When a film, play, concept album, or novel becomes extremely popular, the creator of that work may decide to create a sequel. As in the case of the blockbuster sci-fi film The Empire Strikes Back or the novel Scarlett, a sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind, a sequel generally picks up where the original work left off. Some authors, on the other hand, choose to write a new work that takes place before the events of the original film, play, or novel. A prequel is a work that explores the early lives of well-known characters. The 2008 film Star Trek, which explores the early history of the original characters from the television series Star Trek, is an example of a prequel. The prequel Batman Begins was also released years before the successful Batman film franchise.
A prequel can be a standalone work that explains the backstory of well-known characters, or it can be the start of a new series of prequels. For example, the new Batman film franchise may spawn several sequels based on its own story arc, but they will all be prequels to the original series, which starred Batman as an adult. After bringing the original storyline to a logical conclusion, an author may decide to write a prequel. JK Rowling, for example, may decide to write a prequel to her Harry Potter series rather than continuing the story with the original characters as adults. A prequel would either delve into the lives of the main characters as children, or it would be set a generation or two earlier and feature characters who were only mentioned briefly in the original series.
Prequel is regarded as a portmanteau, or new word, similar to splashdown or cyberspace. Few authors or screenwriters have produced prequels as part of a series of works until recently. Frequently, an original work would prove to be so popular that publishers or movie studio executives would commission sequels from the original creators or a new group of writers for hire. These sequels could be based on original source materials or not, but they’d feature the same characters and general setting as the first film or novel. Depending on how faithful they are to the original work or other factors, such sequels may succeed or fail. A prequel, on the other hand, frequently necessitates a thorough knowledge of the mythology surrounding the original work, as well as the ability to create realistic younger versions of established characters.