Standalone film#Standalone sequel
{{short description|Film not dependent on any other file for plot devices}}
{{Other uses|Standalone (disambiguation){{!}}Standalone}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=February 2017}}
{{Original research|date=January 2025|reason=When searching for 'Standalone film,' there are only recommendations and no reliable sources providing info about the concept itself, except for Wikipedia or Social Media}}
A standalone film is a film whose story that does not have any relation with other films but happens in the same universe.{{cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/standalone|title=The definition of standalone|website=Dictionary.com|accessdate=10 August 2017|archive-date=12 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212091057/http://www.dictionary.com/browse/standalone|url-status=live}} In the late 1990s, it was typical to create standalone films with no plans for sequels. The term "standalone film" appeared when prequels, sequels, spin-offs, and franchises became normal from the mid-2000s onwards.{{cite web|url=http://www.agonybooth.com/isnt-every-movie-a-standalone-movie-27272|title=Isn't every movie a standalone movie?|website=Agonybooth.com|accessdate=10 August 2017|archive-date=12 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212091248/http://www.agonybooth.com/isnt-every-movie-a-standalone-movie-27272|url-status=live}}
Types of standalone films
In a canonical meaning, a standalone film is a film that is not part of any franchise. The Sixth Sense, The Shawshank Redemption, Inception, Se7en and Interstellar are examples of standalone films.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/10-standalone-films-that-deserve-sequels-more-than-fast-and-furious-7-does-15057|title=10 Standalone Films That Deserve Sequels More Than Fast And Furious 7 Does|date=6 October 2015|website=Nme.com|accessdate=10 August 2017|archive-date=13 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813040143/http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/10-standalone-films-that-deserve-sequels-more-than-fast-and-furious-7-does-15057|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/cinematic-universes/245802/why-movie-universes-need-standalone-films|title=Why Movie Universes Need Standalone Films|website=Denofgeek.com|date=27 April 2015 |accessdate=10 August 2017|archive-date=30 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730123412/http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/cinematic-universes/245802/why-movie-universes-need-standalone-films|url-status=live}}
When a film is set in either the same universe (or one very similar to that of) as its predecessors, yet has very little if any narrative connection to its predecessors and can be appreciated on its own without a thorough understanding of the backstory, then the work can be referred to as a standalone sequel.{{cite book|author=Michael Andre-Driussi|title=Lexicon Urthus, Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9neV_vyIX14C&pg=PP21|accessdate=30 July 2013|date=1 August 2008|publisher=Sirius Fiction|isbn=978-0-9642795-1-3|page=21|archive-date=30 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030062245/https://books.google.com/books?id=9neV_vyIX14C&pg=PP21#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} Mr. Bean's Holiday, Big Top Pee-wee, Home Alone 3, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Species - The Awakening, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, The Rescuers Down Under, Return to Never Land, Kronk's New Groove, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Jingle All the Way 2, Mad Max: Fury Road, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Wonder Woman 1984, Spirit Untamed, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery are examples of standalone sequels.{{cite book|author=Michael Andre-Driussi|title=Lexicon Urthus, Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9neV_vyIX14C&pg=PP21|access-date=30 July 2013|date=1 August 2008|publisher=Sirius Fiction|isbn=978-0-9642795-1-3|page=21|archive-date=30 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030062245/https://books.google.com/books?id=9neV_vyIX14C&pg=PP21#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://cinematicslant.com/2018/08/14/five-films-show-how-2008-redefined-the-movies/|title=Five Films Show How 2008 Redefined the Movies|date=14 August 2018|publisher=Cinematic Slant|access-date=September 11, 2018|archive-date=17 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417101608/https://cinematicslant.com/2018/08/14/five-films-show-how-2008-redefined-the-movies/|url-status=usurped}}{{better source needed|date=December 2022}}
A standalone spin-off is a film that expands some fictional universe. The Star Wars Anthology series is an example of standalone spin-offs.{{cite book|author=Patti J. McCarthy|title=The Lucas Effect: George Lucas and the New Hollywood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ccp1CgAAQBAJ&q=%22standalone+film%22|accessdate=11 February 2017|date=25 October 2014|publisher=Teneo Press|archive-date=30 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030062246/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ccp1CgAAQBAJ&q=%22standalone+film%22#v=snippet&q=%22standalone%20film%22&f=false|url-status=live}} Standalone spin-offs may also be centered on a minor character from an existing fictional universe.{{cn|date=April 2018}}