English

Noun

threequel ‎(plural threequels)

1. (narratology) The chronologically third part of any series of works, especially a movie trilogy.
   • 1979 May 25, Janet Maslin, “Inside a Floating Hulk”, The New York Times

     When last seen, the “Poseidon” had been blown into small pieces. With any luck, this means Mr. Allen can’t possibly make a threequel.

   • 1999 June 30, Katherine Anne Ackley, Perspectives on Contemporary Issues, Readings Across the Disciplines, Harcourt, fourth edition, Thomson Wadsworth (2006), ISBN 1413010687, page 267

     On the contrary, last summer saw two jocular parodies of 1970’s blaxploitation films: the minor hit Undercover Brother and Beyonce Knowles’s portrayal of Foxxy Cleopatra, a character in the Austin Powers “threequel.”

   • 2007 January 5, Stephen Humphries, “At theaters in 2007, the year of the 'threequel'”, The Christian Science Monitor

     This may be the year of the threequel, but not all the franchises will be successful, predicts Mr. Gray.

   • 2007 April 16, Brian Mciver, “Return of the Threequel”, The Daily Record

     THE biggest threequels to date have included some great films.

     The third part of the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983), then Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) were huge hits.

Related terms

• interquel
• midquel
• prequel
• sequel