Blomkamp is officially making an Alien film

[HuDaFuK]

It's better than just ignoring it. That's even dumber. The end justifies the means, IMO.

Funny, Superman Returns didn't strike me as especially dumb.

In no way is just ignoring it sillier than coming up with ridiculous contrivances in an attempt to rationalise things.

[[cancerblack]]

Correct, however both are absolutely disgusting ideas, neither of which should be followed through on.

[Spooky Baz]

You see the hoops we're having to jump through in order to justify Weaver's inclusion in Alien 5? It's ridiculous no matter the angle.

Ripley is dead. Long live Ripley's replacement.

[Corporal Hicks]

There's no hoops to jump through to get Sigourney involved. Ripley 8 is still out there and her story is still unresolved.

[Perfect-Organism]

There's no hoops.  With one simple decision on behalf of Fox, A3 and AR become an alternate history and we get a better continuity which features Hicks and the real Ripley.

[martin.whittaker.31]

Its difficult to see where the story can go from here. I loved the original 3 films and thought that it should have ended as a trilogy. I hate all the negatives Alien 3 gets. I thought it was an excellent film, yeah it didnt go in the direction that a lot of people thought it would go but it was a great film nevertheless and I felt ended the story, or would have ended the story with closure. Sadly we were given the disasterpiece that was Resurrection that ruined the franchise but hey ho, s**t happens. If Ripley, Hicks, Bishop and Newt are set to make a comeback I think the only possible way to do it is to release an alternate sequel to Aliens. Taking the story to new place/time etc. If successful possibly leading on to more films to spin as much money as they can out of the francise that is Alien/s. Sadly that is the way the film industry seems to be at the moment, money/remakes over plot/storyline. How many Rambos do we have now? I digress. Doing this would at least give the fans the choice. Remember the first 3 films as the classic trilogy that it was and still is to this day or venture off into whatever universe Blomkamp will create like we are doing with Scotts Prometheus universe. I am a sucker for the first 3 films. My favourite 3 films of all time. You just cant beat them in my eyes. However the fanboy inside of me needs Corporal Hicks back in my life. What NEEDS to go is the idea of Alien 3 and Resurrection being all a bad dream. Yeah its an acceptable plot twist, if it was a childrens story however we are not children and the story deserves the respect it has earned over the years. One thing is for sure though, the next year is gonna be pretty damn interesting, SADDLE UP!

[hfeldhaus]

How is having Hicks and Newt better continuity? Retconning two films out of a series is a messy and harmful affair. Theres a lot of people who love Alien 3. Alternate timelines? This isn't a comic book movie.

[Perfect-Organism]

Having Hicks and Newt is a better continuity because they've become core characters.  The series never recovered from their loss.  People simply love these characters.  I would say that many people on forums couldn't care less about Newt, but that is because they're sci-fi fans and are often impervious to the emotional impacts of a tale of a child surviving such a terrible tragedy.  Hicks and Newt are now to the story what Mary Jane and JJ Simpson are to Spider Man.  They complete the circle of Ripley's existence 57 years after Alien.

Alien as a film franchise will always be flawed without the real Ripley (and her posse Hicks and Newt).  The Aliens on their own, while interesting are nothing more than a force of nature.  They are animals.  The Alien series is a human tale, and you can't dispose of the main characters and expect that the series will not sputter out.  I know many people will disagree.  That's ok.

[Russ]

I know many people will disagree.  That's ok.

And many that won't. I think you phrase it best here - "the series never recovered from their loss." Quite right, I've never really thought of it like that, but this is spot on. I've ranted on about the treatment of the characters in terms of story and their lazy ending, but taking that further, this is a really accurate assessment. You always read "despite its flaws" (Alien3) or "interesting ideas" (AR) but never that they're better or even on a par with the first movies.

I guess because, Dallas, Kane, Parker, Hicks, Hudson, Vasquez and Gorman (et al) provided great support for Ripley, whereas 3 and 4 have nothing that comes close? Does the "mother" Ripley need a family around her to make her character relevant? She's a survivor of course, but she's also a caregiver. She saves the cat, she saves the marines, she saves Newt... now a real survivor would have f**ked off and left the cat, marines and kid to stew.

Hmmm. I don't know if that's accurate, but it made me double take.

[Perfect-Organism]

That's exactly it.  Aliens was a film about nurturing and motherhood.  True Aliens fans who want a continuation of Aliens are more about these human themes than fanboy Colonial Marines fantasies.

[HuDaFuK]

Having Hicks and Newt is a better continuity because they've become core characters.

They were in one movie. Morse and Johner are as much core characters as they are.

[Perfect-Organism]

Morse was a criminal who must have committed murder to wind up on Fiorina 161.  Johner was also a criminal and a party to murder if you consider that his crew smuggled human cargo to be experimented on.  Both are irredeemable basically.

Are you really asking viewers to have more of an emotional connection with these bastards over an innocent child?

[Russ]

They were in one movie. Morse and Johner are as much core characters as they are.

[HuDaFuK]

Morse was a criminal who must have committed murder to wind up on Fiorina 161.  Johner was also a criminal and a party to murder if you consider that his crew smuggled human cargo to be experimented on.  Both are irredeemable basically.

That wasn't my point. My point was 90% of joe public, who have only seen the films and neither know nor care about comics, have had as much exposure to the two characters I mentioned as Hicks and Newt. The latter are more memorable, perhaps. More likeable, definitely. But no more valid.

[Corporal Hicks]

They were in one movie. Morse and Johner are as much core characters as they are.

I know the feeling, Russ.

HuDa is completely right. Hicks and Newt are no more vital to the over-arcing story of the Alien than Morse or Johner. They maybe more likable (Newt is debatable) but no more important. Hicks and Newt are important to Aliens because the theme of Aliens was the atomic family and maternity.

That theme wasn't present in any other Alien film. Morse is just as vital to Alien 3 because that was a film about desperation and hopelessness. What's more hopeless than the dredges of humanity flung out into space.