In general, I miss sequels having numbers. The slowly incrementing digits always gave me a sense of continuity, of purpose; the change from roman numerals to lame subtitles between Star Trek VI and Star Trek: Generations always underscored, for me, the calamitous gap in quality between the two films. Even Jason X, risible as it might be, was burnished by its association with Friday the 13th I-IX.

But the opposite is not true. Adding a number to a series that previously lacked them is a giant red flag, a dog whistle of incoming low cinematic quality, and more. Don’t believe me? Consider the Alien franchise. The first film, Alien, was followed by a sequel with no numeral, Aliens. But for the third, they went with Alien 3. and the resulting film was a development hell, a drastic misfire, and nearly killed the series off for good. Adding the numeral was a fatal blow.

Jurassic Park III was the same, and lay that series low for 14 years, following upon the numeral-less The Lost World. And of course, Rambo III came after First Blood and Rambo, even though the latter did have the fig leaf of a tiny “First Blood Part Two” disclaimer.

So in the future, if your beloved series is suddenly sporting a number, and especially of that number is three, run.

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