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Fans enjoy their favorite series
Sequels and prequels allow fans to watch more content that they know they will love. Characters are able to be developed more, interesting plot lines can be explored, and overall themes and motifs can emerge.
The argument
Through the addition of movie sequels, a franchise is able to fully develop characters, adequately explore plot lines, and introduce themes and motifs unique to the series. As a result, these movies often gain cult followings and become the favorite of many. This exact phenomenon is clear with the success of movie franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, James Bond, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to name a few. In looking at the aspects of all the aforementioned franchises, one aspect remains a common feature: their fans cannot get enough of them. And what is so bad about wanting more? Specifically, as explained by industry expert Jane Hastings, "regardless, if a franchise is new, if it’s good, if it’s quality, it will work… So, we’re in good shape. Why? Because people always want to be entertained." And these series are doing just that. Fans clamor for extensions to their favorite movies to simply be further immersed into a universe that is not their own. Once this wish is granted, they are left satisfied; thoroughly disproving the idea of franchise fatigue for fans of the series.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Just because fans enjoy their favorite series, does not mean that these movies are actually good— nor does it mean that it will actually be successful in the box office. For example, the Star Wars series has been loved by many for nearly half a century. However, when looking at movies like Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, it is clear that not all movies within the franchise are loved and appreciated equally. For example, Scott Mendelson, a Hollywood and Entertainment contributor for Forbes and lifelong fan of the Star Wars franchises echoed what many fans believe to be true: "The Rise of Skywalker is a bad movie and a miserable finale that serves no purpose other than to reassure adult fans of the original Star Wars that they are still the "chosen ones" of the pop culture galaxy." Thus, even though a franchise is well-loved does not mean a sequel within it will be the same, so why even produce one?
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] Sustained development across instalments is a possibility of the form rather than a property of it, and the four franchises named are the ones that succeeded — selecting on the outcome says nothing about the balance, which is what the position claims is good. [Rejecting P2] Enthusiasm is evidence of demand, not of quality or of a good balance, and "if it's good it will work" is compatible with the opposing position, since it makes quality rather than familiarity decisive. The premise also disposes of franchise fatigue by asserting that fans end up satisfied, while the counter supplies a case inside its own leading example where they did not.