Ever since Neill Blomkamp first revealed his concept art for his Alien 5 project, art that featured an aged and acid scarred Hicks and Aliens-esque looking Ripley, the question as to how Alien 5 will relate to the saga has been debated online. Talking to Sky News, Blomkamp and Sigourney Weaver talk about the new film being a “genetic sibling” to Alien and Aliens:
They don’t specifically state that Alien 5 will be retconning Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, however, it sounds like a strong possibility. It may also be that he is speaking in terms of the tone of the films. Or it may simply be the same sort of approach Nimrod Antal and Robert Rodriguez took with Predators not acknowledging Predator 2.
Update #1 – The video has now been set to private. I’m attempting to find an alternative.
No worries. The not knowing part may only last for a few more years until Alien 3 Take 2 hits theaters.
Hey I know we're all in strung out shape. But stay frosty!
That's awesome!! I guess we don't have to wait years to get confirmation.
If it's true - which I have no reason doubt - then yeah, this is likely to be a retcon after that comment.
I don't mind retcons in movies that don't use the same characters. So if Alien 3 was with brand new characters and ignore Ripleys storyline and Bishop than yeah, retcon that shit away, but they did use those characters, Sigourney Weaver was blabbing that her characters death was a proper send-off so i don't want them now to ignore that.
If they do this what else will they modify in the future? Will anybody ever respect continuity again in the franchise? And what if this movie will be sub-par, will it be worthy?
Personally i don't want a geriatric Sigourney Weaver kicking ass. Arnold does a shitty job fine by his own. BUT if they plan to use her than have old Ripley-8 with some strike force go to the alien-engineers home-world to wipe the threat permanently. You can have Prometheus 2 set place on the engineers home-world continuing in the tone of the first movie, have Shaw die there or send a radio message with the location of the planet, then jump hundreds of years in the future( time for the message to reach Earth) with Ripley-8 arriving on the planet to finish the job. And maybe they can write Ripley-8 in a way that she regained her memories or old way-of thinking/humanity so she can act like the original character and not a soulless terminator like in A:R
He did, but nothing in the film really confirmed that. There was nothing in the film that contradicted P2, and Antal, unlike Rodriguez, acknowledged P2 during the pre-release promotion.
Robert Rodriguez didn't make the film. Or write it.
The Bond films never used to reference the previous one. That doesn't make every new entry a retcon.
I agree that what he said could mean either at this point. He was (likely deliberately) vague.
Each Predator movie is pretty much a standalone film, anyways. You can watch any of them and "get it." They're not at all heavy on story progression. Each film expands the mythology a bit, but does it in such a way that you don't need to have seen the previous installments to follow along.
The way they're talking, that's what it's likely to be. The "Alien, Aliens, this movie" comment seems to be a bit of a giveaway.
Or if its a continuation of Alien Resurrection.
The "genetic sibling" comment could mean anything at this point.
I find it more likely that it wont. But we'll see.
I was thinking about this. Other than Batman Begins and Casino Royale, I can't think of a reboot/retcon that hasn't been, at best, utterly forgettable and at worst, total dross.
Absolutely. The risk of turning the franchise into a total clusterf**k is far too high with retconning. Every sequel/prequel/reboot of every classic franchise in the last 15 years puts the odds very strongly in favour of it not being a good film. I wish it wasn't so but that's just the way it is.
If they do go down the route of it directly taking off from Aliens then hopefully they'll at least give it an open ending where Alien 3 could follow on from it if you want it to.
That "leaked" test that pretty much got the buzz going and likely finally got the project off the ground is pretty much created verbatim from a leaked official Deadpool script. Now, i'm not certain if that's the same script they'll be pursuing for the film proper, but the fact that they created that test sequence off of that script, and then green lit the project based on the buzz generated by both that leaked script and the test would indicate to me that's the way they are going.
So it's not out of the realm of possibility that something like that could happen here, or, already has.
Is there a Deadpool script floating out there already? If so, is the new film doing that?
Talking about the specifics.
When Blomkamp released that artwork no agreement or deal with Fox had been signed yet.
That'd be because Blomkamp released the artwork before he'd even approached the studio about it, I think. Remember, this was something he was initially plotting out in private with Sigourney.
I dunno, I still think it would be unusual for them to release artwork of stuff they're actively pursuing. Studios like to keep that kinda thing under wraps.
Evidently it was after.
Blomkamp spoke to Weaver in early January 2014 on the Chappie set. The artwork was only commissioned during Chappie's post-production phase.
Because, they're artworks, and that's all they ever were or will be. Any continuity is already shredded by the egg on the Sulaco and the different cryotubes and all the rest of it. A new take doesn't erase the old, and these things can be enjoyed in tandem. They're not a real world, it really doesn't matter if people want to go in and muddle with bits, provided they create something wonderful out of that. Colonial Marines is grim because it was rubbish, not because of what it set out to achieve. Likewise Isolation is brilliant, because it's brilliant. It's easier to accept the timeline addition because the piece as a whole is so wonderful.
But look, until someone explicitly says "Michael Biehn is in this film, playing the same part he did in Aliens" I think assuming that it is all retcon is a bit premature. That was just some concept art, potentially from before he shared the idea with Weaver. It could easily all be set after A:R yet.*
(To let Michael Biehn actually get his due in a film the filmmaker really cares about would be nice after all these years, though. I'll feel pretty bad for the guy if all this speculation leads to yet another, "sorry Mike! see you in the B-pics!".)
EDIT: I hadn't read the full quotes at the time of writing. The full bit does suggest the retcon more than I realised, so while I'm still cautious to call it fact, it does seem likely.
"I want this film to feel like it is literally the genetic sibling of Aliens, so it's Alien, Aliens and then this film"
http://comicbook.com/2015/02/26/neill-blomkamps-alien-movie-will-be-a-sequel-to-aliens/
Blomkamp has actually said the concept for the film changed after talking to Weaver. Of course, we don't know if the artwork is from before or after those changes were made...
alien 3 is not going anywhere and i am not upset with the prospect of having an alternate take. my only gripe would be if they go through all the trouble to retcon alien 3 with an inferior film....which is very likely.
i do think this film will be a retcon despite the lack of confirmation. weaver's comments saying"I would love to take Ripley out of orbiting around in space and give a proper finish to what was such an excellent story" make me think of where aliens left off on the sulaco. keep in mind, film makers and actors rehearse these answers before interviews and what they say is very deliberate.
from that i see them going the whole ripley, hicks and newt as a family unit route. like i said i am not opposed to that as i have alien3 and nothing can take that away from me but i just want a great film.
I can quite easily see the phrase "genetic sibling" being as simple as tone.
On a second note, the film will have Aliens in it that makes it watch worthy in my view!
That's been pissing me off since I first saw the news.
It certainly wasn't yesterday. Odd. I'll see if I can find an alternate.
I like Alien³ just as much as Alien and Aliens. All three movies formed a bleak narrative that actually dared to be different and shock it's audience. Alien 4 is not my favorite but I can accept that it exists and in my opinion it would be a giant cop out to "rewrite" Alien 3 and 4.
If Blomkamp is that good of a story teller, then he should be able to make something great out of the pre-existing material and should not take the easy way out and just set the new movie after Aliens.
Love ya, brah.