Threequel
The third installation in a series of works
Example
It's hard to deliver a threequel that satisfies fans' expectations
Agreed, The Rise of Skywalker was a big disappointment for many SW fans
Related Slang
Requel | A movie featuring elements from a previous film |
Fan service | Indulging fans' desires |
Fandom | Community of fans |
Superfan | An extremely dedicated fan |
Retcon | Retroactively change |
Headcanon | A fan's unverified beliefs about a story |
SW | Star Wars |
LOTR | Lord of the Rings |
POTC | Pirates of the Caribbean |
BTTF | Back to the Future |
Dramedy | Dramatic and comedic movie |
Rom com | Romantic comedy |
Binge-watch | To view many episodes or movies in a row |
Cinephile | A devoted fan of cinema |
A threequel is the third addition to a continuing series, such as a film, video game, or literary franchise that spans three or more installments. For example, Toy Story 3 is the threequel in the Toy Story franchise.
While you may encounter threequel in many pop culture-related contexts, you will most likely see or hear movie fans (cinephiles) use the term in person or online (in forums, social sites, etc.). For example, they may use it when referring to the final film of a trilogy or the third film in longer franchises (which has become the norm). They may also say "sequel to the sequel," which is a mouthful.
To make it even more confusing, people may also use "threequel" for the third film of a requel trilogy. For example, the long-running Halloween franchise has several threequels, but Halloween Ends is the threequel in the Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022) requel trilogy.