Best Prequel Movies & TV Shows

ted

It's 1993 and Ted the bear's moment of fame has passed, leaving him living with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett, who lives in a working-class Boston home with his parents and cousin. Ted may not be the best influence on John, but when it comes right down to it, he's willing to go out on a limb to help his friend and his family.

Stars: Alanna Ubach Giorgia Whigham Max Burkholder Scott Grimes Seth MacFarlane

Elle

Follow Elle Woods in high school as we learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film.

Stars: Amy Pietz Chandler Kinney Gabrielle Policano Jacob Moskovitz June Diane Raphael Lexi Minetree Tom Everett Scott Zac Looker

Wicked: For Good

With the Wizard and the entirety of Oz framing her as wicked, Elphaba’s righteous crusade comes into conflict with Glinda’s struggle for power. As a mysterious cyclone brings in an unwitting young outsider, the former friends will soon discover how much their actions have changed each other, and all of Oz, for good. The second part of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical phenomenon.

Run time: 0m Tagline: You will be changed. Release: 2025-11-20

Stars: Ariana Grande Bowen Yang Bronwyn James Cynthia Erivo Ethan Slater Jeff Goldblum Jonathan Bailey Keala Settle Marissa Bode Michelle Yeoh

Outlander: Blood of My Blood

From the battlefields of World War I to the rugged Highlands of 18th century Scotland, two fated couples must defy the forces that seek to tear them apart, unfolding in surprising and unforeseen ways in this romantic saga that unfolds across time.

Stars: Brian McCardie Conor MacNeill Harriet Slater Hermione Corfield Jamie Roy Jeremy Irvine Rory Alexander Sam Retford Séamus McLean Ross Tony Curran

Annabelle: Creation

Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the doll maker's possessed creation—Annabelle.

Run time: 110m Tagline: You don't know the real story. Release: 2017-08-03

Stars: Anthony LaPaglia Grace Caroline Currey Lou Lou Safran Lulu Wilson Miranda Otto Philippa Coulthard Samara Lee Stephanie Sigman Talitha Eliana Bateman Tayler Buck

Annabelle

A couple begins to experience terrifying supernatural occurrences involving a vintage doll shortly after their home is invaded by satanic cultists.

Run time: 99m Tagline: Before the Conjuring, there was Annabelle. Release: 2014-10-01

Stars: Alfre Woodard Annabelle Wallis Brian Howe Eric Ladin Gabriel Bateman Ivar Brogger Kerry O'Malley Shiloh Nelson Tony Amendola Ward Horton

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

The evil Darth Sidious enacts his final plan for unlimited power -- and the heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker must choose a side.

Run time: 140m Tagline: The saga is complete. Release: 2005-05-17

Stars: Anthony Daniels Christopher Lee Ewan McGregor Frank Oz Hayden Christensen Ian McDiarmid Jimmy Smits Keisha Castle-Hughes Natalie Portman Samuel L. Jackson

Wicked

Elphaba, an ostracized but defiant girl born with green skin, and Glinda, a privileged aristocrat born popular, become extremely unlikely friends in the magical Land of Oz. As the two girls struggle with their opposing personalities, their friendship is tested as both begin to fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and The Wicked Witch of the West. The first of a two-part film adaptation of the Broadway musical.

Run time: 142m Tagline: Everyone deserves the chance to fly. Release: 2024-11-20

Stars: Ariana Grande Bowen Yang Bronwyn James Cynthia Erivo Ethan Slater Jeff Goldblum Jonathan Bailey Marissa Bode Michelle Yeoh Peter Dinklage

Mufasa: The Lion King

Rafiki relays the legend of Mufasa to lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion a journey of misfits searching for their destiny and working together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.

Run time: 0m Tagline: Orphan. Outsider. King. Release: 2024-12-18

Stars: Aaron Pierre Anika Noni Rose Kagiso Lediga Keith David Kelvin Harrison Jr. Lennie James Mads Mikkelsen Preston Nyman Thandiwe Newton Tiffany Boone

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy, a sudden attack by Wulf, a clever and ruthless Dunlending lord seeking vengeance for the death of his father, forces Helm Hammerhand and his people to make a daring last stand in the ancient stronghold of the Hornburg. Finding herself in an increasingly desperate situation, Héra, the daughter of Helm, must summon the will to lead the resistance against a deadly enemy intent on their total destruction.

Run time: 150m Release: 2024-12-11

Stars: Benjamin Wainwright Brian Cox Gaia Wise Jude Akuwudike Laurence Ubong Williams Lorraine Ashbourne Luke Pasqualino Miranda Otto Shaun Dooley Yazdan Qafouri

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

After seeking to live a normal life, Logan sets out to avenge the death of his girlfriend by undergoing the mutant Weapon X program and becoming Wolverine.

Run time: 107m Tagline: Witness the origin. Release: 2009-04-28

Stars: Daniel Henney Danny Huston Dominic Monaghan Hugh Jackman Kevin Durand Liev Schreiber Lynn Collins Ryan Reynolds Taylor Kitsch Will.i.am

A Quiet Place: Day One

As New York City is invaded by alien creatures who hunt by sound, a woman named Sam fights to survive with her cat.

Run time: 99m Tagline: Hear how it all began. Release: 2024-06-26

Stars: Alex Wolff Alfie Todd Avy-Berry Worrall Benjamin Wong Djimon Hounsou Eliane Umuhire Joseph Quinn Lupita Nyong'o Ronnie Le Drew Takunda Khumalo

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

Run time: 149m Tagline: Fury is born. Release: 2024-05-22

Stars: Alyla Browne Angus Sampson Anya Taylor-Joy Charlee Fraser Chris Hemsworth Elsa Pataky George Shevtsov John Howard Lachy Hulme Tom Burke

Insidious: The Last Key

Parapsychologist Elise Rainier and her team travel to Five Keys, NM, to investigate a man’s claim of a haunting. Terror soon strikes when Rainier realizes that the house he lives in was her family’s old home.

Run time: 103m Tagline: Fear comes home. Release: 2018-01-03

Stars: Aleque Reid Angus Sampson Ava Kolker Caitlin Gerard Josh Stewart Kirk Acevedo Leigh Whannell Lin Shaye Spencer Locke Tessa Ferrer