As plentiful as prequels are, whether in film or television, they tend to be hard to write because of the built-in audience’s expectations. Along with that, the writer must balance what the characters know in the prequel versus what happens in the existing material it’s based on. It also must be able to stand alone as its own narrative because it technically occurs before the introduction of the familiar material. Sequels get a little more forgiveness here because they are a continuation of a story, but prequels happen before the known story even begins.
What does it take to write a prequel? Where should a prequel begin or end?
This post will give you some tools for writing a great prequel and offer examples that you can use to guide your process.
What is a Prequel
A prequel is simply the story of a person, subject, or events before the original movie or TV show (a sequel is the continuation of a story of already established characters). Some examples include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Cruella, which is a prequel to 101 Dalmatians.
Prequels often play on the audience’s existing knowledge and focus on events leading up to the succeeding material. This could include anything from the creation of the Hunger Games (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) to how a character in the existing material became that person (Better Call Saul).
Examples of Movie Prequels
Many of these prequels center on stories with younger versions of the original. But that’s not always a necessity. The King’s Man timeline goes far back enough that none of the original characters appear in the film, just the agency itself. Let’s go over a few examples.
The King’s Man
The prequel to the successful The Kingsman: The Secret Service, The King’s Man showcases the origins of a secret service of agents who help fight the most sinister villains. In the latter films, which take place in modern times, the audience is introduced to this world via a character going through the trials of becoming an agent. The prequel follows the events that started World War I and uses that as a catalyst for the creation of the Kingsman agency.
‘The King’s Man’
The Many Saints of Newark
This is a movie prequel based on the television show The Sopranos. The story follows a young Tony Soprano and his father – who was not alive in the TV show. The events of the prequel take place in the 1960s and 1970s, whereas the TV show premiered (and took place) in 1999 and beyond.
‘The Many Saints of Newark’
Oz the Great and Powerful
This prequel of The Wizard of Oz shows how the mysterious man behind the curtain became the ruler of the land and was revered by his subjects. The prequel ends a few decades before Dorothy and her house plummet into the land of Oz.
‘Oz the Great and Powerful’
Monsters University
The original Pixar animated film (Monsters Inc.) showed how a world inhabited by monsters captures children’s screams to provide electricity. The two main characters weren’t always close though, and even had other ambitions than being scarers. Monsters University shows how Mikey and Sully spent their time in college, learned the art of scaring, and what their dreams were prior to the original film. Monsters University concludes with the two starting their employment on the low rung of the ladder at Monsters Inc. years before they reach the level of scarer.
‘Monsters University’
Why Moviegoers Like Prequels
When it comes down to it, moviegoers are attached to characters. We follow their stories, become engaged in their lives, and discuss how they would react in any number of circumstances. Regardless of the reviews or box office performance of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Indiana Jones is consistently a character that moviegoers love and want to follow.
The character doesn’t even have to be a hero. The Star Wars prequels (Episodes 1-3) followed a young Anakin Skywalker on his destiny to becoming ultra-villain Darth Vader.
Moviegoers like prequels because it gives them a chance to discover who some of their favorite characters were and what motivated their actions before the original material. Prequels frequently answer questions and satisfy curiosities giving the viewers the chance to know their backstories.
The same holds true with events or the creation of a world, such as The Hunger Games, The King’s Man, and Prometheus.
With three of the best box office-performing prequels being related to Star Wars, this film saga is definitely the winner. Here are the top five prequels of all time at the domestic box office according to Box Office Mojo:
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: $532,177,324
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace: $431,088,295
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith: $380,270,577
- Minions: $336,045,770
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: $303,003,568
The Toughest Parts of Writing Prequels
Writing a prequel involves creating something new from a concept that is familiar to audiences. Batman was created as a comic book in 1939, but how many iterations have there been whether TV shows, movies, children’s programming, radio shows, etc? Similarly, Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings have a history with audiences going back 50+ years.
When writing a prequel, you have to make sure that what you’re creating is both new and exciting, but it also must fit into the world of the original material.
As you write a prequel you’re going to add new story elements. It’s imperative that these elements make sense as they lead up to the original material. For the initial Star Wars prequels, there are a lot of established story elements but new characters and situations had to be created to tell the story of Anankin’s transition to Darth Vader, such as Jar Jar Binks, Mace Windu, the Sith, and the pod race.
Determining how much new content you’ll have versus established will be based on how far back you plan on writing the prequel and the context of the story. Prometheus took place 30 years before Alien so there would have been no mention of the Ridley character or any of the fated crew members in the original film. Yet, The Many Saints of Newark took place nearly three decades before The Sopranos and many of the same characters (although younger) are present.
What You Need in Order to Write a Great Prequel
What are the ingredients needed to create a great prequel? These elements will help you find the best way to craft an original and compelling story that meets the audience’s expectations while remaining true to the original material.
Research the Original Content to Remain Consistent
Take a deep dive into the original material. Study the characters and find the pieces that would make for an engaging backstory. It might be the lead character (like the newest Wonka), a supporting character (Better Call Saul), or even the origins of a situation (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes).
As you outline your story, make sure it stays consistent with the story that lies ahead.
‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’
Know Which New Elements to Add
Whatever you choose to be the focus of the prequel, make that your North Star. Everything surrounding the new elements will have to involve this focus. How do you know which new elements to add? Well, that’s part of the creativity of writing a prequel. You can create just about anything as long as it logically leads into the original material.
In Oz the Great and Powerful, it wouldn’t have been logical if Oz was a successful Wall Street stockbroker living his best life. He was a magician who found his calling somewhere over the rainbow and could use his skills in the magical land that would be known as Oz.
Character Development
You’ll need to figure out how to develop your character, whether it’s a younger version of the original or a new character put into an earlier era of the original world. In the first prequel to the Harry Potter series, there is hardly a mention of the beloved characters in the original. There was a need to create new characters to tell the story.
In a movie like Godfather II, which acts as both a prequel and a sequel to the first film, moviegoers get to see what Vito Corleone was like and how he was put on the path to becoming the Godfather. Fewer characters needed to be created but the writer still had to develop a young Vito.
Foreshadowing is Key
Depending on how far you want to go back in the story, your characters may have little or no contact with those in the original material and can’t reference anything in the future. The characters in Prometheus didn’t reference the characters later in their timeline. What it did foreshadow though was what the Xenomorph alien and its ability to be a danger.
In Cruella, the title character uses a lot of black and white in her design hinting at her desire to use those patterns later on in 101 Dalmatians.
Cruella: A Case Study
Cruella is an example of a prequel that uses the aforementioned elements successfully. Along with foreshadowing, the original content was studied to find the aspects that made it successful and would provide a proper backstory for the villain.
Cruella and her two henchmen are not new characters but the Baroness who becomes the catalyst for her cruelty is. It’s the right balance of new elements that make sense in the overall story of the films and familiar characters and antics. Cruella’s origin story makes sense as to why she becomes the evil person she is in the original film.
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Prequels are a great exercise in storytelling. If you haven’t had any produced material, consider writing a prequel based on something you’ve written. Ask yourself whose story you would want to know more about and think about what elements in that original story you can include in a prequel.
You can also create a prequel explaining the lead-up to a catastrophic event. For example, if your story is about a zombie apocalypse, consider writing a prequel regarding the bad decisions that led to it.
Finally, look for prequels in the public domain. These could be prequels to popular stories such as Frankenstein, Dracula, or The Great Gatsby.
Writing a prequel can be a great exercise if you’re stuck trying to figure out what your next story will be. If you have written characters you love, don’t shy away from looking into the backstories of their lives. Even if it’s unproduced material, you might discover a prequel lives in one of your current stories.
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Author: Steven Hartman
