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Revision as of 07:04, 18 September 2007
A prequel is a work that portrays events which include the structure, conventions, and/or characters of a previously completed narrative, but occur at an earlier time. The word is a neologism, formed as a portmanteau from pre-, meaning before, and sequel, a work which takes place after a previous one. While the word is an etymological aberration ("sequel" derives from "sequence" – Latin: sequor – there is no such thing as a "prequor") its meaning is easily grasped and it has passed into common usage. The correct term should be protosequel, as adopted in other languages, like the Spanish "protosecuela".
According to OED the word prequel first appeared in print in 1958 in an article by Anthony Boucher in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. It appears to have first come into general use in the early 1970s, in which its first known, traceable use is in the original press pack for The Godfather Part II,[1] where it is used to describe the sections of the film which take place before the events of The Godfather.
According to IMDb, the first prequel in film was The Nightcomers (1972)[2] based on the book by Henry James, prequeling all the previously made movies based on his novel The Turn of the Screw.
Francis Ford Coppola credits George Lucas with devising the term which Lucas and Steven Spielberg later used to describe their joint project Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (which also occurred before the events of the first Indiana Jones film) during publicity for its release.
Lucas's own Star Wars prequel trilogy greatly popularized the term in American culture.[3]
Another popular cinematic prequel is The Godfather, Part II. This film is both sequel and prequel, since it intercuts the further story of the Corleone mafia family under the leadership of Michael Corleone with the story of his father Vito Corleone in his youth.
Like sequels, prequels may or may not concern the same plot as the work from which they are derived. Often, they explain the background which led to the events in the original, but sometimes the connections are not as explicit. Sometimes, prequels play on the fact that the audience knows what will happen next, using deliberate references to create dramatic irony.
The idea of a prequel is not new. The libretti for the four operas of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle – Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung – were written in reverse order, making each opera a prequel to the preceding one.
Another example of a prequel in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia is The Magician's Nephew, a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which was written first. Though originally they were unplanned and unnumbered, many newer publications of the series order them chronologically in regards to the storyline. There is debate as to whether this was an appropriate change.
The term prequel is often used to describe any work with a sequel. This is contrary to the term's original meaning, which defines a prequel as a type of sequel, not the converse of a sequel. For example, The Phantom Menace (Episode I, 1999) is a prequel to Return of the Jedi (Episode VI, 1983), but not to Attack of the Clones (Episode II, 2002).
Batman Begins is sometimes mistakenly said to be a prequel to four earlier Batman films: Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. However, the film has no connection to the Tim Burton / Joel Schumacher franchise and the film even has a sequel coming out in 2008 titled The Dark Knight, which will feature The Joker who has appeared before in the original.
List of prequels
Literature
| Prequel | Original |
|---|---|
| Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) | Jane Eyre (1847) |
| The Magician's Nephew (1955) | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) |
| The Silmarillion (1977)[4] | The Hobbit (1937) The Lord of the Rings (1954 - 1955) |
| The Dark Elf Trilogy (1990, 1991) | The Icewind Dale Trilogy (1988, 1989, 1990) |
| First King of Shannara | The Sword of Shannara (1977) |
|
Prelude to Foundation (1988) |
Foundation (1951) |
|
Prelude to Dune (1999–2001) |
Dune (1965) |
| Wicked (1995) | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) |
| New Spring (1999) | The Wheel of Time (1990–) |
| Hannibal Rising (2006) | Red Dragon (1981) The Silence of the Lambs (1988) |
| Ecotopia Emerging (1981) | Ecotopia (1975) |
Plays
| Prequel | Original |
|---|---|
| The Mystery of Hamlet King of Denmark (1949) | Hamlet (circa 1600) |
Films
Television
| Prequel | Original(s) |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005) |
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969) |
| First of the Summer Wine (1988–89) | Last of the Summer Wine (1973–) |
| Endless Road SSX (1982) | Space Pirate Captain Harlock (1978–1979) |
| Etheria (2005–) | Encantadia (May 2005–December 2005) |
| Caprica (2008) | Battlestar Galactica (miniseries) (2003)
Battlestar Galactica (2004–) |
| Clifford's Puppy Days (2003 - current) | Clifford the Big Red Dog (2001 - 2003) |
| Young Hercules (1998 - 1999) | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995 - 1999) |
Computer and video games
Manga and anime
| Prequel(s) | Original(s) |
|---|---|
| Fist of the Blue Sky (2001-current) | Fist of the North Star (1983-1988) |
| Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre (2006) |
Rozen Maiden (2004) |
| Hellsing: The Dawn (2001–current) | Hellsing (1997–current) |
Cross-media
See also
References
- ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0753507552/026-6461270-1692445?v=glance&n=266239
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069007
- ^ "The term has recently slipped into common usage with its popularization by the advent of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" wrote Chris Deever. Truth in Cinema, May 28, 2001
- ^ Many would argue that the principal plot structures in The Silmarillion were devised long before The Hobbit, and that the latter was incorporated into an existing structure, meaning the work, although published later, is not a prequel in the strict sense of the word.
- ^ The Godfather Part II is both a prequel and sequel to the original Godfather, as it portrays events that occurred before the first film and also after it.
- ^ Exactly like the case of The Godfather Part II, Infernal Affairs III is both a prequel and sequel to the original film.
- ^ Since Alien vs. Predator is set before the Alien movie series, but chronologically after the Predator series, this movie is both a sequel and a prequel.
- ^ a b Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist are separate films that tell essentially the same story. See their respective articles for more information.