Tales of the Ancient Empire

Tales of the Ancient Empire is the title of a proposed sequel to the 1982 film The Sword and the Sorcerer, directed by Albert Pyun. When The Sword and the Sorcerer was made, it was planned to be the starting point of a film series. Much like in the James BOND movies, the audience is invited to see "the further adventures of" the hero in the next movie, whose title is given. This was meant to be this film.

Plot

No official plot was given for this movie, as it never appeared to get out of the pre-production phase. One could presume that the movie was going to pick up with Talon ruling his kingdom with his new Queen and facing a new threat to the land.

Historical Context

This is not the only film to be an un-made sequel.

Evil Cult- this Jet Li film series was also planned to be a series. Only one was made, despite the inclusion of effective wire-fu scenes and Sammo Hung as the prototypical dirty old man character.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension- this movie promises a sequel- Buckaroo Bonzai Against the World Crime League - that was shopped, but never made. This mention is somewhat of a joke, given that the film tries hard to be seen as an homage to pulp films that tended to be done in a serial nature.

Spaceballs- As a joke, Mel Brooks promises a sequel to this popular Star Wars spoof entitled Spaceballs 2: The Quest For More Money Obviously, no plans were made to actually create this film, though an animated series is in the works.

History of the World, Part 1- This film, also by Brooks, is made to be seen as part of a series, even in the title. Clips from this movie were shown at the end, though they are only a continuation of the punch-line.

Kung-Pow: Enter the Fist- The end of this farciful movie by Steve Oedekerk shows pieces that are supposed to be in the sequel. According to IMDB, these scenes were simply ones that were deemed not usable for the theatrical cut. Rumors abound AbOUT this one actually coming into being shortly though.

Sources

1. 1 | Buckaroo Bonzai's page.