Expectations and the "let down" effect of sequels

It's happened to all of us. We've seen a movie sequel or read a book sequel because we thought the first one or previous ones in the series were so brilliant that we just HAD to check out the next one. And then...the fizzle. It wasn't what we hoped for. Or film Franchises get "rebooted" and the fanboys and fangirls get all up in arms because "It won't be the same."

What is it with all this?? Is it the fault of studios and authors/publishers who don't know what they're doing? Are these people completely incompetent? Or is there more going on here?

Because consumer products of any kind are a two-way street (Lane 1 - Producers, Lane 2 - Consumer) I suggest there's a shared responsibility. Producers (Books, Movies, Music, blah-blah-blah) have responsibility to thoughtfully create worthwhile product and not merely seek a buck. Consumers (the rest of us) have a responsibility to thoughtfully select what we want with understanding of just what it is we're getting into without too high expectations.

While there are definitely "sequel" Producers who screw this up by not being in touch with their consumer base there are also Consumers who sabotage the process by bringing Great Expectations with them to the sequel product. (Interesting side note: Charles Dickens wrote "Great Expectations" as a serial. When the final of the serialized book was published people didn't like it because it wasn't what they expected so he wrote a different ending and published it. Ironic, considering the title isn't it?)

Sometimes a studio announces a franchise will be rebooted, meaning a different take and probably a different cast will be used in future movies of that franchise. Then people get on message boards and get all snarky. "New?" they say, "why does it have to be new? We liked it the way it was!" Are we saying we want the same old thing over and over? Peanutbutter and Jelly for lunch ... EVERY miserable day of our lives? Aren't we bigger and more creative than this? Do our sequels have to be like a McDonald's Big Mac: Fast, full of junk and it tastes EXACTLY the same no matter how many time and how many places we've had it? Have our imaginations really shrunk that much?

As one who is writing a sequel to my novel, A Ghost of Fire, this concerns me. because I don't want to do excatly the same plot with exactly the same kinds of things happening over and over. That would be a let down for me and my audience.

So, dear reader, I leave you with a few question: "As a consumer of sequels, what is your responsibility?" and "What expectations do you bring with you to the Sequel?"