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A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a
backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative o ...
to the preceding work. The term "prequel" is a 20th-century
neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
from the prefix "pre-" (from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''prae'', "before") and "
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
". 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 create
dramatic irony Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...
.


History

Though the word "prequel" is of recent origin, works fitting this concept existed long before. The ''
Cypria The ''Cypria'' (; grc-gre, Κύπρια ''Kúpria''; Latin: ''Cypria'') is a lost epic poem of ancient Greek literature, which has been attributed to Stasinus and was quite well known in classical antiquity and fixed in a received text, but which ...
'', presupposing hearers' acquaintance with the events of the Homeric epic, confined itself to what preceded the ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
'', and thus formed a kind of introduction. According to the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'', the word "prequel" first appeared in print in 1958 in an article by
Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...
in ''
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...
'', used to describe
James Blish James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his '' Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel '' A Case of Conscie ...
's 1956 story '' They Shall Have Stars,'' which expanded on the story introduced in his earlier 1955 work, ''Earthman Come Home''. However,
Christopher Tolkien Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English academic editor, becoming a French citizen in later life. The son of author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien edited much of his father ...
, writing about the history of ''
The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...
'' in 1977, claims that his father,
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
, "coined the highly uncharacteristic word 'prequel'" when badgered for a definition of the relationship between ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
'' and ''The Silmarillion'' sometime after 1955. The term came into general usage in the 1970s and 1980s. '' Butch and Sundance: The Early Days'' (1979) may have introduced the term "prequel" into the mainstream. The term has since been popularized by the
Star Wars prequel trilogy The ''Star Wars'' prequel trilogy, colloquially referred to as the prequels, is a series of epic space-opera films written and directed by George Lucas. It was produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The trilogy was re ...
(1999–2005). An example of a prequel would be
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
's children's book, ''
The Magician's Nephew ''The Magician's Nephew'' is a fantasy children's novel by C. S. Lewis, published in 1955 by The Bodley Head. It is the sixth published of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). In recent editions, which sequence the books ...
'', published in 1955, that explained the creation of Narnia - the subject of Lewis's seven-book series ''
The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, tele ...
'', which began with ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', published in 1950. ''The Adventures of Ben Gunn'', a 1956 novel by R. F. Delderfield was written as a prequel to the novel ''Treasure Island''.


Usage

Rather than being a concept distinct from that of a ''sequel'', a ''prequel'' 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 '' Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' (1983) but is only a ''predecessor'' of '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' (2002) because of the release order. Likewise, 1984's '' Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a prequel to 1981's '' Raiders of the Lost Ark,'' in that it is set in 1935, one year before the first film.


Complications

Sometimes "prequel" describes followups where it is not always possible to apply a label defined solely in terms of
intertextuality Intertextuality is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text, either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody, Gerard Genette (1997) ''Paratexts'p.18/ref>Hal ...
. In the case of ''
The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...
'', 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 of
Michael Corleone Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. In the three ''Godfather'' films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominate ...
), and one, completely separate, detailing events that precede it (the story of his father
Vito Corleone Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film ''The Godfathe ...
in his youth). 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. 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 include '' Star Trek'', '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', and ''
Terminator Genisys ''Terminator Genisys'' is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Alan Taylor and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier. Produced by Skydance Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film is a reboot o ...
''. Time-travel sequel-prequels can be found in the original ''
Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...
'' 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 installment ''
Escape from the Planet of the Apes ''Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1971 American science fiction film directed by Don Taylor and written by Paul Dehn. It stars Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman and Ricardo Montalbán. It is the third of five films in the or ...
'' served as both a sequel and prequel to the first film. '' 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). The term "prequel" has also been applied, sometimes incorrectly, to
origin-story In entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have d ...
reboots, such as ''
Rise of the Planet of the Apes ''Rise of the Planet of the Apes'' is a 2011 American science fiction film directed by Rupert Wyatt from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is a reboot of the ''Planet of the Apes'' film franchise, which is based on the 1963 nov ...
'', ''
Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, ...
'', and '' Casino Royale''. The creators of both ''Batman Begins'' and ''Rise 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, with
Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&nb ...
—director of ''Batman Begins''—explicitly stating he does not consider it a prequel. 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. Most reviewers require that a prequel must lead up to the beginning of its original work, which is inconsistent with works that dispense with the narrative of previous work and are not significantly within the same continuity. At times, the term has been used to refer to a work that was released, as well as chronologically set, before any other work. However, that usage conflicts with the fact that a prequel is a type of sequel.


See also

* List of prequels * Chronologically related terms to Sequel


References

{{Reflist Film and video terminology Television_terminology