I thought of another area where sequels exist: cars.
It's not too often you hear of a "sequel" to a car, more like a successor, but I can think of one glaring "sequel". This would be the original VW Rabbit. Sure, it sold all right, but it was nowhere near as popular as the Beetle. My mother had a 1965 Beetle back in the day and thought the Rabbit was the ugliest thing to hit the market. (A few years later she bought a Mercury Lynx, which was one of many American Rabbit imitators.)
If you're a VW Beetle enthusiast or, like me, had a mother who was, you know that the Rabbit was not popular among many Beetle owners. It was a huge step forward in technology (keep in mind the original beetle was designed in the 1930s) and got pretty good gas mileage (30 years ago there was a gas price crisis much like today's and all the companies downsized their existing models and came out with hatchbacks like the Rabbit).
The Rabbit did have its fans, though, just like those who thought something like "Bambi II" was better than the original. However, ask most Americans about old VWs and they will almost always associate the company with the Beetle. (Some might also say the bus; I saw an original microbus in almost perfect condition on Friday!)
Interestingly the Rabbit name has been revived for the car that was to be the new Golf. Now I know the Golf was pretty popular among 20-somethings, so it will be interesting to see if the new name gets some of the old Rabbit fans to buy it again, or perhaps it will flop with the new name.
My mother wants a 1965 Beetle again, by the way. She sold it in the late 1970s to a farmer who kept it until 1990. I remember seeing it on his farm when I was little and thought "what a funny little car" to myself. I had no idea this was my mom's first car. And I should also mention that she doesn't like the new Beetle, which is also a trend among former Beetle owners.
Just thought I'd provide a different spin on the sequels with a car.