Scott Mendelson wrote an interesting blog entry explaining why he thinks James Cameron should not make an Avatar sequel. Although he makes some excellent points, I am actually looking forward to learning more about Pandora or one of the other alien moons that Cameron has hinted might be explored in future films. Unlike prequels, which I detest, some sequels can be brilliant, even arguably better than the originals, (e.g., The Godfather Part II, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Dark Knight). Can you imagine a world without any new James Bond adventures?

The problem is, Hollywood makes uninspired sequels of crap instead of focusing its energies on advancing the stories of classics that merit continuation. I have already written about what I would love to see in the next Star Trek movie, so here are some other sequels that I would love to see.

Ferris Bueller’s Next Day Off – Probably the best John Hughes movie ever made, it would be great to see the kind of person Bueller grew up to be. Is he the principal of his old high school? Is he running for President on a path to rule the world? Is he facing a mid-life crisis and needs to be saved by his kids?  Show me.  I want to know!

Star Wars: The Sequel Trilogy – I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I want to see Episodes VII, VIII, and IX on the big screen before I die. Enough with the prequels and the Clone Wars. It’s time to move the live-action saga forward instead of dwelling on the past. 

The Matrix Redux – Let’s pretend that Matrix Reloaded and Matrix Revolution never happened. Or, to satisfy sticklers of continuity, there must be a way to negate or ignore all the horrible happenings of the two sequels and recapture the thrills of the first film.

The Rampaging Hulk – Time to get this right. The big problem with the first two Hulk movies was the filmmakers' reliance on a completely computer-generated version of Bruce Banner’s angry alias. The beloved TV show starring Bill Bixby may have been cheesy, but it also had a lot of heart, and Lou Ferrigno was great as the out-of-control creature. A new movie should just continue the story (no origin recaps necessary), but cast a human being to play the sympathetic monster, with subtle but effective CGI enhancements.

Godzilla vs. Gamera – Bring back my favorite giant, fire-breathing monster and have him face off against his flying mutant turtle rip-off. This would be a Hollywood-version sequel to the Japanese cult favorites, not a follow-up to the disappointing Roland Emmerich version. Include all the other monsters too, like Rodan, Mothra, Mechagodzilla. I’ve become tired of “disaster porn” that destroy New York and other cities, but for a new, big-budget Godzilla film, I’ll make an exception. Done right, it could make more money than Avatar! (Okay, maybe I'm getting carried away now.)

I’m not talking about reboots. I’ve already written about my ideas for movies I would like to see “reimagined” and recreated for a new generation, but these ideas above are for official sequels, building on what has preceded.

Which ones would you like to see?