New entertainment is increasingly turning to the past. This trend is evident in both film and television, with modern audiences becoming more and more drawn to throwbacks as time goes on.
The Sharp Rise in Prequels
One interesting trend that we are witnessing right now is how many filmmakers and producers are being drawn to sequels and prequels, over establishing new concepts.
Top Gun: Maverick, for example, is a throwback to the original 1986 movie and revisits a lot of the themes, including scenes set before the original Top Gun. Tom Cruise is also a returning character, with the movie being a huge blockbuster success.
In television, you also have House of the Dragon. A prequel to Game of Thrones, this helped to shed light on the numerous events that led to the plot lines as seen in the hit series. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, and Better Call Saul is a prequel to Breaking Bad.
This trend is being driven by the desire for brand recognition, as well as the fact that producers can capitalize on built-in audiences. It also means that filmmakers can invest more, and explore new themes, without taking on too much financial risk.
The Modern Retelling of History
Although it seems that prequels are being explored more, we are also seeing a sharp rise in period dramas and historical concepts. Historical stories often provide a very clear narrative and target established user bases. Shows like The Crown are great examples here and provide the perfect outline for both storytelling and screenwriting.
You also have The Last Kingdom, which explores real characters that are interwoven into fictional storylines. Advancements in CGI and costume technology are making it easier to render historical settings with realism, which is helping to bolster this trend even more.
It’s also not just movies and games that are following this trend, either. Games like Assassin’s Creed allow players to immerse themselves in historically accurate, detailed worlds. You also have titles like Red Dead Redemption, which showcase the American Frontier in the 20th Century.
In other sectors, like iGaming, you have the Eye of Horus slot, which features Egyptian gods like Horus and Anubis. They are woven into gameplay as high-paying symbols, showing how it’s possible to take almost any historical theme and turn it into a modern representation of that era to attract new audiences.
Revisiting the past, whether it is through prequels or simply by putting the spotlight on different historical eras, is a winning formula for producers. It also allows filmmakers and directors to capitalize on the steam of previous movies, and reinvent them so they appeal to new demographics.
Revisiting the past is also a good way to explore creative depth, as history and legacy-inspired narratives often offer a lot of complex lore that writers can work with.
With 28 Years Later doing so well right now, it’s clear that the future of filmmaking is very much tied to the past, a trend that we are seeing time and time again.
