Sequels: A Follow-Up

The great American sequel marches on. So Outtakes figures we should keep an eye on them so you can plan your entertainment schedule:

Primed for fall release: “Death Wish IV,” “Penitentiary III,” “Hello Mary Lou, Prom Night II” and “Teen Wolf Too.”

For Christmas: “Manon of the Springs,” continuing the story of the current French import “Jean de Florette.” (Bill Cosby’s sequel-sounding “Leonard: Part VI” isn’t a continuation; it’s just a silly title by the Cos.)

For next year: “Return of the Living Dead II,” Chuck Norris’ “Missing in Action III,” “Big Bad Mama II” and “Poltergeist III,” in which Heather O’Rourke moves to Chicago only to discover they’re back there, too. Neil Simon’s “Biloxi Blues” follows the playwright’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs.” Plus new installments of “The Gods Must Be Crazy,” “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,” “Police Academy” and “Short Circuit.” And who can ignore “Rambo III”?

In what they call “development”: Close to getting the green light include “Caddyshack II,” “Hellraiser II,” “Cocoon II,” the long-awaited “Ghostbusters II,” “RoboCop II,” “Terminator II” (if they can find a way to bring back Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was more-or-less turned into a sardine can), “Arthur on the Rocks” (for “Arthur”) and “Karate Kid III.” Scary: “Friday the 13th,” “Psycho” and “Halloween” are prepping follow-ups.

(“Friday” and “Splash” are also heading for TV series.)

Plus: further James Bonds, “Star Treks” and “Rockys” are coming. Plans are in the works for “Beverly Hills Cop III” and “Top Gun II.”

Other active sequels: “The Fly II,” “Aliensss,” “Dragnet II,” “Blind Date II,” “Iron Eagle II,” “Running Scared II,” another “F/X,” “Fletch II,” “Lethal Weapon II,” “Jagged Edge II” and another “Romancing the Stone”/”Jewel of the Nile” adventure (tentatively “The Crimson Eagle”).

Steve Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment said that in addition to its next “Indiana Jones,” there are new “Back to the Futures” and “Gremlins” being developed. But no plans today for another “E.T.” (though a treatment for a sequel was written years ago), just as Lucasfilm has no indication when, and if, “Star Wars IV” will be back in force.

The problematic, but nonetheless continuing sequels, include some true classic cases of tenacity. “Gone With the Wind II” is an ongoing project of Zanuck/Brown. “Godfather III” has been envisioned as both a theatrical film and a TV miniseries, but none of the commissioned scripts has been blessed. We’re also told the principals of “The Way We Were” (1973) are favorable toward a sequel but busy schedules and present commitments have made memories less than evergreen.

Rumors persist that a continuation of “Sound of Music” is in the works and “Two Jakes,” the sequel to “Chinatown,” which was shuttered after one day’s filming in 1985, could again be active. Writer-director William Peter Blatty is working on “Exorcist III: The Legion” and Robert Altman has assembled his cast from “Nashville” for a summer 1988 shoot on “Nashville, Nashville.”

Other favorites: “Platoon II,” to continue the story around returning vets; “Salvador II”; “Bland Ambition,” a sequel to “Eating Raoul”; Jerry Lewis in “Nutty Professor II” and “Greystoke II: The Search for Jane.”