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It has been said that some stories are better left untold, but Hollywood often has other ideas. Everything, from Star Wars to the MCU, is getting in on the prequel action with standalone stories for some of their most popular characters, and video games are no different either.
Though their success rate is uneven at best, prequels are a great way to learn more about the backstory of some of our favourite heroes and villains, which begs the question: who or what is deserving of the prequel treatment next? We asked the GamesRadar+ team for their best answers.
This is the latest in a series of big questions we'll be interrogating our writers with, so share your answers and suggestions for topics with us on Twitter.
Tingle (The Legend of Zelda)
What did Tingle do before he became, well, Tingle? Amazingly, there have been a couple of Tingle standalone games that have provided some backstory behind the whimsical green gobshite. I wish I was kidding but give it a Google if you must: he’s a middle-aged man who gets sucked into a fantasy world. That confuses the Legend of Zelda timeline even more, if you ask me. But, still, I want more, damnit.
Give us a Persona-esque prequel featuring Tingle fulfilling mundane tasks at a desk job by day (via the medium of rapid-fire Wario Ware minigames) and, by night, whipping out the tights and spandex to go on a Robin Hood-style stealing spree. Along the way, Tingle: The Game can give his weird green suit an origin as well as reveal the background behind Tingle’s questionable facial hair choices. It'll sell millions, I tell you. Breath of the Wild 2, eat your heart out. Bradley Russell
Korg (Thor: Ragnarok)
My favorite pile of rocks from Thor: Ragnarok deserves a stand alone movie (or three). I love his matter-of-fact observations ("I tried to start a revolution but didn't print enough pamphlets") and kind soul ("It sounds like you had a pretty special and intimate relationship with this hammer and that losing it was almost comparable to losing a loved one"). Give me a buddy cop movie with him and Miek - they can play good cop/silent cop.
Or better yet, just give me more of him and Thor hanging out like bummy college students, Korg in a too-tight Hawaiian shirt that his rock muscles are ripping through, yelling at someone on Fortnite. With a character as brilliant as Korg, the opportunities are endless - you could put him in any situation, any setting, with any plot and the movie would be a smash hit. Put him in the Black Widow movie. Better yet, replace Scarlett Johansson with Korg. How could I not want more Korg? Or... is it just that I want more Taika Waititi? Alyssa Mercante
Mother (Pokemon)
There's got to be more to that sweet little lady than just a doting mother. I know my own parents wouldn't have let me go on a Pokemon adventure, on my own, at the age of 10(ish). Maybe she thinks there's no crime in Kanto and co, meaning it's a perfectly safe thing to let your child do – but with Team Rocket about, that's obviously not the case.
What's her backstory? How did she get to this point? What happened to the father? Is she secretly the ultimate Pokemon Champion and one day she'll step out of the shadows and reveal that she's been the one to beat all along? Of course, maybe she's just your dear mum... Sam Loveridge
Daud (Dishonored)
Such is the storytelling, character building and lore in the Dishonored games and books, we know bits and pieces about the Knife of Dunwall and his past but not the whole picture. What would be excellent and most interesting would be to see a prequel documenting his journey from ‘talented’ street kid, travelling around the cities of the Empire of the Isles, to his settling in Dunwall and subsequent acquisition of dark abilities, granted by being marked by The Outsider - another decent candidate for a prequel.
His marking by the black-eyed trickster god-figure is clearly a turning point. Filling in the gaps on his complete backstory, but focusing on his early adulthood to him being marked and actually becoming the Knife of Dunwall would be a great phase for a prequel: his rise from a ‘normal’ young man to one gifted with powers from the Void, realising his new power, and then his years rising to prominence as an assassin for hire. Arkane are some of the best at storytelling and this is a story worth telling, and mysterious hole in Dishonored’s timeline worth filling. Rob Dwiar
Boba Fett (Star Wars)
Yes, I'm going for the low-hanging fruit. And why not? It feels like we've been waiting on a Boba Fett spin-off for approximately forever, and it'd be an understatement to say that there's no interest in it. The idea pops up in practically every Star Wars wish list that has ever been, and with good reason. Despite having next-to-no lines and very little to do other than stand around looking menacing, the bounty hunter continues to light everyone's imaginations on fire. Although we saw his story get off to a controversial start in Attack of the Clones (before witnessing his first steps as a criminal in the Clone Wars animated series), the intervening years are a massive question mark.
How did he go from furious-but-slightly-bumbling preteen to badass space pirate who collects wookie scalps in The Empire Strikes Back? We were going to find out in the cancelled, pre-Disney Star Wars 1313 video game, but unfortunately that project's long since been laid to rest. I half expected a cameo in Solo as well, but no dice. As such, the field's wide open for a tell-all slice of backstory. It's an open goal. However, we've got hope. It was a similar story for the long-rumoured Obi-Wan flick starring Ewan McGregor, after all, and that's now morphed into a TV series coming to Disney+. We can but hope Boba will get the same treatment somewhere down the line. Perhaps in season 2 of The Mandalorian? It'd certainly make sense. Benjamin Abbott
The Boss (Metal Gear Solid)
No, not Bruce Springsteen. I can think of no better candidate for a prequel story than The Boss. We only saw her in the flesh in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, but her legacy reverberates throughout the entire Metal Gear series as the mother (literal or metaphorical) of both Snake and Ocelot. I would love the opportunity to spend more time with The Boss herself, playing through some of her legendary exploits as a soldier and spy in World War 2.
It'd also be a great opportunity to flesh out the Cobra Unit, since you didn't have much of a chance to get to know characters like The End and The Pain before Snake took them out. Granted, this will probably never happen with the Metal Gear series in a weird limbo since Hideo Kojima left Konami, but it's still nice to dream. Connor Sheridan
Faye (God of War)
The new God of War is driven by combat and exploration, but it's elevated by some of the strongest characters in recent memory. Kratos and Atreus make for a troubled but endearing father-son pair, and their rocky relationship is the emotional heart of the game's story. That said, one of the most interesting and important characters in the whole game doesn't get any screen time whatsoever: Faye, Kratos' late wife.
Who is the woman who saved Kratos from his bloody past? How did she meet and fall in love with the Greek God of War? We know next to nothing about her - and I don't want to spoil what little we do know - but by the end of the game, it's clear she's a major player in the realm's events. I would love to see Faye's history fleshed out in some sort of prequel chapter. She's described as a great warrior, and the now-iconic Leviathan Axe was originally forged for her, so I've no doubt it'd be fun to play as Faye. If nothing else, hopefully we learn more about her in the all-but-inevitable God of War 2.
Sadie Adler (Red Dead Redemption 2)
I suppose technically this would be a pre-prequel, as we meet Sadie Adler in Red Dead Redemption 2, after members of the O'Driscolls have ransacked her house and killed her husband. She becomes an increasingly prominent (and badass) character from the moment she insists she should be doing something more than cooking with creepy Mr Pearson, but I still haven't seen enough of Ms Adler.
Not to mention a female led Red Dead game would be a dream come true (partly because dressing Arthur was one of my favourite parts of RD2, and this spinoff would give me a whole new wardrobe of frilly skirts and cowboy boots to choose from.) She hints at her past in some later missions, but when we meet her she's mainly concerned with revenge (and rightly so). I want to know what she was like before she joined Dutch's gang, back on the ranch with her husband. It's unlikely we'll see her again, but a girl can dream.
Bill (The Last of Us)
It's not so much that he deserves it, more an idea I had the idea in my head when talking about a then unannounced The Last of Us 2 - I've always wondered about Bill and where he came from. In the game he's grumpy old man, entrenched in a closed off town and apparently estranged from his boyfriend Frank (who's later found dead after committing suicide after being bitten). But there's a history there that always intrigued me.
Who was Bill to be someone Joel called on in time of need - what happened between the two that Bill owed Joel the favours he called in with Elle. And how did they find the town they later made a fortified home? There's a whole story there about a young Bill and Frank that fascinates me - surviving the outbreak, meeting Joel, and setting up that town that could have made a really interesting prequel. Leon Hurley
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