To loosely quote a certain Gekko on Wall Street who helped Michael Douglas earn his only acting Oscar, "change—for lack of a better word—is good." The big wigs up in Hollywood certainly know that and most importantly understand that change is necessary for movie franchises to sustain longevity.
Some of the longest, most successful movie franchises in existence continue to thrive and continue to be remembered because those same franchises weren't afraid to shake things up every once in a while. Specifically, those franchises were not afraid to offer a completely different genre for a sequel, preventing audiences from getting tired of the same old tone.
10 The Evil Dead: Less Horror, More Comedy
The longer that the Evil Dead franchise spanned and the deeper its lore became across three movies, a reboot-sequel, and a TV series, the more it teetered further and further into comedy. The original 1978 picture is something of a claustrophobic bottle episode, a horror movie contained to a single location.
The sequel, whose story borderline remakes the first movie, is a departure from its more straight-laced predecessor by introducing some ridiculous sight gags and dark humor. That humor becomes a full-on comedy by the time Army of Darkness rolls around. That tone remains consistent in the sequel series.
9 Thor - Less Sci-Fi Fantasy, More Action Comedy
The first two movies in the Thor trilogy leaned closer into fantasy lore with a tint of sci-fi. It more or less encompasses the same tone as other MCU predecessors like Iron Man, though neither Thor movie was as critically acclaimed.
Both movies, respectively, had Shakespeare enthusiast Kenneth Branagh and TV director Alan Taylor and both are more subdued and subtle behind the camera. However, when Taika Waititi signed on to Thor: Ragnarok, he opted for something completely different, opting instead to include trippy synthwave visuals within a buddy comedy. The result offered what audiences unanimously consider the best Thor movie. Some rank it as high as being among the best MCU movies.
8 Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Less Horror, More Comedy
Upon its release in 1974, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre immediately made an impact as one of the most terrifying entries into the horror genre that audiences had ever seen up until that point. When Tobe Hooper returned behind the camera 12 years later to direct a sequel, he decided to try something completely different rather than try to duplicate the original's success.
Black humor that was just barely touched on in the original had now dominated the sequel, which had become such a parody that its poster parodied The Breakfast Club cover. Love it or hate it, if one thing is for certain, Hooper succeeded in making something different.
7 Alien - Less Horror, More Action
Speaking of horror, Alien saw Ridley Scott produce a sci-fi horror movie that found terror in quiet moments being slowly built up until the calm was interrupted by a chaotic Xenomorph. Scott did not return to the director's chair in the sequel, Aliens. Instead, James Cameron—who had just wrapped up the first Terminator—took his place.
Instead of following the horror tone of its predecessor, Cameron upped the action to create the kind of blockbuster epic that he'd be known for in the future.
6 Child's Play - Less Horror, More Satire
The first Child's Play was a simple—well, simple considering a premise like this—horror about a serial killer possessing a doll trying to swap bodies with an 11-year old boy instead. That tone more or less remained consistent for the second and third sequels. Even as Chucky became more quippy and comical with each movie, the original trilogy remained tightly in the horror genre.
Things changed with the fourth entry, Bride of Chucky, which, while still containing horror elements, the movie leaned much further into comedy as it started to parody the horror genre. Then, the franchise slipped all the way into comedy for Seed of Chucky, becoming not only a full-on parody of itself but a satire on the Hollywood scene.
5 Happy Death Day - Less Slasher, More Sci-Fi
Since Happy Death Day only has one sequel so far, it might be a stretch to say it has a franchise going for itself. However, considering that Jason Blum has been teasing news of a third movie, a franchise may be vastly approaching. If a third movie does arrive, there's a pretty good chance it might switch genres again.
Both movies have a comedic quality to them, but while the first movie leans further into slasher horror, the sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, focuses more on the tech and time travel elements that make up a science fiction tale.
4 Terminator - Less Slasher Horror, More Blockbuster Action
The first two Terminator movies are so different in tone, structure, and genre that it is surprising to think that both were directed by the same director. The first movie is very much a slow prodding, subtle horror slasher with the title character slowly causing a rampage everywhere he goes in his search for Sarah Connor, long before audiences even understood the time travel implications of the matter.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day did everything it could to be different. Now, that Terminator was a good guy expanded on its sci-fi time travel ideas, the action amped up to 11. Ever since then, every new entry into the Terminator franchise has tried more so to recapture the tone and genre of that first sequel than that first movie.
3 The Purge - Less Tense Horror, More Survival Action
Not only does each entry into the Purge franchise deter further and further away from horror than the last, but this franchise also manages to get bigger in scope and ideas with each movie. The first movie starts off small by focusing on a small suburban family in the confines of a single house as the world experiences The Purge.
The first movie is basically a bottle episode in the same vein as The Evil Dead is such a thing, also doubling as an invasion movie. The first sequel, now starring action star Frank Grillo, becomes a survival actioner focusing on the entire world going through The Purge. Each sequel kept within that same genre, even the upcoming Forever Purge, which seems to be becoming an apocalyptic actioner like Mad Max.
2 Friday The 13th - Went Sci-Fi Action With Jason X
Clearly, it's never too late for a franchise to switch genres at the drop of a hat. It took the Friday the 13th franchise 10 movies before it slipped into a new genre. Before that, even as each movie introduced a slight twist into the premise or new humor elements, each movie is ultimately still a horror movie.
Jason X contains little to no horror elements at all to speak of. Instead, it favors leaning heavily into its sci-fi premise and producing more action sequences. It's borderline a space opera in the vein of a Battlestar Galactica episode. Or, looking at the quality of its early 2000s special effects, an episode of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.
1 Captain America - From War To Espionage To Action Blockbuster
Unlike most trilogies that exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Captain America trilogy is distinguished by pretty much embarking on an entirely new genre for every movie. The first movie, Captain America: The First Avenger, is a war action-drama that stands firmly in its World War II time period.
The sequel, The Winter Soldier, is much slower in its pace as it becomes a political thriller with action elements. Finally, Civil War is practically an Avengers movie, sticking to a movie action blockbuster vibe.