Aliens/Prometheus Fire and Stone Synopsis

QuoteScott Allie recently tweeted about your upcoming Aliens: Fire and Stone work in an interesting way: "Just read the final issue of Aliens: Fire & Stone. We asked @chris_roberson for a Twilight Zone ending. We got one. Bravo." Without giving anything away, care to discuss what he meant by Twilight Zone?

Well, one of the things that Scott and I discussed from pretty much the first moment that I was brought onto the Aliens project was that we wanted to get back to the "haunted house" feel of the original film, and away from the more militaristic vibe that the franchise took on with the second film and beyond. I love Colonial Marines and logged a LOT of hours playing as one in the Aliens Vs. Predators 2 game on my PC years ago. But the characters in our new series are not people trained to deal with dangerous combat situations. They are blue collar workers, technicians, engineers, teachers, and so on. And so the vibe of our story, from beginning to end, isn't about big action showdowns, but about a different kind of survival, or lack thereof. That's probably the most definite I can get without venturing into spoiler territory!

Secondly, what is it like to work with a widely respected and experienced editor like Allie?

It's fantastic, of course! I've been a fan of Dark Horse since the earliest days of the company, and a fan of the stuff that Scott has done since he came onboard, so it's been a real thrill to be a part of it. And everyone on the team, from my direct editor Philip Simon to my collaborator Patric Reynolds and on, has been just an absolute pleasure to work with!

CBR interviewed you about this upcoming Aliens work back in March. Then you noted: "Dark Horse got their hands on some production bible stuff from the studio, and we got to see a little bit of that." As a fan of the original films, how thrilling was it to get ahold of that material or what little you got to see of it.

I've just been continually impressed with how detailed everything that we've seen from Fox about the Aliens universe is. They really do take that universe seriously! And that's been a very useful resource, but also kind of a challenge, because there are high standards we have to reach!

Also, in that interview, you mention going back and rewatching the films for inspiration/background on the project. What was it like to watch the films through the eyes of a veteran writer (as opposed to your mindset when you first saw them years ago)?

I actually rewatched and re-rewatched (sometimes repeatedly) all of the films, but the first two in particular. And it is kind of humbling to see how perfectly put together both Alien and Aliens are from a narrative standpoint, and what a phenomenal job that the filmmakers and screenwriters and in particular Sigourney Weaver did in developing Ripley as a character. And just as a viewer who tends to pay attention to the nuts and bolts of filmmaking, it's pretty remarkable that those two films haven't really aged at all in the intervening decades. They look as good or better than anything that's in theaters now!