28 Sequels That Took Forever

This weekend T2: Trainspotting is released in cinemas. It's taken 21 years for novelist Irvine Welsh, director Danny Boyle, scriptwriter John Hodge and the famous cast to get back together. That's not actually that long, though. This year Blade Runner 2049 is promised following a gap of 35 years after Ridley Scott's original film.

In this edition of Listed we trawl through the archive for the longest waits in cinematic history. On grounds of artistic merit, not everything is included (no room for Fantasia II or Easy Rider: The Ride Back and far too many more). Anything over 10 years is eligible, so there's no room for Richard Linklater's trilogy of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight, spanning together a mere 18 years. The films attest to the extraordinary level of identification some actors have with certain characters: Jack Nicholson not only starred in but directed the sequel to Chinatown. Not long after the death of Alfred Hitchcock it was safe for Anthony Perkins to go back to Bates's Motel.

They're listed in order of non-appearance, with the shortest wait first, the longest last. Was the wait always worth it? Click on the thumbnails to enlarge

Toy Story 3, 2010, 10 years on from Toy Story 2. Worth the wait

Bridget Jones's Baby (2016). Bridget was otherwise engaged for 11 years

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) came 12 years after T2

Live Free or Die Hard (2007), a dirty dozen years after With a Vengeance

Finding Dory (2016) arrived a lucky 13 years on from Nemo

The Evening Star (1996), no Oscars 13 years after Terms of Endearment

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016). They shouldn't have, 13 years later

Prometheus (2012) resurrected the Alien brand after 14 years

Basic Instinct 2 (2006). After 14 years no one was ready for this

Zoolander 2 (2016). No David Bowie cameo 14 years on

Escape from L.A. (1996). Snake is back after 15 years. New York wins

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999). Jar-Jar jinks after 15 years

The Godfather Part III (1990). Corleone reunion after 16 years

The Two Jakes (1990). Jack Nicholson revisits Chinatown 16 years on

2010 (1984). 2001: Space Odyssey sequel (minus Kubrick) 16 years on

Gregory's Two Girls (1999). Bill Forsyth returned to Cumbernauld after 18 years

Texasville (1990). Characters from The Last Picture Show revisited after 18 years

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) 18 years after his last crusade

Dumb and Dumber To (2014). Farrellys' numerically challenged trilogy ends 19 years on

T2 Trainspotting (2017) came along 21 years after Danny Boyle's explosive adaptation of Irvine Welsh

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010). Gordon Gecko came home to roost after 22 years

Psycho II (1983). 22 years on Anthony Perkins returned, after Hitchcock's death

The Color of Money (1986). Paul Newman returned to hustling after 25 years

Queen and Country (2014). John Boorman's memoir continued after 26 years

Tron: Legacy (2010). Better visuals were the main gain after 28 years away

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). 29 years beyond the thunderdome, metalheads rev up

Saraband (2003). Ingmar Bergman returned to Scenes from a Marriage after 30 years

An Englishman in New York (2009). John Hurt revisited Quentin Crisp after 34 years