it'll take place seven years after Creed II. The significant time jump has led to all sorts of speculation, and as Majors plays a childhood friend of Creed's, it could be somewhat of a prequel, too.
The boxing movie wouldn't be the first to be both a sequel and prequel at once, as that precedent was set by an iconic 1974 film, and many sequels have attempted to tell just as epic sagas in the time since. Between street racers coming to with their haunted pasts, Wolverine working with both old and young Professor X at the same time, and, of course, Vito Corleone building his empire in 1910s New York, these pre-sequels have varied results.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
The Godfather Part II is the most obvious example of a film being both a prequel and sequel, and it was the movie that set the precedent, as no other film sequel had ever attempted such an ambitious feat. The mob movie is perfectly paced, as the 1910s-based story about Vito starting his business is perfectly intercut through Michael's story of becoming the family's cutthroat head.
However, the 1910s narrative could have made for a great saga all on its own, as it ends before Vito has fully built his empire. Being both a prequel and sequel racks up to a long runtime, but in this case, The Godfather Part II is the best movie over three hours, and the competition isn't even close.
300: Rise Of An Empire (2014)
Using The Godfather Part II as a model to build a sequel doesn't automatically mean it'll be a success, and 300: Rise of an Empire is the perfect example of that. The 2014 film takes place before, after, and even during the main events of the original hit movie, but tying into the first film is exactly where Rise of an Empire fails.
The fact that none of the original cast returns and a computer-generated rendering of Gerard Butler appears only draws attention to the fact that the 2014 theatrically released film feels like a TV movie. Along with the digital effects that felt dated upon release, its inflated budget of $110 million (via Box Office Mojo) isn't remotely justified.
F9 (2021)
As the F9, the series looks back to Dom Toretto's youth, and a lot of the film actually focuses on his relationship with his brother and his father's death. The sincerity and melodrama of the narrative are a weird juxtaposition with the modern-day narrative of going into space, but it's at least typically family-oriented.
Interestingly, while F9 feels like its screenplay was written on a napkin in a bar, this might have been something that Vin Diesel was planning for decades. Diesel said himself that he didn't return to the series for 2 Fast 2 Furious because it "didn't have a Francis Ford Coppola approach" to it, clearly referring to how Coppola redefined what a sequel could be with The Godfather Part II.
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014)
As Marv was such a beloved character in the original movie, there was only one way to bring him back for the sequel, given that he is killed at the end of the 2005 comic book movie classic. The film's anthology stories are told in a Godfather Part II-like way, as it cuts back and forth between the present day and the past, with the past following Marv leading up to the events of Sin City.
However, like 300: Rise of an Empire, A Dame to Kill For is a perfect example of diminishing returns, as it was just more of the same thing, and audiences simply weren't interested. That could also be because both sequels have hugely stylistic cinematography, and while it might have been cool the first time, the novelty quickly wore off.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)
There's an argument to be made that Back to the Future Part II, and many other time travel sequels could be classed as a prequel, too.
However, Wolverine isn't the only character, as the sequel has an ensemble cast that features both the original The Last Stand. Either way, the movie expertly retcons the franchise, and it perfectly wrapped up any loose ends the series had.
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989)
A sequel must have a decent amount of the runtime to be considered both a sequel and a prequel (about one-third of The Godfather Part II follows Vito Corleone), but Raiders of the Last Ark.
However, it's a completely uninterrupted 12 minutes before Harisson Ford appears, and that 12 minutes following Indy as a teenager is made up of three of the most exciting sequences in the entire movie. It was also the catalyst for the cult classic TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. And it's a perfect example that proves Indiana Jones should be rebooted with a prequel.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me isn't a sequel to a movie, but the cult hit mystery TV show Twin Peaks. The film wraps up the mystery that started in the series – the death of Laura Palmer – by being set both before and after the show's events.
Interestingly, according to Mulholland Drive director got what he wanted.
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is a sequel, prequel, midquel, spin-off, and a million other things at once. While it picks up right where Volume 1 left off, it also cuts back and forth between the past and the present to fill in the gaps and uncover the mystery of the Bride and Bill's relationship. The movie also tells the story of tons of side characters and even takes place during the events of the first film.
However, given that writer-director Quentin Tarantino considers both films one movie, fans could argue that Vol. 2 isn't a sequel or a prequel at all. That's especially the case if they're watching The Whole Bloody Affair, which combines the two movies together into a four-hour epic and was even theatrically released.
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018)
Even the most unexpected movies are influenced by The Godfather Part II, as this upbeat and optimistic musical follows the same formula as the jet-black mob movie. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again's modern-day narrative is intercut with flashbacks to Donna in her youth in 1979.
And just as the 1910s scenes in the gangster sequel do, the 1970s sequences mirror exactly what's going on in Donna's life in the present day. Here We Go Again is the legacy sequel that nobody was asking for, but it ended up being a nice surprise, and, ironically, other legacy sequels could learn from it.
Jigsaw (2017)
The Saw franchise's timeline is possibly even more confusing than the Fast and Furious timeline. As John Kramer, a.k.a. the Jigsaw Killer, dies at the end of Saw III, every following Saw movie is part-prequel, part-sequel to some extent, as so much of the movies are told in flashbacks.
But Saw VII: The Final Chapter.
