As this year heads towards its latter stages, a throwback trend has emerged in 2024 in the entertainment world.
It began with music when top artists from the 1990s and 2000s emerged from their hiatus to release brand-new music.
This includes the likes of Eminem, Justin Timberlake and Usher.
This nostalgia from yesteryear has extended into the movie world with some of the biggest Hollywood titles getting a sequel.
It started with the January release of “Mean Girls”, an adaptation of the 2004 hit teenage comedy drama classic.
And while fans were introduced to new characters and musical elements in the latest version, the plot largely remained the same.
Both movies centred around new pupil, 16-year-old home-schooled Cady Heron, who gets welcomed into the top of the social food chain by an elite group of popular girls, the Plastics, ruled by the conniving queen bee, Regina George.
But chaos ensues when Cady makes the mistake of falling for Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels.
While the likes of Rachel McAdams, Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Seyfried didn’t reprise their roles in the 2024 version of “Mean Girls'', fans will be delighted to know that Hollywood A-listers Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt are rumoured to be returning for “The Devil Wears Prada” sequel.
It is still unclear if Anne Hathaway will make her return and when the new movie will be released.
After making its debut almost two decades ago, the comedy, with its fresh dose of high fashion and hilarious one-liners, remains an all-time favourite for many across the globe.
It focuses on aspiring journalist Andy Sachs (Hathaway) as she navigates the cut-throat world of fashion journalism as the assistant to the formidable Miranda Priestly (Streep), the editor-in-chief of “Runway” magazine.
The sequel is supposedly yet another female power struggle at play as the storyline reportedly follows Priestly as she navigates the decline of traditional print publication in the digital space.
Meanwhile, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are set to reunite for the “Practical Magic” sequel after 26 years.
With “Practical Magic 2” expected to be released next year, the first movie which hit the big screen in 1998, went on to become a pop culture phenomenon.
The fantasy comedy centred on Sally (Bullock) and Gillian (Kidman) Owens, who use the gift of practical magic, which they inherited from their parents, to overcome obstacles in life.
The Oscar-winning actresses are set to produce “Practical Magic 2” alongside Denise di Novi.
It's unclear if any other original cast members like Aidan Quinn, Dianne Wiest or Stockard Channing, will be returning.
And while top stars are reprising their roles for various sequels, it appears that the likes of Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, Jon Voight, Val Kilmer and Ashley Judd will not be a part of “Heat 2”.
The star-studded cast made a name for themselves in the first film, which was released back in 1995.
But renowned film-maker Michael Mann will return for its latest instalment. He wrote and directed the film, which follows the conflict between an LAPD detective (Pacino) and a career thief (De Niro).
He told the “Los Angeles Times” that he wants to begin shooting the film by the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025.
Mann also told “Deadline”: “Yes. Meg Gardiner and myself wrote the novel ‘Heat 2’, which came out right when we were shooting ‘Ferrari’. It did very well. I plan to shoot that next.”
According to reports, the book jumps between two time periods. The first follows Chris Shiherlis (Kilmer) as he tries to evade the LAPD and Detective Vincent Hanna (Pacino) following the bank robbery gone wrong, while the second storyline takes place in Chicago in 1988.
Meanwhile, Adam Driver, who worked with Mann on “Ferrari” as well as Austin Butler are rumoured to be taking over De Niro and Kilmer’s roles.
In addition, animation fans are also thrilled to see some of their favourite characters back on the screen.
This is as “Shrek 5” is in the works, 14 years after the last movie in the franchise was released.
It is expected to be released in theatres in July 2026 with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz set to reprise their roles as Shrek, Donkey, and Princess Fiona, respectively.
It is still unknown if Antonio Banderas will return to voice Puss in Boots.
The “Shrek” franchise, which features the beloved ogre and his loveable companions, has amassed a massive following worldwide since the first film premiered in 2001.
It is the second highest-grossing animated franchise, with a cumulative gross of $4.03 billion worldwide and is surpassed only by the “Despicable Me” series.
The original “Shrek” movie was the first film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature after its introduction at the 2002 Academy Awards.
Meanwhile, “Avatar 3” is also set to hit theatres in December 2025 as the filming of the rest of the series continues in New Zealand and is expected to be director James Cameron's next box-office triumph
Joel David Moore is set to return for the film alongside Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Sam Worthington and Jack Champion.
“Avatar: The Way of Water in New Zealand” was released in 2017. The first movie was released in 2009 and the epic science fiction media franchise has since taken on a life of its own with associated merchandise, video games and theme park attractions.