Sometimes a film works as a one-and-done,sometimes a sequel turns out better than the original(or at least on the same level), but sometimes a film series can overstay its welcome, like the Fast and Furious franchise. When you cap things off with a trilogy, it most oftentimes becomes the best-case scenario, as you create a perfect three-part finished film series where every entry is as enjoyable as the last.
You’ll see a lot of superhero films done as a trilogy, but also horror movies, book adaptations, comedy films, and even an anthology of films that aren’t necessarily connected by the same characters, as you’ll see with Edgar Wright below. The following movie trilogies are some of the best that you can dive into, with the majority of them also being available together on streaming.
12Ti West’s X Trilogy
A24 isn’t a studio you’d normally associate with trilogies. Yet, horror auteur Ti West made three back-to-back movies starring Mia Goth as three different characters in what’s known as the ‘X Trilogy.’ X is a reimagined modern slasher that feels like an old-school Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It follows a group of adult film stars shooting new material at a quaint farmhouse owned by an older couple until they start getting killed off by the elderly wife, Pearl.
Goth plays the final girl, Maxine Mix, as well as the older version of Pearl in the first movie, and then the younger version of Pearl in the second film, a prequel exploring how Pearl became the deranged, cold-blooded killer you saw in X. The final part of the trilogy, MaXXXine, is more of a neo-noir whodunnit murder mystery story that follows Maxine Minx’s journey into Hollywoodand has a very unexpected plot twist.
11The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Trilogy (Millennium)
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Trilogy, or the Millennium Trilogy, is a series of Swedish films starring Noomi Rapace as feminist vigilante and hacker Lisbeth Salander, based on the books by author Stieg Larsson.Though David Fincher tried to start an American series for TGWTDT, it wasn’t as spot-on with the books as the original movies by directors Niels Arden Oplev and Daniel Alfredson, who achieved the perfect adaptation of all three novels.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo follows Mikael Blomkvist, an investigative journalist at Millennium who’s tasked with discovering the whereabouts of a young girl who disappeared 40 years ago, eventually enlisting Salander’s help in the case. The second film explores more about Lisbeth’s past, particularly her father, and the final entry, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, sees Salander on trial for murder despite her innocence and requires Blomkvist’s help.
10The Hangover Trilogy
Before creating the Joaquin Phoenix-led Joker series, Todd Phillips directed a trilogy of comedy films for Warner Bros. The Hangover Trilogy is one of the best, most hilarious, and wildest buddy comedies that always starts with a group of friends (aka The Wolfpack) getting a hangover before an important wedding and picking up the pieces of their raunchy and booze-fueled adventure.
The first film takes place in Vegas, and the shenanigans include a missing tooth, a tiger in their Caesars Palace suite, marriage to a sex worker, and a missing groom. The Hangover Part 2 is about Stu’s wedding in Thailand, and there’s now a monkey, more Mike Tyson, and the missing person is Stu’s brother-in-law, Teddy. The third installment changes the formula to a heist storyline tied to Mr. Chow and avoids the hangovers this time.
9The Maze Runner Trilogy
Another amazing book series that turned into an amazing film trilogy is Maze Runner. It’s a teen dystopian sci-fi adventure series written by James Dashner and comparable to The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Wool series. Each film in the trilogy is set in distinct locations that expand the lore and world-building and throw in many new twists, with remarkable creature designs, villains, and VFX.
The movie follows a group of young maze runners who are trapped in an isolated piece of jungle called the Glade, which has an ever-shifting maze filled with robotic creatures that they make attempts to escape, before realizing it’s all part of a larger experiment by an evil corporation called WKCD. The Scorch Trials see the group of survivors (Gladers) fend off swarms of infected in a desert wasteland, and The Death Cure sets the stage for a final fight with WICKD.
8Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy
English filmmaker Edgar Wright has a stellar and diverse filmography, and part of that is his Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, an anthology series of genre-bending comedy, action, horror, and sci-fi movies starring comedic duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. As the title suggests, each film brings its own flavor, and the funny little detail that connects them all is the fictional brand of Cornetto ice cream.
Shaun of the Dead is a masterful mix of romantic comedy, bittersweet parody, and gory zombie action, but also about immaturity and dealing with adult life. Hot Fuzz sees Pegg and Frost as two police officers caught in a small-town conspiracy and murder mystery, with British humor and action-hero parody aplenty. The World’s End is about a group of friends on a pub crawl when things suddenly head in a science-fiction direction.
7Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy
It doesn’t get more spectacular of a movie trilogy than Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man run with pre-MCU Marvel. No matter how faithful and true to the character you might find Tom Holland,Tobey Maguire will always be the one and only live-action Spider-Man, delivering a memorable and iconic performance as Peter Parker in all three films (yes, that even includes Bully Maguire in the third installment).
All films have incredible casting, storytelling, sets, costumes, and action. The first movie delves into the backstory of the spider bite, Uncle Ben’s passing, and Peter as a wrestler, and introduces you to Norman Osborn and Green Goblin. The sequel sees Peter facing off with Alfred Molina’s Doc-Ock, and the third movie incorporates the Symbiote, Venom and Eddie Brock, Sandman, and New Goblin.
6The Dollars Trilogy
The most famous and beloved Westerns in cinema come from Sergio Leone’s The Dollars Trilogy. A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly star the iconic actor and filmmaker Clint Eastwood as a gunslinger simply called ‘The Man with No Name.’ These films also have an iconic soundtrack from legendary Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone.
The combined talents of Leone, Morricone, and Eastwood achieved a unique and masterful vision of a Western, especially with Leone’s creative filmmaking choices and wonderful sets that immerse you in the period. The films follow the different exploits of Eastwood’s character, dealing with unsavory figures in the Wild West and hunting for treasure, with some of the best shoot-outs and action sequences the genre has to offer.
5The Dark Knight Trilogy
Another director who pulled off a legendary comic book trilogy of filmsis Christopher Nolan with his Dark Knight Trilogy. Starting all the way back in 2005 with Batman Begins, Batman and Bruce Wayne are now portrayed by Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale, who more than proved himself to be the right choice for playing the caped crusader after Michael Keaton’s run with Tim Burton.
The gadgets, the high-budget set pieces, the Batmobile, the Batcycle, the score by Hans Zimmer, Heath Ledger’s undefeatable Oscar-winning performance as Joker, Tom Hardy as Bane, Michael Caine as Alfred, Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon represented the best of Batman in live-action.
4Back To The Future Trilogy
You might be familiar with director Robert Zemeckis for his collaborations with Tom Hanks on films such as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and The Polar Express. But before any of that, he gave us the beloved Back to the Future Trilogy starring Michael J. Fox as high school student Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown, the mad scientist inventor behind the time-traveling DeLorean car.
The first movie sees Marty return to the retro ’50s era of his hometown, where he finds the younger version of his parents when they’re still in high school, and his attempts at matchmaking seem to have his future mother be hilariously drawn closer to him instead. Back to the Future 2 has Marty and Doc visit the future of 2015, where hoverboards exist, and then the third movie is set even further in the past in the Wild West era of 1885.
3The Godfather Trilogy
Francis Ford Coppola is a distinguished master of cinemawith a very astonishing filmography. The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2 are nothing short of masterpieces, both winning Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards, and the sequel earning Coppola a Best Director Oscar. Part 3 may not be as strong as the first two, filmed almost two decades after the original, but still a worthwhile entry despite the critics.
The Godfather is based on the book by Mario Puzo, and the screenplay is co-written by Coppola and Puzo. It follows the dynasty of the Corleone crime family, led by Marlon Brando’s aging Vito Corleone and succeeded by Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone. In addition to all the drama and gangster violence, what really elevates this series is the feeling of family and characters that stick with you. There are also scenes and dialogue that are just ingrained in history.
