The Alien Franchise

[James Cameron]

There should be a thread on this board for all things related to the Alien franchise.

[Hypestyle]

Seems to be a very definite homage to the original Alien trailer, which likewise featured the creepy scream (Meant maybe to be the warning?), showed mainly the facehugger and people running around in corridors.

so is this taking place after everything that's taken place so far? No more Ripley? No follow up to Part 4/Resurrection?

The parasites can leap pretty far now, I see. Wow. That sucks.

[Celgress]

so is this taking place after everything that's taken place so far? No more Ripley? No follow up to Part 4/Resurrection?

The parasites can leap pretty far now, I see. Wow. That sucks.

I heard it is another prequel set before Alien or Aliens, the former seeming more likely based on what I've heard.

[James Cameron]

so is this taking place after everything that's taken place so far? No more Ripley? No follow up to Part 4/Resurrection?

The parasites can leap pretty far now, I see. Wow. That sucks.

I heard it is another prequel set before Alien or Aliens, the former seeming more likely based on what I've heard.

No, it takes place between 20 years after the first film.

And if anyone running this franchise knows what they're doing, they will leave Ripley and her family alone.

[ChrisIII]

so is this taking place after everything that's taken place so far? No more Ripley? No follow up to Part 4/Resurrection?

The parasites can leap pretty far now, I see. Wow. That sucks.

Think they've been able to go pretty far since ALIENS, without an egg as a 'spring'.

There were plans for an ALIEN 5 that would ignore 3 and RESSURECTION by Neil Blomkamp but they decided to focus more on Ridley's prequels given that he was probably more of a sure thing.

There's some concept art of the web which shows Ripley, Hicks, and an older Newt. Little bit like the Dark Horse comics which did their own sequel while FOX was taking their time getting 3 together (and then had to retcon all that in some of the reprints). Also Bishop but he's become part of a hive (Kind of fitting with the concept of the hive being composed of ship parts & remains in addition to the Alien's resin stuff).


Reportedly an alternate ending for THE PREDATOR (That weird 2018 one) would have had Newt be in the pod at the end instead of the anti-Predator suit perhaps leading to ALIEN 5 somehow, although I don't know how they'd explain how she'd somehow traveled back in time?

[James Cameron]

Think they've been able to go pretty far since ALIENS, without an egg as a 'spring'.

There were plans for an ALIEN 5 that would ignore 3 and RESSURECTION by Neil Blomkamp but they decided to focus more on Ridley's prequels given that he was probably more of a sure thing.

There's some concept art of the web which shows Ripley, Hicks, and an older Newt. Little bit like the Dark Horse comics which did their own sequel while FOX was taking their time getting 3 together (and then had to retcon all that in some of the reprints). Also Bishop but he's become part of a hive (Kind of fitting with the concept of the hive being composed of ship parts & remains in addition to the Alien's resin stuff).


Reportedly an alternate ending for THE PREDATOR (That weird 2018 one) would have had Newt be in the pod at the end instead of the anti-Predator suit perhaps leading to ALIEN 5 somehow, although I don't know how they'd explain how she'd somehow traveled back in time?

We dodged a MAJOR bullet with Blomkamp's Alien being canceled.

[ChrisIII]

Sigourney was kind of looking forward to it, kind of wonder about Biehn though, he's one of those actors that I feel kind of is best in small doses, he was pretty good playing half-crazed in TERMINATOR but he was kind of a bit bland in ALIENS compared to the other marines.

Kind of how I felt about his recent roles in Mandalorian and Walking Dead as well.

[Celgress]

No, it takes place between 20 years after the first film.

And if anyone running this franchise knows what they're doing, they will leave Ripley and her family alone.

Assuming it indeed takes place between Alien and Aliens I hope they don't introduce something that renders (the game) Alien Isolation non-cononical. Isolation is by far the best Alien adaption (of any type) since Aliens, IMHO.

[James Cameron]

Assuming it indeed takes place between Alien and Aliens I hope they don't introduce something that renders (the game) Alien Isolation non-cononical. Isolation is by far the best Alien adaption (of any type) since Aliens, IMHO.

No way, Isolation is canon, and Fede Alvarez has said the game is part of his inspiration. He had an "Art of Alien Isolation" book in one video interview he did, and the initial teaser set photo he posted at the start of filming featured one of the save stations from the game.

[James Cameron]

Sigourney was kind of looking forward to it, kind of wonder about Biehn though, he's one of those actors that I feel kind of is best in small doses, he was pretty good playing half-crazed in TERMINATOR but he was kind of a bit bland in ALIENS compared to the other marines.

Kind of how I felt about his recent roles in Mandalorian and Walking Dead as well.

I think Biehn served the purpose of his role and was distinct enough from Kyle Reese but still basically the same type of character. Hicks in Aliens is meant to feel like the one guy out of all these marines that the audience can feel safe with. He is kind and warm and genuine and that is something the movie need, so what you see as "bland" I see as Cameron trying to contrast this guy from the rest of his rowdy compatriots.

And yes, Alien 5 was actually fully in production. Weaver was signed on, and Biehn might have been too, but the script was finished and it was already in the process of being cast and budgeted. Ridley Scott said he didn't want any other Alien films coming out when he decided to make Covenant so the studio quickly 86'd the project in favor of Ridley's movie.

And despite what Covenant was, we seriously were blessed. In this god awful age that began with the Force Awakens, we are really lucky the Alien series has never devolved into nostalgia bait for blockbuster numbers. It would have been another Terminator Dark Fate or Jurassic World and been lost in the fog. Covenant at least was trying new things. Every movie in the Alien franchise is different or unique in some way, even the "bad" ones (I say the only truly bad Alien movie is Prometheus, and it's still pretty good) .

[Celgress]

I think Biehn served the purpose of his role and was distinct enough from Kyle Reese but still basically the same type of character. Hicks in Aliens is meant to feel like the one guy out of all these marines that the audience can feel safe with. He is kind and warm and genuine and that is something the movie need, so what you see as "bland" I see as Cameron trying to contrast this guy from the rest of his rowdy compatriots.

And yes, Alien 5 was actually fully in production. Weaver was signed on, and Biehn might have been too, but the script was finished and it was already in the process of being cast and budgeted. Ridley Scott said he didn't want any other Alien films coming out when he decided to make Covenant so the studio quickly 86'd the project in favor of Ridley's movie.

And despite what Covenant was, we seriously were blessed. In this god awful age that began with the Force Awakens, we are really lucky the Alien series has never devolved into nostalgia bait for blockbuster numbers. It would have been another Terminator Dark Fate or Jurassic World and been lost in the fog. Covenant at least was trying new things. Every movie in the Alien franchise is different or unique in some way, even the "bad" ones (I say the only truly bad Alien movie is Prometheus, and it's still pretty good) .

Boy oh boy, was that a mistake. All the information and rumors pertaining to Alien 5 make it seem way more interesting than the Android Dr. Franbknsteien in Space pseudo-Xenomorph crap we got with Covenant. If I NEVER see the character of David again I'll die a happy Alien fan.

[ChrisIII]

Kind of wonder who would've been cast as Newt, given that Carrie Henn pretty much decided on a different career path than acting. Although maybe she would've made a cameo as a separate character just for fun.

Anna Taylor Joy perhaps? She wasn't as big around 2015 as she was now although her career was sort of taking off.

Biehn brought up Jennifer Lawrence around 2017.


I've seen some suggest Carey Mulligan or Juno Temple.

[James Cameron]

Boy oh boy, was that a mistake. All the information and rumors pertaining to Alien 5 make it seem way more interesting than the Android Dr. Franbknsteien in Space pseudo-Xenomorph crap we got with Covenant. If I NEVER see the character of David again I'll die a happy Alien fan.

To each their own. I loved David, especially in Covenant. I think the biggest mistake was how he was being set up to be integral to the franchise - of course, nothing concretely said he was the creator of the Xenomorphs (the opposite in fact, he simply modified the Engineers' own experiments) , but it was obvious that's the direction Ridley was heading, when it should have just been David doing his own thing in his own corner of the Alien universe. Since we're never getting that resolution it's easier to do our own headcanon about it.

A nostalgia bait movie with Alien/human hybrids and Sigourney wearing a Xenomorph exosuit would have been way worse, trust me. Alien should keep moving forward and trying to do their own thing, not try to cash in on the same death trap all these other franchises have foolishly embraced. And Blomkamp, who really only had one decent film under his belt, could not be trusted with a movie like that. It would have been a disaster and far more destructive to the franchise than Alien 3 or Prometheus. The only reason people were actually hyped on it was because of the returning cast members and how it was going to decanonize Alien 3 and Resurrection. And honestly, the more Alien fans I talk to, the less vitriol I see toward those movies. They weren't perfect but they were miles better than the prequels and a lot of big franchise movies today. They have some really special moments outside of the controversies.

The franchise just needs to move on from Ripley and nostalgia in general.

[Celgress]

To each their own. I loved David, especially in Covenant. I think the biggest mistake was how he was being set up to be integral to the franchise - of course, nothing concretely said he was the creator of the Xenomorphs (the opposite in fact, he simply modified the Engineers' own experiments) , but it was obvious that's the direction Ridley was heading, when it should have just been David doing his own thing in his own corner of the Alien universe. Since we're never getting that resolution it's easier to do our own headcanon about it....

This is the reason I came to loathe the character by the time of Covenant. I didn't mind David in Prometheus and I actually found him somewhat interesting. That said, because of the above idea pushed by Ridley (or so it seemed) I changed my mind. I prefer the Xenomorph to remain mysterious.

[ChrisIII]

Since this film might reference Covenant, maybe they find what's left of the Covenant with the infected bodies, which could explain the bloody cryotube for example.


As for the David thing I think it's a case of a sort of convergent evolution (or genetic engineering, rather). Kind of like how Doctor Who in Capaldi's finale kind of explained how the Cybermen formed on different planets and universes; David simply replicated what had come before.


BTW funny thing-looks like the Prometheus mountain was based on an unused concept for Baron Harkonnen's castle in the unmade 70's Dune!