Top 10 Longest Sequel Gaps

John Updike's The Widows of Eastwick arrives almost a quarter century after its predecessor. Yet it ranks relatively low on the list of all-time greatest waits for sequels. TIME rounds up the longest hiatuses in cinematic and literary history.

Late Arrivals

The Birds (1963) / The Birds II: Land's End (1994)

Seriously, guys. Don't do sequels to Hitchcock movies. Especially if it's going to be a made-for-TV movie with no budget, no stars, and directed by some no-name who is going to be so embarrassed that he'll pull his name from the production. With a plot essentially reprising the first film's, it ranks lower than a throwaway movie. It's a go away flick.

Next Earthsea: The Farthest Shore (1972) / Earthsea: Tehanu (1990)