17 sequels to watch in 2017...and 7 to avoid

This sequel picks up 20 years after the original. Ewan McGregor returns to the role that made him a star as Mark Renton returns to Scotland in order to make peace with friends, Daniel "Spud" Murphy (Ewen Bremner) and Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson (Jonny Lee Miller). Unfortunately, while all this is happening, the friend Renton screwed over, psychopathic criminal Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle), is out of prison and not too happy about the reunion.

Keanu Reeves returns as semi-retired hitman John Wick in this next installment of the surprise 2014 action. Wick is forced back out of retirement by a former friend/colleague looking to gain control of the shadowy assassins' organization both once belonged to. Because the first film was a pleasant surprise, it would be hard not to want to see Wick work out his anger issues with the same electric style.

After nearly two decades as everyone's favorite Canadian Mutant (sorry, Deadpool), Hugh Jackman is finally hanging up the metal claws with one last go round as an aging Logan—whose healing factor is starting to fail—trying to stay in the background and survive after the death of most of his fellow mutants. Coming along for the ride is Patrick Stewart in what also figures to be his final outing as an ailing Charles Xavier, setting up a film that could be as somber and bittersweet as it will be action-packed. 

The gang's all back (minus the late Paul Walker) including Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Lucas Black, Scott Eastwood, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham and the addition of Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren for yet another adventure full of speed and explosions all around. Not much is known about the plot of "Fast 8" (or will it be "Furious 8?"), but according to producer Neal Moritz we can expect a shift in the focus of the franchise from heist films to a spy caper, which is smart for a franchise that is expected to produce 10 films before all is said and done.

2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy" was a surprise smash hit for a studio that seems to be unbeatable. Judging by the latest trailer, we can expect even more action for the second installment. Set two months after the first film, the Guardians are still on a long, strange trip through space, trying to hold it together while Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) deals with the fact that his previously unknown father (Kurt Russell) is a planet. Yes, a planet.

Ridley Scott left audiences scratching their heads after 2012's "Prometheus," billed as a prequel to the Alien series. Five years later, Scott looks to be giving us the sequel we hoped for in "Alien: Covenant." The new film focuses on the spaceship Covenant as they stumble upon what they think is paradise. Of course, paradise doesn't come with Xenomorphs, so mayhem and murder are sure to ensue. Returning from "Prometheus" is the "synthetic" David (Michael Fassbender), who is the only inhabitant on the planet.

Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back for another round of piracy in the long-delayed "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." In this installment, Sparrow is "pursued by an old rival, Capitán Salazar (Javier Bardem), who along with his crew of ghost pirates has escaped from the Devil's Triangle, and is determined to kill every pirate at sea.  Also returning is Geoffrey Rush as friend/foe Captain Barbossa and for the first time since "POTC: At World's End," Orlando Bloom returns as Will Turner, the now-damned captain of the Flying Dutchman. 

Of all the sequels on this list, the sequel to World War Z is the one still shrouded in mystery. Announced in 2013 in the wake of the first film's success, the production has been started and stopped with directors climbing aboard and jumping ship, but as of August 2016, the film is moving forward with Brad Pitt returning and partner-in-crime David Fincher directing. A reteaming of those behind "Se7en" and "Fight Club" definitely has "World War Z 2" on our radar in 2017.

It's hard not to say that 2015's "Kingsman: The Secret Service" made spy films great again, as the romp, based on the Mark Millar comic, was a rousing success under the talents of director Matthew Vaughn, and stars Colin Firth and Taron Egerton. Vaughn is breaking his unspoken rule of no sequels to bring us "The Golden Circle," which introduces audiences to the American version of Kingsman, Statesman,  headed by Jeff Bridges and featuring Halle Berry and Channing Tatum as some of their agents.

Once upon a time, Pixar was notoriously anti-sequel, but those days are long gone, and now virtually all of Pixar's entries have seen at least one, if not two sequels. The third installment of "Cars" follows Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) doing what he does best: racing. A crash and the words, "From this moment, everything will change," feels ominous enough to earn our curiosity.

We all know Michael Bay can make things go boom really, really, well and he's back to do it one last time in "Transformers: The Last Knight." Picking up where 2014's "Transformers: Age of Extinction" left off, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) fly off to find Cybertron while Transformers are still being hunted down regardless of their affiliation. Add to the mix time travel, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and the return of Josh Duhamel, Tyreese Gibson and John Turturro from the first three films and it looks like Bay's sendoff will be the biggest of the franchise.

With the runaway success of spinoff "Minions," it was a no-brainer that audiences would be treated to further adventures of the lovable yellow henchmen and their leader Gru. Gru faces off against Balthazar Bratt, a former child star, and gets into some sibling rivalry when he meets his long lost twin brother, Dru. Steve Carell will be doing double duty this time out, voicing the twins, while South Park creator Trey Parker slips into the role of villain, as he voices Balthazar Bratt. Whether he uses his Cartman voice remains to be seen.

The rebooted series has been slow and methodical in presenting the apes we know and loathe as fully intelligent creatures, but with each film in this new series, starting with 2011's "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," 2014's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and now this latest entry, we've seen the apes grow both in their abilities and their hatred for humans. At the center of this is Caesar (Andy Serkis), the alpha ape tasked with building a new civilization for apes, while also serving as the final bridge to mankind, which, given how all this will turn out, doesn't end well...for man. Could this be the final film before we segue directly into a remake of Planet of the Apes? 

As early as 1999, there were efforts to create a sequel to 1982's "Blade Runner," a neo-noir featuring Harrison Ford as a cop designated to hunt down rogue "replicants" or androids who were raging against their short lifespans. All the attempts to create a sequel have finally paid off as "Blade Runner 2049" will finally see light of day in 2017, with a cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Jared Leto, Barkhad Abdi, Robin Wright, and a returning Ford. While Ridley Scott is only serving in a producer capacity this time around, Denis Villeneuve is the sort of director you'd want to have on a project like this, as he's fresh off a sci-fi masterpiece of his own with this year's "Arrival."

When we last saw the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) and his sometime sparring partner The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), they were going their seperate ways in the wake of the Sokovia incident featured in 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron." In Thor: Ragnarok," Thor and Bruce Banner become unlikely roadies/allies on Asgard as threats from within and without threaten not only Thor's home, but also earth. "Thor: Ragnarok" looks to be the latest and greatest in the Marvel Studios library, getting audiences ready for the main event in 2018 as "Avengers: Infinity War" finally gets the dreaded Thanos off his throne.

Finally, Luke Skywalker. The latest in the tales of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away picks up where The Force Awakens left off as Rey (Daisy Ridley) returns Skywalker's long lost lightsaber, and maybe begins her journey towards becoming a Jedi herself.  Rumor has it that we'll get our first look at (and learn the actual title of) "Episode VIII" when "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" premieres this month. It's safe to say what we'll see will already have us sold long before the end of the trailer.

It's way, way early, but we know that the Barden Bellas will be making their trumphant return just in time for Christmas, with most of the cast, including Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson returning. Unfortunately director Elizabeth Banks will not, though she is producing the third entry in the surprise hit franchise. There's no plot, there is no information, but there will be plenty of cups and plenty of songs, and for fans of the series, that's sure to be a gift not to miss.

Now that we've looked at some of the films worth seeing, let's take a look at seven sequels you should probably avoid at all costs. The majority of these films are almost certain to be at least as bad as the installment that came before.

The fifth installment of the long-suffering sci-fi vampire saga, one has to wonder just how long Kate Beckinsale is willing to put on the tight outfits and fangs. Judging by the previous films, audiences could do worse than stay away from this one when it hits theaters January 6, 2017

As if Vin Diesel didn't have enough on his franchise plate, he goes and resurrects a film franchise that should have stayed in its grave from the last decade. Instead, he slaps on the fake tattoos and tests audiences' nostalgia for extreme sports and gunplay. No thanks. Out in theaters January 20, 2017.

The less said about this zombie franchise, the better. After six boring and overly slick entries, most of which did little to resemble the original survival horror video game series, audiences are finally being let off the hook with what we hope is truly the final, final chapter. Finally. Out in theaters January 27, 2017.

How do you make a bad idea even worse? You shoot the sequel with the same actors who looked uncomfortable and miscast in the original film. However, because audiences who made the "Twilight" fan fic-based book series an international megahit, we get the next lurid chapter in the adventures of well-dressed sadist Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) with "Fifty Shades Darker," a movie that will appeal to only hardcore (no pun intended) fans of the book series, and god forbid the original film. Out in theaters February 10, 2017.

A sequel to a spinoff of a much, much better franchise? How could that possibly go wrong? Well, if you buy a ticket to "Annabelle 2," we're pretty sure you'll find out, but don't ask for a refund, because you'll really only have yourself to blame. In theaters May 19, 2017.

While the first two installments of Insidious had more than a few moments, the third installment, a prequel where we learned how Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) teamed up with her weird demonologist cronies Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson) to do some ghostbusting, left us pretty cold. Anything a fourth chapter can offer will probably best be viewed on cable or streaming if you're really, really bored. In theaters October 20, 2017.

Just when you thought it was safe to watch movies on Halloween again, the Saw franchise rises from the grave to continue a story that really felt wrapped up two movies ago. At this point the only returning character we know of is Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) himself, who died in "Saw III." One can only shudder to think how many more flashbacks of John Kramer audiences can take before the familiar music comes up as the latest and lamest twist is shown. Scheduled in theaters October 27, 2017.