legacyquel

English

Etymology

Blend of legacy +‎ sequel. Coined by film reviewer Matt Singer in 2015 (see quotation below).

Noun

legacyquel (plural legacyquels)

1. (film, neologism) A sequel to a classic movie which features the original star "passing the torch" to a cast of new younger actors.
   • 2015 November 23, Matt Singer, “Welcome to the Age of the Legacyquel”, in ScreenCrush‎^[1], archived from the original on 2024-03-02:

     Though there are still occasional reboots or prequels, this very specific kind of sequel — in which beloved aging stars reprise classic roles and pass the torch to younger successors — is becoming increasingly common in the American film industry. These movies are all about revitalizing old franchises through the notion of legacy, leading to this current wave of what we could call "legacyquels."

   • 2015 December 29, Phil Hoad, “Jurassic World and the ’legacyquel’: 2015 global box office in review”, in The Guardian‎^[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-09:

     Jurassic World, in a phenomenon some are now calling the "legacyquel" or the "legacy franchise", incorporated nod after nod to its 1993 progenitor – and (see below) was far from the only one in that game in 2015.

   • 2022 May 31, Todd Gilchrist, “From Top Gun: Maverick to Crystal Skull, the 5 best—and 5 worst—legacyquels of all time”, in The A.V. Club‎^[3], archived from the original on 2023-09-21:

     Top Gun: Maverick is not only the latest of these legacyquels, but one of the best, passing the baton from original star Tom Cruise to a new generation of actors while confidently—even definitively—reminding audiences what made Cruise so goddamn great in the first place.

References

• Paul McFedries (1996–2024) “legacyquel”, in Word Spy, Logophilia Limited.