{Savages}}'', like ''Double Impact'' listed above, also has the basic plotline of the first ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'' game. Criminals have kidnapped the girlfriend of two guys who now have to battle their way to get her back.
* Creator/StevenSpielberg's ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' (1998) is at least partially one for his earlier film ''Film/SchindlersList'' (1993). They're both dramas about UsefulNotes/WorldWarII that use the subject as a vehicle for examining the value of human life, and both of them are famous for their uniquely stylized visual presentations (''Schindler's List'' is [[DeliberatelyMonochrome filmed entirely in black and white]] save for [[SplashOfColor a single girl in a red coat]], and ''Saving Private Ryan'' uses ShakyCam and a [[ColorWash desaturated color palette]][[note]] Both techniques [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny were considered fairly revolutionary]] when the film was released, and it's credited with helping to popularize them[[/note]]). The chief difference between the two films is in their perspectives: ''Schindler's List'' is a film about UsefulNotes/{{the Holocaust}} told from a German perspective, while ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a film about the invasion of France told from an American perspective.
* The eighth ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' film, ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}'', has been [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97pFUTFvuEg seen]] as a surprisingly close adaptation of Creator/JeanPaulSartre's ''Theatre/NoExit'', which it gives a highly prominent ShoutOut to. While it's not actually set in {{Hell}}, the main game, like the story of ''No Exit'', revolves around a group of criminal people who can be redeemed from their suffering by simply confessing their sins to [[PoeticSerialKiller Jigsaw]] in front of the people around them -- yet all of them are too proud to do, afraid of the shame that this would cause them and the judgment that they would receive from those around them, resulting in them paying the price. There are even very close parallels between the crimes committed by Estelle in ''No Exit'' and [[spoiler:Anna]] in ''Jigsaw'', [[spoiler:the two of them having both killed their infant children in such a manner that [[DrivenToSuicide drove their lovers to suicide]]]].
* ''Film/ScoobyDooMonstersUnleashed'' is considered by many as a film adaptation of ''VideoGame/ScoobyDooNightOf100Frights'' due to how similar the plot is and how faithful they are to the cartoons.
* ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' is considered to be a better adaptation of ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' due to costuming, style, and story than [[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 the first Arnold Schwarzenegger film]]. Considering that Creator/JohnMilius was interested in making a Viking movie instead of a Conan movie, it's not that hard.
* ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'':
** Despite being an adaptation of [[ComicBook/ScottPilgrim a comic]] that came out years before, the film has been said to be the closest thing to a movie adaption of ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''.
** Some fans would argue that this is the closest thing they could have a live-action adaptation of ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''. While the original comic book also made a reference to the anime, the franchise share the similar theme with it as well.
* ''Film/Scream1996'':
** It can be considered the spiritual successor to 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 ''Return to Horror High'' 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 happening 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...
** It was a more overt successor to ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'', a 1994 slasher by ''Scream''[='=]s director Creator/WesCraven that explored similar [[PostModernism metatextual ideas]] about the relationship between horror movies, their fans, and their creators. Both are about a massacre straight out of an '80s SlasherMovie happening in [[ThisIsReality the "real world"]], though ''Scream'' was a more grounded, GenreSavvy take on the concept compared to the supernatural, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou fourth-wall-breaking]] ''New Nightmare''.
* ''Film/TheSecretOfMySuccess'' can be seen as a sequel to ''Series/FamilyTies'', since Brantley is pretty much the same character as Alex P. Keaton. Brantley's family can be seen as a severely {{Flanderized}} version of the Keatons. (In fact in Family Ties' take on ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' it's revealed that in one possible future the Keatons actually became farmers after a downturn in the economy.) It helps that the last episode of ''Family Ties'' ends where ''The Secret of My Success'' begins (even though the movie was released two years before the last episode aired!)
** ''Film/WorkingGirl'' meanwhile, could be seen as a female version of ''The Secret of My Success''. It's also about a working class person who pretends to be someone they aren't in order to get ahead in the corporate world. ''Working Girl'' all in all, could be seen as a film that combines the setting of ''Film/WallStreet'', the workplace ensemble ethos of ''Film/BroadcastNews'', the plot of ''The Secret of My Success'', and the women-get-one-over-on-the-boss mentality of ''Film/NineToFive''.
* ''Film/TheSevenUps'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'' in that it stars Roy Scheider as a New York detective similar to the one he played in the latter movie and had the same producer and composer and even had a car chase like the one in ''The French Connection''.
* According to director Creator/DannyBoyle there's a sly connection between ''Film/ShallowGrave'' and ''Film/{{Trainspotting}}''. Keith Allen portrays a drug dealer in both films -- with the intention that we think he may be the same character in both, as Trainspotting was suppose to take place in the late 1980s ''before'' the occurrences in ''Shallow Grave''.
* ''Film/ShaolinSoccer'' to the Creator/YuenBiao film ''Film/TheChampions1983''. Both movies are soccer-themed sports comedies about a country bumpkin who is an expert in martial arts but out of a job, then ends up using his skills participating in soccer games and making it big.
* ''Film/ShesAllThat'' is a high school version of Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw's ''Theatre/{{Pygmalion}}''.
* ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' is the best big-budget crossover between ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' and ''Series/TheWestWing'' never made. If you've ever wanted to see how President Bartlet and his band of {{True Companions}} might deal with an attack by a city-destroying monster (and you don't mind them speaking in Japanese), this movie gives you a pretty damn good idea.
* ''Literature/TheShining'':
** ''Film/Batman1989'' feels like if Creator/TimBurton made a crossover with ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' and ''Film/TheShining''; while Creator/JackNicholson reprise his role as Jack from the Kubrick version, the black-haired, creepy, pale-faced Creator/ShelleyDuvall is replaced with [[AdaptationDyeJob blonde]], [[AdaptationalAttractiveness more beautiful]] Creator/KimBasinger as IntrepidReporter version of the novel's Wendy (Vicki Vale).
** 1991's ''Film/{{Deceived}}'' is also the closest can get to a early 90s version of the novel with Creator/GoldieHawn played a [[AdaptationDyeJob blonde]], [[AdaptationalAttractiveness more beautiful]], more faithful version of Wendy (despite being named her as Adrienne Saunders) than the black-haired, creepy, pale-faced Creator/ShelleyDuvall in the Kubrick version, with Creator/JohnHeard gives good performance as FaceHeelTurn husband (Jack), but it lacks the supernatrual/horror elements that the 1977 novel, 1980 film, and the 1997 mini-series had; both blonde actresses (Creator/KimBasinger and Creator/GoldieHawn) wears a turtleneck sweater with a skirt (or a long-sleeve dress) and tights (or stockings or bare) and both blonde actresses (Creator/KimBasinger and Creator/GoldieHawn) can show their legs pretty well (Creator/ShelleyDuvall and Creator/RebeccaDeMornay mostly wears long overall skirt or jeans).
* ''Film/ShortCircuit'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/WarGames''. Both films are directed by John Badham and starred Ally Sheedy as a person helping a military AI (the Joshua/WOPR supercomputer/Johnny Five) learn the importance of life.
* ''Film/ShowdownInLittleTokyo'' and ''Film/BlackRain'' is as close one can get to a movie version of {{Creator/SNK}}'s ''Burning Fight''.
* ''Film/SideEffects'' is the closest you'll ever get to seeing the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' mod ''VideoGame/AfraidOfMonsters'' in film.
* ''Film/{{Slither}}'' is essentially a CGI-era version of ''Film/NightOfTheCreeps'' in a more rustic setting.
* ''Film/SnowDay'' was originally written as a film adaptation of ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'', and it shows.
* ''Film/SnowDogs'' could be considered such to ''Film/CoolRunnings''. Both are live-action family films from Disney that are fish out of water tales that involve one or more people going from their warm/comfortable environment to a cold and snowy place where they engage in some sort of winter sport. Both films also share some screenwriters. Those being Tommy Swerdlow and Michael Goldberg.
* ''Film/{{Snowpiercer}}''
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1utJKkMEXE This video]] by [=CrayTrey=] argues that it is the best ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' film adaptation ever made, specifically the kind of ''[=BioShock=]'' movie that Creator/TerryGilliam would make. (It even has a character named Gilliam as a possible ShoutOut.) Even discounting the fact that the protagonists' journey to the front of the train is structured like a video game, both are set in hermetically sealed environments filled with claustrophobic corridors where escape is made impossible by hostile conditions outside, with stratified societies overseen by the eccentric billionaires who created these places in line with their flawed personal ideologies ([[Creator/AynRand Objectivism]] in the case of ''[=BioShock=]''[='=]s Andrew Ryan, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecofascism Ecofascist]] [[FeudalFuture feudalism]] in the case of ''Snowpiercer''[='=]s Wilford). Curtis Everett, the protagonist of ''Snowpiercer'', can also be seen as a more heroic version of Frank Fontaine from ''[=BioShock=]'' in his rebellion against Wilford. It even has a climatic scene very similar to Andrew Ryan's big speech to Jack in ''[=BioShock=]'', a FantasticDrug that has driven many people insane, [[spoiler:the [[PoweredByAForsakenChild exploitation of children]] being a key component of the systems that keep things running, and society going down in flames by the end]]. Furthermore, while ''[=BioShock=]'' sought to {{deconstruct|ion}} the Objectivist themes of Rand's ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', one could see the villains here as the kind of bad guys that Rand herself could have written. Wilford is a fascist tyrant who preaches that salvation comes from serving him, [[spoiler:Gilliam is a socialist tyrant who preaches that salvation comes from serving each other (at his command, of course), and the two of them are ''working together'' to maintain the train and its oppressive system.]]
** Similarly, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEX52h1TvuA this video]] by Rhino Stew calls it a DarkerAndEdgier sequel to Creator/RoaldDahl's ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. Specifically, he pegs Wilford as a grown-up Charlie Bucket who took Willy Wonka's (or rather, ''Wilford'' Wonka's) name after he inherited the factory, along with numerous shout-outs and similarities in the supporting cast and in various plot details. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygYlxTxSaCM This video]] by Nomadic Kong builds on the theory, arguing that the plot of ''Snowpiercer'' draws direct parallels and homages to ''Charlie''[='=]s 1971 film adaptation, ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', right down to specific scenes that are nearly identical and even the use of "Pure Imagination" in the score.
--->"They're both two movies about groups of people that work their way through a large, fantastic structure. One by one, a person from the group is removed in each room, until one person makes it to the very end, who then found out that [[spoiler:the entire thing was a test because a wealthy industrialist needed to find a new successor]]."
* The ''Film/SpeedRacer'' film is just as viable an adaptation of ''VideoGame/FZero'' as it is of the ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' anime.
* ''Film/TheSpirit'' may not have captured the, uh, spirit of [[ComicBook/TheSpirit the comics it came from]] very well, but it's a much better adaptation of an entirely different superhero: ComicBook/TheTick. Just compare how often they run across rooftops while monologuing about "MY CITY!" and invoking tortured metaphors.
* At times, ''Film/SpringBreakers'' feels like either the best ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' adaptation ever made, or a {{deconstruction}} of such. It's got the UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} setting (albeit set in St. Petersburg instead of a pastiche of UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}), the neon-drenched style that heavily evokes TheEighties (despite being set in the present day), the {{sociopathic|Hero}} {{Villain Protagonist}}s running headfirst across the MoralEventHorizon because "spring break, bitches!", and a winking self-awareness of its own "gangsta" attitude that's used to satirize [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster pop culture's obsession with cool criminals]]. By extension, it also has some of the ''GTA'' series' few female protagonists, and the only ones with any defined personality.[[note]][[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic The original game]] let players select from eight different player characters, evenly split between men and women, while the online component of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' let players create their own avatar. None of them have any voice acting, however, and in the original game their sprites were largely indistinguishable outside of their hair and the fact that the females wore red pants instead of blue.[[/note]]
* Another attempt at a ''Blade Runner'' sequel (written by Creator/DavidWebbPeoples, co-writer of ''Blade Runner'') became the blueprint for the Creator/KurtRussell film ''Film/{{Soldier}}''.
* Some fans have argued that ''Film/{{Solo}}'' is a better successor to ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' than the actual [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull most recent]] Franchise/IndianaJones film. Both movies open with a Creator/HarrisonFord character in his teenage years and show us how he got to be who he is, and feature him allying with an older father figure (Henry Jones/Beckett), his brave and warm-hearted sidekick (Sallah/Chewie), and his lovely female companion (Elsa/Qi'ra) to retrieve something priceless for a villainous rich guy (Donovan/Dryden), while being pursued by an elite band of brigands who [[spoiler:turn out to be [[GoodAllAlong good guys]]]] (Kazim and the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword/Enfys Nest and the Cloud-Riders.) There's an action sequence on a train at one point, and both films end with [[spoiler:the girl killing the rich guy, who turns grey as he dies, the father figure being shot, and the hero [[DidNotGetTheGirl not getting the girl]] when she ultimately abandons him too]].
* ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020'' is regarded by fans as a LiveActionAdaptation of Anime/SonicX. Both are about Sonic getting put into the human world and ends up befriending some humans in order to hide from the government.
* ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' was a major influence on what are arguably the two most popular historical epics of the modern era, and has been cited as such by their respective directors. Both coming off as being quite similar in spirit...
** ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' is structurally quite similar to ''Spartacus'', though many of the details are quite different. Each is the story of a low-standing man within an oppressed group who manages to rise up and become a great leader in battling the foreign group seeking to oppress them. Both doing so after a major loss. The lead villain is an extremely high ranking man who seeks to consolidate and expand his own power. His side however early on does not take the rebellion seriously and thinks lowly of them, which is something that both the Romans and the English pay for. The two leaders manage to find great success and even start up a (new) romance. After a major betrayal at a key moment however, facilitated by the lead villain buying off important allies, things turn south with the hero's losing and eventually being captured. The hero never submits however, and thus winds up being sentenced to a cruel execution. (Both ending up dying on a cross of some sort no-less) However both have managed to succeed in sending their message to the world, and the audience is left knowing that they actually have conceived a child who will get to live on past him.
** ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' in many respects is a lot like ''Spartacus'' in reverse. One character starting out as a slave/gladiator who manages to rise up into a great, powerful, and respected military leader. While the other starts out as a great, powerful, and respected military leader who winds up being torn down into being a slave/gladiator. However the share certain elements, including a lead villain who is seeking to manipulate the people (though through drastically different means) in order to consolidate his power and essentially supplant the Senate with a lot of political subterfuge and intrigue ensuing as a result. Both also having supporting characters in a gladiator school owner who starts out focusing on making a profit but becomes a key player in the main conflict, as ''Gladiator'' having what appears to be a deliberate shout-out to the previous film in the form of having a major character called Senator Gracchus. The Gracchus' in either film being the chief antagonist's main political rival who is fighting for the rights and continued authority of the senate. And again, like ''Braveheart'' as well, the lead heroes of both films ultimately die as martyrs.
* ''Film/SpecialFemaleForce'' is a spiritual successor to the ''Film/TheInspectorWearsSkirts'' film series, the theme being a GirlsWithGuns action comedy film about an all-female police squad.
* ''Film/SpeedZone'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheCannonballRun''.
* ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/RoboCop1987''. Released ten years apart from each other, both are directed by Creator/PaulVerhoeven, share similar themes and are structured around mock broadcasts of news and information.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Creator/GeorgeLucas originally wanted to do an adaptation of ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|Serial}}'', but couldn't afford the rights. Instead, he decided to make his own original story, influenced by ''Flash Gordon'' and the stories that influenced such in turn, particularly Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars''. Interestingly, the success of ''Film/ANewHope'' led directly to a proper ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|1980}}'' adaptation three years later.
** Hari Kunzru, [[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world writing]] for ''The Guardian'', called it the best ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' adaptation ever made, between its UsefulNotes/NewAge-inflected ScienceFantasy setting, the similarities between the Jedi and the Bene Gesserit, and Tattooine, the desert planet full of hooded tribesmen where TheChosenOne emerges from, being remarkably similar to Arrakis. Creator/FrankHerbert himself [[https://historyofyesterday.com/when-frank-herbert-saw-star-wars-85156b40b243 noticed the similarities]] and had mixed feelings. His son [[Creator/HerbertPropertiesLLC Brian]] said that, after watching ''Star Wars'', his father "picked out sixteen points of what he called 'absolute identity' between his book and the movie" and, together with other writers who saw similar inspiration from their own stories in ''Star Wars'', formed a joke organization called the "We're Too Big to Sue George Lucas Society".
** ''Film/RogueOne'' is effectively what ''VideoGame/DarkForces'' would be like if it had been a movie. An unusual example of this trope in that both works are part of the same franchise, albeit [[AlternateContinuity Alternate Continuities]]. It also draws elements from the ''Han Solo'' trilogy of novels, given that Jyn Erso has parallels to Han Solo's former flame Bria Tharen, who became a significant Rebel officer [[spoiler:who died stealing the Death Star plans]]. Likewise, the second part of the movie could be a live-action adaptation of ''VideoGame/XWing'', since the game also depicts space battles in which parts of the Death Star plans were stolen even if the participants are different.
** ''Film/TheLastJedi'':
*** To ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight''. Both have the protagonists get tracked and chased by the antagonists even as they perform FasterThanLightTravel, with the latter being a galactic supremacist group whose fleet vastly outnumbers the former's.
*** It can also be considered a film version of ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', as a {{Deconstruction}} of ''Star Wars'', particularly the Jedi-Sith conflict, that stars a female main character[[note]]The Exile is canonically female[[/note]]. Both the film and the game follow installments that played franchise-wide tropes relatively straight and hit familiar story beats.
* ''Film/SteveJobs'' to ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'', another {{biopic}} written by Creator/AaronSorkin about an [[InsufferableGenius abrasive]] tech pioneer with a troubled love life, who has a falling-out with a close friend who accuses him of {{stealing the credit}} for his big breakthrough. Funnily enough, the two films were [[WhatCouldHaveBeen almost]] directed by the same person, but Creator/DavidFincher passed on directing ''Steve Jobs''.
* ''Film/StrangeDays'' is essentially an unofficial sequel to ''Film/{{Brainstorm}}'', showing the effect on society after the thought-recording technology invented in ''Brainstorm'' becomes mass-produced.
* By [[WordOfGod Steven E DeSouza]]'s [[http://www.polygon.com/features/2014/3/10/5451014/street-fighter-the-movie-what-went-wrong admission]], the ''Film/StreetFighter'' movie was more of a Franchise/GIJoe movie than a ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' one, due to to the heavy military elements (which are not ''nearly'' as prevalent in the games), as well as Creator/{{Hasbro}}'s involvement with the merchandising.
-->''Capcom had forged a partnership with Hasbro long before production began to warp the G.I. Joe toy line into ''Street Fighter: The Movie'' licensed dolls, just in time for Black Friday. "You can look at this movie as the first G.I. Joe movie," says De Souza, "Because G.I. Joe was in a swamp at this time. It was not selling. So Hasbro wanted to reboot the G.I. Joe line by thinly disguising it as ''Street Fighter''."''
* ''Film/StreetKings'':
** The film feels a lot like ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', only set on a hot night in Los Angeles rather than a cold night in New York.
** The film has been compared to ''Film/TrainingDay''. In fact, if you just alter the final 20 minutes of ''Training Day'', it would be a direct sequel.
* ''Film/StreetsOfFire'' to ''Film/TheWarriors''. Both are directed by Creator/WalterHill and feature heavily stylized versions of street crime at night.
* ''Film/StrictlyBallroom'', ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'', and ''Film/MoulinRouge'' form [[Creator/BazLuhrmann Baz Lurhmann’s]] ThematicSeries The Red Curtain Trilogy, as each film focuses on a different element of theatre: dance, poetry, and song, respectively.
* ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'' grew out of Creator/BillyWilder's attempt to do a film adaptation of Creator/EvelynWaugh's ''Literature/TheLovedOne''. Wilder couldn't secure the rights for the novella, so he concocted a different HorribleHollywood tale with a similar tone and a few of the same motifs. ''The Loved One'' finally got a film adaptation [[Film/TheLovedOne 15 years later]].
* ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'' to ''Film/{{Supernova}}''. Two scifi sun-related adventorous movies.
* A good number of online reviewers, including WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, have argued that the true spiritual successor to ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' is ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}''. Both are highly idealistic DC Comics superhero films about a dark-haired, non-human protagonist who is sent to the world of men from "the world of the gods" by a parent or parents to fulfill their destiny as a savior of mankind, and both take steps to emphasize that the hero's true power is their idealism and belief in the goodness of human beings. The main character disguises their identity with [[ClarkKenting a pair of glasses]], has a snarky BadassNormal love interest, and there's even a scene where Diana catches bullets fired at Steve as a [[MythologyGag direct]] [[ShoutOut reference]] to ''Superman: The Movie''. A major theme involves the protagonist learning humility and shedding their naivete while confronting a campy middle-aged man as the villain (with a female sidekick), and the climax has features [[spoiler:the love interest dying]], although unlike Superman, Diana [[spoiler:is unable to turn back time to save Steve Trevor. Till the sequel, at least.]]
* The western comedies ''Film/SupportYourLocalSheriff'' and ''Support Your Local Gunfighter'' were made by more-or-less the same production crew and cast, and share much in terms of theme and tone, but the second is not a sequel to the first, and no characters reappear.
* Creator/TimBurton's version of ''Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' could be the spiritual successor to ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'' - When Creator/JohnnyDepp's character brings his gorgeous blonde wife back to the city things [[FromBadToWorse go horribly wrong, and then they get worse]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:T-Z]]
* ''Film/{{Taken}}'':
** Before the film had actual sequels, there was the film ''Film/Unknown2011'' which also starred Creator/LiamNeeson as a badass fighting his way through a European city to try and save a family member and during the marketing phase seemed to actually be often mistaken for a ''Taken'' sequel.
** A lot of viewers have noted that the first ''Film/{{Taken}}'' movie as the closest thing there is to big screen adaptation of ''Series/TwentyFour'', minus the more political aspects. Similar to the show, it involves an ex-government agent having to jump back into action to save his daughter (who coincidentally is also named Kim) [[RaceAgainstTheClock within a time limit]], and said protagonist has a thing for employing methods of PayEvilUntoEvil into the crooks who come his way, especially the poor misguided idiots who dared to harm his loved ones. A few actors who appeared in the show even have roles in the film. Bonus points for the fact that the time limit of hours the protagonist of is given, 96, is a multiple of the number 24.
* ''Film/TalesFromTheDarksideTheMovie'' is regarded as the spiritual successor to the ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'' series (while ironically, ''Creepshow 3'' is disavowed by fans as an InNameOnly work). After all, it's a macabre horror anthology with writing by Creator/StephenKing and George Romero, and work by Creator/TomSavini (who in fact went on record as saying that ''Film/TalesFromTheDarksideTheMovie'' is the "real" ''Creepshow 3''), and was originally going to be the third ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'' installment until producers decided to cash in on the ''Series/TalesFromTheDarkside'' name.
* ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'' is the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' (and indeed was described by Ferrell as the third of his "[[SmallNameBigEgo unreasonably confident people]]" series).
* ''Film/ThreeFlavoursCornettoTrilogy'':
** ''Website/{{Cracked}}''[='=]s David Wong once expressed this opinion about ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', opining that it was one of the first movies ever to successfully bring Creator/DouglasAdams' unique brand of humor to the big screen, even if Adams didn't actually have anything to do with it. Adding to the irony, he argued that the movie captured Adams' style far better than the actual film adaptation of ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', which was released exactly one year after it.
** ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', ''Film/HotFuzz'' and ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'' form a ThematicSeries called the ''Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy''. They're written and directed by the same people, feature similar cast members (drawing from an extended ProductionPosse), and combine violence and "genre" storylines with comedy. Most importantly, they each feature a prominent Cornetto ice cream flavor.
* Creator/GerryAnderson has actually said that ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'' is a better adaptation of his ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' than the actual live-action ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}'' film, though he also felt that ''Team America''[='=]s raunchiness hurt it, since it meant his kids couldn't watch.
* ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'', a Hollywood satire about a bunch of [[ThePrimaDonna rich, pampered, obnoxious celebrities]] (failing to) [[CelebritySurvivor survive the apocalypse]] in their fortified mansion, is the best adaptation of the Long Island chapter of ''Literature/WorldWarZ'' ever made, albeit with the apocalypse in question being [[Literature/BookOfRevelation Biblical]] rather than [[ZombieApocalypse undead]].
* [[Creator/BlumhouseProductions Blumhouse]]'s ''Film/Thriller2018'' on Netflix is a blatant ripoff of ''Film/PromNight1980''. Both slasher films open with a child falling to their death due to a DeadlyPrank, with the kids responsible vowing to keep the secret. Both films skip ahead to the kids' senior year of high school before a big dance (the senior prom in ''Prom Night'', the homecoming dance in ''Thriller'') before someone who saw the prank targets them all at the dance. There's also an extended chase scene that's almost an exact duplicate. The films have so many similarities in fact, that ''Thriller'' is a far more faithful adaptation of ''Prom Night'' than [[Film/PromNight2008 its own official remake]].
* ''Film/THX1138'' is what would've happen if Creator/JeanLucGodard made a film adaptation of ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' or ''Literature/BraveNewWorld''.
* ''Film/ATimeToKill'' is a spiritual follow-up to the preceding Creator/JoelSchumacher directed film based off of a Creator/JohnGrisham legal thriller novel ''Film/TheClient''.
* Three of the early IMAX space films fit together in a loose sort of way-- ''To Fly!'' (1976) summarizes history of air and space travel up to that point in time, ending with the launch of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. ''Hail Columbia!'' (1982) covers NASA's next human spaceflight after the ASTP-- STS-1, the first launch of the space shuttle, highlights the transition from the Apollo program to the space shuttle era, and features astronaut Robert Crippen taking his first spaceflight as STS-1's pilot. ''The Dream Is Alive'' (1985) shows the shuttle in its first flush of success [[HarsherInHindsight ending just before the Challenger disaster]], as it carries full crews and launches and repairs satellites, with two of the missions followed showing Crippen having advanced to Shuttle Commander, teaching the ropes to new pilots who are where he was in ''Hail Columbia!''
* ''Film/ToLiveAndDieInLA'' is this to ''Film/TheFrenchConnection''. Most notably, both films have the same [[Creator/WilliamFriedkin director]], feature lengthy car chases and have protagonists determined to take the villain down no matter the cost.
* The movie ''Film/{{Tomboy}}'' can be seen as a SpiritualSuccessor to the ''Film/MaVieEnRose'' movie released 14 years earlier. They both center around children, the first explicitly an 8 year old trans girl, the other around a possible 10 year old trans boy, while if not that a cross-dressing girl who may be lesbian), are French language, and have the "Just moved to a new town" premise.
* ''Film/TombRaider2018'' is obviously based on [[Franchise/TombRaider the video game franchise of the same name]] (specifically its [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 2013 reboot]]), but with the changes made to the story in the translation to the big screen, it also works as a solid adaptation of ''VideoGame/UnchartedDrakesFortune''. Whereas Lara Croft's goal in the 2013 game was to rescue her friend Sam and get off the island, with discovering the tomb of Himiko being simply a means to that end, here she's racing a team of men led by Mathias Vogel to find Himiko's tomb, just as Nathan Drake was racing a team of men led by Gabriel Roman to find El Dorado in ''Uncharted''. [[spoiler:The twists on the true nature of the treasure they're seeking are also nearly identical. In a case of DoingInTheWizard, it turns out here that Himiko wasn't a supernatural villain like she was in the game, but rather, an immune carrier of [[TheVirus a disease that turns people into rampaging psychopaths]] -- not unlike what El Dorado turned out to be in ''Uncharted''.]]
* ''Film/TommyBoy'', a disastrous road trip starring a mismatched OddCouple and the gradual destruction of a car, owes a lot to ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles''.
* The box office disaster ''Film/{{Torque}}'' was a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', even having the same producer and featuring the crime and racing genres.
* A sequel was planned for ''Film/BladeRunner'', and after the script was rewritten and handed down through several different creative teams, it eventually reached the screen as ''Film/TotalRecall1990''. The same process led from ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' to ''Film/MinorityReport''. The ''actual'' direct sequel to ''Blade Runner'', ''Film/BladeRunner2049'', would not come out until 2017. All three movies are based on works by ''Creator/PhilipKDick''.
* ''Film/TourDePharmacy'' is this to ''Film/SevenDaysInHell''. Both of them are ''very'' raunchy Creator/{{HBO}} sports mockumentaries about a fictional sporting event with an AllStarCast, Creator/AndySamberg in a leading role, and feature several celebrities [[AsHimself playing themselves]]. They're also both period pieces[[note]] ''Tour de Pharmacy'' is set in 1983, while ''7 Days in Hell'' is primarily set in 2001 [[/note]] that base its humor off of the sheer absurdity of the event they're documenting.
* ''Film/TrainToBusan'' can be the closest thing South Korea can have their own adaptation of Creator/StephenKing's stories as both share similar allegory, themes, and tones with his body of works (Literature/TheStand, Literature/{{The Mist}}, {{Literature/Cell}}, and Literature/{{The Langoliers}} to name a few).
* The Dutch film ''Film/UndercoverKitty'' is very much in the same vein as some 1960s Creator/WaltDisneyPictures family-oriented films such as ''Film/MaryPoppins'' and ''Film/ThatDarnCat'', what with a supernatural lady who talks to animals and makes the life of a few people (including children) much happier (complete with a dance number) in regards to the former and using cats as spies for the latter.
* The ''Film/{{Underworld}}'' film series is a better adaptation of the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' than the official adaptation, the TV show ''Series/KindredTheEmbraced''. It was ''so'' close, in fact, that Creator/WhiteWolf and Creator/NancyACollins (writer of the Sonja Blue vampire novels and the ''[=WoD=]''-set novel ''Love of Monsters'') [[http://www.geeknative.com/3773/rpg-news-white-wolf-sues-sony-for-underworld-echoes-13/ sued the films' producers]], claiming copyright infringement.
* ''Film/Ultraviolet2006'' is intended to be this to ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}''. Both are directed by Kurt Wimmer, and ''Ultraviolet'' has several scenes that pay homage to ''Equilibrium''. Both movies also co-star Creator/WilliamFichtner.
* ''Film/{{Upgrade}}'':
** Being a {{cyberpunk}} story about a formerly disabled man who, upon being given an almost omnipotent technological replacement, uses it to seek revenge against the ones who caused his disability, the film is probably the nearest to a movie adaptation of ''Manga/GokuMidnightEye'' we will ever get.
** It is also considered by some comic book fans to be a TruerToTheText movie adaptation of Comicbook/{{Venom}} than either ''Film/SpiderMan3'' or the actual ''Film/{{Venom|2018}}'' movie, especially with the interaction between Grey and STEM and how the latter turns the former into a superhuman fighting machine upon [[GrandTheftMe taking control of his body]][[note]]Doesn't help this film's lead Creator/LoganMarshallGreen has been called a PoorMansSubstitute for ''Venom'' star Creator/TomHardy[[/note]]. WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic concurred at the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j5sYgwHMWQ his review]] of ''Venom'', telling everyone to go see ''Upgrade'' instead.
* ''Film/UrbanCowboy'', starring Creator/JohnTravolta as a young working-class man who gets involved in his city's music scene, was often compared to a {{country|Music}} version of ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'', especially given that it came out as {{disco}}'s popularity was crashing while country was enjoying a huge boom.
* It's been said that ''Literature/ValleyOfTheDolls'', ''Literature/MommieDearest'', and ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' form a loose trilogy of campy films about women attempting to climb their way to the top in show business. All three films were intended to be serious dramas, but suffer from serious [[ChewingTheScenery scenery chewing]] and were critically panned upon release, but found new followings as [[CultClassic cult classics]].
* ''Film/VictoriaAndAbdul'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/MrsBrown'', both being the story of UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria, played by Creator/JudiDench, and her friendship with a male servant. In fact the only thing stopping it being an ''official'' sequel is that it was made by a different production company.
* The little-known Canadian sci-fi/horror flick ''Film/TheVindicator'' is a spiritual predecessor to ''Film/RoboCop1987''. Both films involve a man who is murdered and then resurrected as a cyborg.
* ''Film/WarInc'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/GrossePointeBlank''. They both feature Creator/JohnCusack as a hitman having doubts about his career choice with Creator/JoanCusack as his assistant and Creator/DanAykroyd in a supporting role.
* ''Film/{{Wasabi}}'' is a spiritual successor to another spiritual successor ''Film/TheProfessional''. It was written and produced by Creator/LucBesson with Creator/JeanReno playing a badass killer in a big city who has to protect a young girl from crooks and has a favorite dish that he craves to eat/drink.
* ''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 (with a generous helping of HarpoDoesSomethingFunny and ThrowItIn to their dialogue), put-upon parents, and comedy from unexpected situations.
* ''Where Hands Touch'' is this to ''Film/AUnitedKingdom'', which is this to ''Film/{{Belle}}''. All are directed by Amma Asante and all focus on a little-known, but significant race story--the plight of the so-called "[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland_Bastard Rhineland Bastards]]" (mixed race children born to German women and French/African soldiers who are among the lesser-known victims of the Holocaust), the love story of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seretse_Khama Seretse Khana and his wife Ruth]], and the story of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_Elizabeth_Belle Dido Elizabeth Belle]], respectively.
* ''Film/WhereTheSidewalkEnds'' is very much this to ''Film/{{Laura}}''. Both directed by Creator/OttoPreminger and starring Creator/DanaAndrews as a disillusioned New York cop named Mark who falls in love with characters played by Creator/GeneTierney. Mark Dixon in ''Where the Sidewalk Ends'' could easily be Mark [=McPherson=] from ''Laura'', ten years later and now more jaded, cynical, and violent.
* Preminger's ''Film/{{Whirlpool}}'' was described by Jose Ferrer as "like a sequel to ''Laura'' -- it had the same star, the same mood and atmosphere."
* ''Film/WhiteChristmas'' serves as this to ''Film/HolidayInn''. Both are classic holiday centric musicals that star Bing Crosby as an established musical performer who finds love. And both films have an inn serve as a primary location, as well as music by Irving Berlin. Both prominently feature the song ''White Christmas''. The connections were fully intentional, and Crosby's ''Holiday Inn'' co-star Fred Astaire was actually offered the part as the other male lead but declined. Leading to the role going to Danny Kaye. And it would even turn out that the two films use the same set for their respective inns.
* ''Film/WildThings'', a [[BlackComedy darkly comic]] erotic thriller set in [[OnlyInFlorida Florida]] about [[GambitPileup a complex web of lies and betrayal]], is widely considered to be a much better Creator/CarlHiaasen adaptation than many of the ''actual'' adaptations of his novels. It came out just two years after the critically panned ''Film/{{Striptease}}'', which actually '''was''' based on one of his novels.
* ''Film/WillysWonderland'' is blatantly a ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' movie all but in name with the exact same premise of a silent, average protagonist that has to deal with demonic animatronics out to kill him at a decrepit family restaurant that has a dark past. The only differences are that the protagonist is a janitor who only agreed to take up the job to fix his car instead of a security guard who willingly signs up for the occupation and rather than being alone, he has help from a group of teens to fight off the animatronics. And compared to ''Film/TheBananaSplitsMovie'', ''Willy's Wonderland'' is even more similar to ''FNAF''. [[spoiler:The movie even shares the same plot twist of demonic animatronics possessed by serial killers just like William Afton/Springtrap in the game]].
* In South Korea, the 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]].
* Screenwriter Terence Winter and director Creator/MartinScorsese have essentially noted that ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'' does with white-collar crime what ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' and ''Film/{{Casino}}'' do with organized crime. ''Wolf of Wall Street'' has also been compared with ''Film/WallStreet'' and ''Film/WallStreetMoneyNeverSleeps'' , with many calling Jordan Belfort a modern day Gordon Gekko, this being a ThematicSeries trilogy called by fans as The Wall Street Trilogy.
* ''Film/TheWomanOfMyDreams'': There are some striking similarities between this 1944 film made in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and the 1935 American film ''In Person'' with Creator/GingerRogers: RomanticComedy concerning a famous female singer who ends up staying incognito in the mountains for some time, with songs of said singer being broadcast on the radio.
* ''Series/TheWonderYears'' is reasonably seen as a SpiritualSuccessor to the movie ''Film/StandByMe'', both coming-of-age tales about boys on the cusp of adolescence, with voice-overs by the adult versions of the protagonists.
** It's also seen as a successor to ''Film/AChristmasStory''.
** And don't forget ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' which stars Ben Savage, the younger brother of Fred Savage, who was the main character in ''The Wonder Years'', though without the voice-overs but similar concept.
** ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'' could be seen as the African-American version of ''The Wonder Years''.
** Don't forget ''Film/TheSandlot'', either.
* The 1980 musical film ''Film/{{Xanadu|1980}}'' is a spiritual successor to the 1944 movie ''Film/CoverGirl''. In ''Xanadu'', Creator/GeneKelly plays an older version of Danny Mcguire (his character in ''Cover Girl''). His character doesn't make any direct references to the story or characters in the older movie except for the mention of once owning a nightclub. Danny also remembers meeting Kira before somehow. Creator/RitaHayworth's role in the older film doesn't really suggest any connections to Kira or the muses. But In the 1947 film ''Down to Earth'' (the direct inspiration for Xanadu), Hayworth actually does play the muse "Terpsichore". And ''Down to Earth'' does make references to ''Cover Girl'', however.
* ''Film/YouveGotMail'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/SleeplessInSeattle'', both featuring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan moving toward a romance in spite of a physical separation.
* ''Film/{{Zathura}}'' to ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'' -- both feature a differently-themed board game (space and the jungle, respectively) that brings those elements to life, often to the danger of the players, who are aided by a grown up player who's been trapped inside the game for years. Incidentally, the original ''Literature/{{Zathura}}'' book was a direct sequel to ''Literature/{{Jumanji}}''.
* ''Film/{{Zookeeper}}'' to ''Film/PaulBlartMallCop''.
* ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'', about a vapid male model who gets caught up in a conspiracy by international terrorists, can easily be seen as a stealth adaptation of Creator/BretEastonEllis' ''Literature/{{Glamorama}}'', except PlayedForLaughs. Apparently, Ellis agreed and considered suing Creator/BenStiller over it, eventually reaching an out-of-court settlement on the matter.
[[/folder]]
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* The film is for all intents and purposes the Art Deco ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' or ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' movie people have been crying for.

* ''Film/AnnaAndTheApocalypse'' could just as easily have been called ''VideoGame/DeadRising: TheMusical'' with only the most minor changes to the plot, between its HorrorComedy take on the ZombieApocalypse, the focus on creative weapons (most notably Anna's [[WeaponOfChoice giant novelty candy cane]]) to kill zombies that are MadeOfPlasticine for maximum BloodyHilarious carnage, and [[spoiler:Headmaster Savage's [[SanitySlippage slow descent]] into becoming a textbook Psychopath straight out of any one of the games, complete with his own [[VillainSong boss theme]]]]. The film's [[AnAssKickingChristmas Christmastime setting]] specifically calls to mind [[VideoGame/DeadRising4 the fourth game]], which was also set in a small town around Christmas.

* The plot of ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'', which depicts a society that has been dumbed down by a combination of [[LowestCommonDenominator mind-rotting pop culture]] and the stupid outbreeding the smart, comes off like an unauthorized adaptation of both Creator/RayBradbury's ''Literature/{{Fahrenheit 451}}'' and CM Kornbluth's short story "The Marching Morons", only PlayedForLaughs. And ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' is pretty much the LighterAndSofter sequel to ''Idiocracy''.

** 1991's ''Film/{{Deceived}}'' is also the closest can get to a early 90s version of the novel with Creator/GoldieHawn played a [[AdaptationDyeJob blonde]], [[AdaptationalAttractiveness more beautiful]], more faithful version of Wendy (despite being named her as Adrienne Saunders) than the black-haired, creepy, pale-faced Creator/ShelleyDuvall in the Kubrick version, with Creator/JohnHeard gives good performance as FaceHeelTurn husband (Jack), but it lacks the supernatrual/horror elements that the 1977 novel, 1980 film, and the 1997 mini-series had; both blonde actresses (Creator/KimBasinger and Creator/GoldieHawn) wears a turtleneck sweater with a skirt (or a long-sleeve dress) and tights (or stockings or bare) and both blonde actresses (Creator/KimBasinger and Creator/GoldieHawn) can show their [[ShesGotLegs legs]] pretty well (Creator/ShelleyDuvall and Creator/RebeccaDeMornay mostly wears long overall skirt or jeans).

* ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' is often referred to as not only a stealth adaptation of Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', but a far superior one to [[Film/StarshipTroopers the later, officially licensed film]] -- and one that, like Creator/PaulVerhoeven's version, still contains a lot of satire of the basic premise, albeit done in a different direction.[[note]]Verhoeven's ''Starship Troopers'' depicted the {{space marine}}s at the center of the story in such a manner that was designed to [[PuttingOnTheReich call to mind the Nazis]], as he saw the politics of Heinlein's novel as borderline fascist. ''Aliens'', meanwhile, portrays its space marines as [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam-era grunts]] in space, undisciplined and woefully ineffective against a menace that [[CombatPragmatist hides in the shadows and fights dirty]] despite their superior firepower.[[/note]] And even though it was just one suit, ''Aliens'' even had more PoweredArmor than the actual ''Starship Troopers'' film franchise (at least until the third film, which went DirectToVideo). Creator/JamesCameron has not only acknowledged the influence, he even said that, upon hearing about Verhoeven's film, he thought: "Why are they making a ''Starship Troopers'' film? I already did it!".

* Creator/StevenSpielberg's ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'' serves as this to his earlier film ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'' [[note]] Note the similar titles.[[/note]]. Both movies revolve around innocent young suburban male protagonists, and both work archetypal science-fiction tropes (aliens in ''E.T.'', robots in ''A.I.'') into {{Coming of Age Stor|y}}ies. Since the movie was originally going to be directed by Spielberg's close friend Creator/StanleyKubrick prior to his death (with Kubrick ultimately handing the project to Spielberg because he felt that it was "closer to his sensibilities") it's possible that Kubrick envisioned it as a partial homage to Spielberg's previous work.

* ''Film/BatmanBegins'' works pretty well as an adaptation of ''Radio/TheShadow'' and ''Comicbook/DoctorStrange'', respectively. In fact, when the trailer for the actual ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' movie was released over a decade later, many audiences claimed it was a rip-off of ''Batman Begins''. The fact that ''Batman Begins'' writer David Goyer previously wrote an unproduced ''Doctor Strange'' screenplay probably has a lot to do with it.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' gained a lot of comparisons to both ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' and ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', due to many similarities in aesthetic, characters, and tone. In particular, the film's Guardians team have a lot of similarities to the original ''Farscape'' regular cast, with some of the changes made to them compared to the original comics version increasing their similarity to ''Farscape'' characters (such as Quill having been abducted to space against his will instead of being a voluntary explorer, and Drax being an alien instead of an altered human.

** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'': A number of fans have pointed out the similarity of the film's central characters to the original regular characters of ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. (Peter = John, Gamora = Aeryn, Drax = D'Argo, Groot = Zhaan, and Rocket = Rygel.) Some of the changes made to the film characters compared to the original comic versions make them closer to the ''Farscape'' characters (in particular Peter being abducted by aliens and TrappedInAnotherWorld instead of voluntarily exploring space, and Drax being an alien rather than an augmented human). Notably, Creator/JamesGunn is a fan of the show, and [[https://io9.gizmodo.com/ben-browder-got-that-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-2-cam-1797535030 cast Ben Browder]] (who played John Crichton) in a small part in ''[[Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2 Vol. 2]]''.

** ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' is a better ComicBook/GreenLantern film then the actual ''Film/GreenLantern2011'' movie, as pointed out [[https://youtu.be/y2AEXOlfYnM?t=5m35s here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sMUVCVbU7s here]] by Creator/JeremyJahns and Couch Tomato respectively.
** WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, at the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnyHqxxsD8g his video]] on ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', called ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' the "real" [[Film/DisneyLiveActionRemakes live-action remake]] of that film. Specifically, both are epic stories set in Africa about an heir to the throne who is usurped by a tyrant who kills his father and leaves him for dead, and undertakes a long quest to return to his rightful place as king. Both have scenes where the hero and villain duke it out on a cliff's edge, and the heroes of both contact the spirits of their dead fathers, though T'Challa's reunion with his father is a bit more heated than Simba's. And both stories are themselves heavily inspired by ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''. The heroes even both evoke big cats, though Simba from ''The Lion King'' is a literal lion while T'Challa in ''Black Panther'' is a human who uses the imagery of a panther.
** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' is an interesting example, in that it's a literal sequel to one film, but also a SpiritualSuccessor to another film set in [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse the same universe]]. To elaborate, 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 Music/MarkMothersbaugh of Music/{{Devo}}).

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' gained a lot of comparisons to both ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' and ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', due to many similarities in aesthetic, characters, and tone.