Aprequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose storyprecedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative.[1] A prequel is a work that forms part of abackstory to the preceding work.
The term "prequel" is a 20th-centuryneologism from the prefix "pre-" (fromLatinprae, "before") and "sequel".[2][3]
Like sequels, prequels may or may not concern the same plot as the work from which they are derived. More often they explain the background that led to the events in the original, but sometimes the connections are not completely explicit. Sometimes prequels play on the audience's knowledge of what will happen next, using deliberate references to createdramatic irony.
Though the word "prequel" is of recent origin, works fitting this concept existed long before. TheCypria, presupposing hearers' acquaintance with the events of the Homeric epic, confined itself to what preceded theIliad, and thus formed a kind of introduction.
According to theOxford English Dictionary, the word "prequel" first appeared in print in 1958 in an article byAnthony Boucher inThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, used to describeJames Blish's 1956 storyThey Shall Have Stars, which expanded on the story introduced in his earlier 1955 work,Earthman Come Home. However,Christopher Tolkien, writing about the history ofThe Silmarillion in 1977, claims that his father,J. R. R. Tolkien, "coined the highly uncharacteristic word 'prequel'" when badgered for a definition of the relationship betweenThe Lord of the Rings andThe Silmarillion sometime after 1955.[4][5]
The term came into general usage in the 1970s and 1980s.[3]
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979) may have introduced the term "prequel" into the mainstream.[6]
An example of a prequel would beC. S. Lewis's children's book,The Magician's Nephew, published in 1955, that explained the creation of Narnia - the subject of Lewis's seven-book seriesThe Chronicles of Narnia, which began withThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, published in 1950.
The Adventures of Ben Gunn, a 1956 novel byR. F. Delderfield, was written as a prequel to the novelTreasure Island.
Rather than being a concept distinct from that of asequel, aprequel still adheres to the general principle of serialization, defined only by its internal chronology and publication order. For example,Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) is a prequel to theStar Wars original trilogy (1977–1983), but is only apredecessor ofStar Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) because of the release order. Likewise, 1984'sIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a prequel to 1981'sRaiders of the Lost Ark, in that it is set in 1935, one year before the first film. In some cases, such as this one, there is little impact by the relative placement over overarching plotlines. When an entirecontinuity is started over again, a so-calledreboot, such as in the case ofCasino Royale orBatman Begins, it is typicallynot thought of as a prequel, although it is set earlier in the common chronology of the characters and may give away plot points common to both timelines.
Sometimes "prequel" describes follow-ups where it is not always possible to apply a label defined solely in terms ofintertextuality.[7] In the case ofThe Godfather Part II, the narrative combines elements of a prequel with those of a more generalized sequel by having two intercut narrative strands, one continuing from the first film (the mafia family story under the leadership ofMichael Corleone), and one, completely separate, detailing events that precede it (the story of his fatherVito Corleone in his youth, included). In this sense the film can be regarded as both a "prequel and a sequel" (i.e., both a prior and a continuing story), and is often referred to in this manner.[7]Mufasa: The Lion King begins after the events ofthe 2019 remake of theoriginal film, whereRafiki tells the story ofMufasa to his granddaughterKiara. The film then flashes back and spends most of its runtime chronicling that story, with some scenes in the present day included in between to add commentary, as well as at the end of the film.
Time-travel often results in a work being considered both a prequel and a sequel, or both a prequel and a "soft" reboot, depending on how drastically history is altered. Examples of arguable soft-reboot prequels includeStar Trek, andThe Flash, the latter of which completely erases the events of theDC Extended Universe film series to make way for thereboot series. Time-travel sequel-prequels can be found in the originalPlanet of the Apes series. Even though the latter three films depict world events chronologically prior to those of the first two films, the narrative itself is continuous for the main characters, as three apes from the first two films go back in time. The later installmentEscape from the Planet of the Apes served as both a sequel and prequel to the first film.[8][9][10]X-Men: Days of Future Past begins in the dystopian future following theX-Men original trilogy, where Wolverine's conscience is sent back in time to 1973, before the events of the trilogy and after the events of the prequel filmX-Men: First Class, to prevent the future from happening. The film alternates between the two timelines, functioning as both a sequel-prequel to the original trilogy and a sequel toFirst Class.Transformers: Beast Wars is an example of a TV series that uses time-travel to serve as both a sequel and prequel to another series (in this case, the original Transformers cartoon).[citation needed]
The term "prequel" has also been applied, sometimes incorrectly, toorigin-storyreboots, such asRise of the Planet of the Apes,Batman Begins, andCasino Royale.[11][12] The creators of bothBatman Begins andRise of the Planet of the Apes also stated their intent to dispense with the continuity of the previous films so they would exist as separate pieces of work, withChristopher Nolan—director ofBatman Begins—explicitly stating he does not consider it a prequel.[12][13] Here, "prequel" denotes status as a "franchise-renewing original" that depicts events earlier in the (internally inconsistent) narrative cycle than those of a previous installment.[12] Most reviewers require that a prequel must lead up to the beginning of its original work,[1] which is inconsistent with works that dispense with the narrative of previous work and are not significantly within the samecontinuity. At times, the term has been used to refer to a work that was released, as well as chronologically set, before any other work.[14][15] However, that usage conflicts with the fact that a prequel is a type of sequel.
Prequels focus on the action that took placebefore the original narrative. For instance, inStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith the audience learns about how Darth Vader originally became a villain. A prequel assumes that the audience is familiar with the original—the audience must rework the narrative so that they can understand how the prequel leads up to the beginning of the original.
ThusThe Silmarillion is at once the precursor of and the sequel toThe Lord of the Rings — a curious situation, for which he himself, when badgered for a definition of the relation between the two books, coined the highly uncharacteristic word 'prequel'!
Lester may also have locked up the dubious distinction of inaugurating the term 'prequel' in 1979 when he directed 'Butch and Sundance: The Early Days.'
A sequel and prequel to the first film
Conquest is in a separate category of films as it serves as both a sequel to the previous film and a prequel to the first two films.
Aficionados of the original series of five films will know that a prequel already exists, namelyConquest Of The Planet Of The Apes.
