Aliens Continuity Change

[Perfect-Organism]

https://www.facebook.com/Aliens.Continuity.Change

A fan page of the Alien movie franchise which promotes the idea of decanonizing Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection in favor of a different continuity direction.

Dear All,

I am the creator of the above Facebook Page and would like to invite anyone to join who supports the position.  The idea is not to disparage the Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection films but rather to embrace them as really great alternate reality stories while allowing for a future continuity that includes Hicks, Newt, Bishop, and of course Ripley.  I want to be clear on this, I am a huge fan of David Fincher's film and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen is one of my favorite films of all time), but if these films are not decanonized, we will never see Hicks, Newt, and Ripley's story continue which is what many fans really want.  Ultimately, the hope is that James Cameron would be interested in taking such a story further in the future as he has publicly stated that he was dissatisfied with the way Hicks and Newt were done away with in Alien 3.  I for one would really love to see a film which brings these characters together again, perhaps a bit along the lines of the graphic novels by Mark Verheiden in the late eighties.

All the best,

Perfect-Organism

[SM]

Most of us got over this 22 years ago.  Hicks and Newt (and Ripley and Bishop for that matter) are dead.

Fox isn't going to 'decanonise' Alien3 or Resurrection.

If you want to have adventures  along the lines of the comics - you have the comics.

[Perfect-Organism]

SM, you make valid points.  Naturally, nobody stays up at night thinking about this, but the world was very different 22 years ago.  There was no way to really let Fox know what fans are clamoring for.  It was because of Dark Horse's ideas that AVP comics were created, and it was because of the online demands by the fans that the AVP movies were created.  We the fans now have way more power than before as we are true stakeholders in the franchise.  If enough of us want this, it could happen.  It's not the first time a film series revamped its continuity half way through.  The Halloween franchise did this even before Rob Zombie came on board.

Hicks, Newt, Ripley, and Bishop aren't dead (their signs are real low but they ain't dead ;-) ) because they're just fictional characters in a movie.  I don't believe that most people got over this 22 years ago.  Most people would agree and probably even Fox that it was a bad decision to kill off all the main characters in Alien3.  Basically, the film makers just painted themselves into a corner with no possibility for continuation unless something ridiculous like resurrection happened.  They've been trying to think of something clever to make the franchise work again, but I think they are starting to realize that a great way to save the franchise is to continue where Aliens (the biggest hit) left off.  People were so emotionally invested in those characters.  This sort of approach may actually bring James Cameron back to the Aliens series.  He has expressed how much he was connected to the characters he created.  It's ok to dream of the ultimate Aliens continuation by James Cameron.  Why not?  Are you saying you wouldn't enjoy such a film?

But really, nobody's forcing anybody into anything.  I'm starting a movement because James Cameron's film Aliens had a tremendous impact on me as an industrial designer and it would be worth the effort for me to see him do another installment.  Who's in?

Join www.facebook.com/Aliens.Continuity.Change.  Let Fox know how much we would all love a proper James Cameron sequel to Aliens...

[Xenomrph]

We got a "proper sequel", it was called 'Aliens: Colonial Marines' and it even managed to not undo 'Alien3' in the process.

[SM]

SM, you make valid points.  Naturally, nobody stays up at night thinking about this, but the world was very different 22 years ago.  There was no way to really let Fox know what fans are clamoring for. 

Yes there was - the Alien3 box office.

I don't believe that most people got over this 22 years ago.  Most people would agree and probably even Fox that it was a bad decision to kill off all the main characters in Alien3.

Possibly - but like I said most of us did get over it.

They've been trying to think of something clever to make the franchise work again, but I think they are starting to realize that a great way to save the franchise is to continue where Aliens (the biggest hit) left off.

They're not thinking anything like continuing after Aliens left off.  The current focus is Prometheus.

People were so emotionally invested in those characters.

Hence the anger at the time - but, by and large, again, we got over it a very long time ago.

He has expressed how much he was connected to the characters he created. 

Of course.  But David Fincher had to make a David Fincher film - not a James Cameron film.  Ditto Vincent Ward before him.

It's ok to dream of the ultimate Aliens continuation by James Cameron.

Of course - but it will never be anything more than a dream.  If only for the simple reason that Weaver, Biehn, Henn and Henriksen are all nearly 30 years older.

I'm starting a movement because James Cameron's film Aliens had a tremendous impact on me as an industrial designer and it would be worth the effort for me to see him do another installment.

So go watch the Terminator films, The Abyss, or look forward to the forthcoming Avatar films.  A 30 year older Jimbob isn't going to make another Alien film that resembles Aliens anyway.

[RakaiThwei]

...Wade Wyleth, is that you who started this thread?

We got a "proper sequel", it was called 'Aliens: Colonial Marines' and it even managed to not undo 'Alien3' in the process.

You... You're serious? I mean... Colonial Marines being a "proper" sequel.

[SM]

Your definition of "proper" may vary.

[RakaiThwei]

Your definition of "proper" may vary.

Having played the game three times, the last one giving me a headache which lasted for days and keeping in mind of the inconsistencies which were pointed out.. I'd hardly consider it proper, no matter what Fox or anyone says. And this is coming from someone who enjoys a large bulk of the Expanded Universe.. Hish mythos and PREDATORS EU material not withstanding.

[Spoonman101]

Your definition of "proper" may vary.

Having played the game three times, the last one giving me a headache which lasted for days and keeping in mind of the inconsistencies which were pointed out.. I'd hardly consider it proper, no matter what Fox or anyone says. And this is coming from someone who enjoys a large bulk of the Expanded Universe.. Hish mythos and PREDATORS EU material not withstanding.

My god man! You're even criticizing Predators in another forum! When will it end?!

[Russ]

Your definition of "proper" may vary.

That's true. I'm an apologist for the game, but I do maintain that this was the type of film that most people wanted (or at least expected) after Aliens. And I think the idea has its merits - new team goes in, battles Xenos and Wey-Yu contractors... that's a decent premise. The Hicks and tie in to AL III EN (I still love that more than cubed) was reaching for legitimacy and failed.

I really did get a thrill in the opening part of the game where Winter walks past Bishop's arse. Imagine that in a real movie - it would have been cool. There were loads of things like that in there - Look, I loved playing it and no matter how much the Hudson's and co of this forum tell me I'm wrong, I don't care. I'm not wrong. I liked it. End of.

So yes, despite all the hate, the premise was solid and I think could have been the basis for a really good film.

[Xenomrph]

...Wade Wyleth, is that you who started this thread?

We got a "proper sequel", it was called 'Aliens: Colonial Marines' and it even managed to not undo 'Alien3' in the process.

You... You're serious? I mean... Colonial Marines being a "proper" sequel.

It was advertised as being a "proper sequel", and on paper the premise is pretty in-line with what people claimed to want as a "true sequel" to 'Aliens' - basically 'Aliens 2: Now With More Aliens'.

The game's execution of that premise, on the other hand...

[SM]

The premise makes Ripley's sacrifice utterly pointless.

[Nightmare Asylum]

I'll pass and keep the films as is. They are definitely flawed in some aspects, but I like both of them to some degree or another. 

Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection are very much a product of their own times and their own creative processes and I am much more interested in those films (on the surface and behind the scenes) then I am any attempt to retcon them away.

[Xenomrph]

The premise makes Ripley's sacrifice utterly pointless.

So did 'Alien Resurrection', 15 years ago. And the bulk of the EU that came out post-'Alien3'.

Every movie rendered the "happy ending" of the prior movie pointless. 'Alien3' undid 'Aliens', 'Aliens' showed that the nightmare from 'Alien' wasn't over, etc. That's the nature of a shared universe with a timeline with no end date - there's always more "conflict" that undoes the prior resolutions. This has been true of fiction for, like, forever.

[Perfect-Organism]

Quote

They've been trying to think of something clever to make the franchise work again, but I think they are starting to realize that a great way to save the franchise is to continue where Aliens (the biggest hit) left off.



SM Wrote: They're not thinking anything like continuing after Aliens left off.  The current focus is Prometheus.

Agreed, the current focus is Prometheus.  Just like a few years ago, the focus was Aliens Vs. Predator.  Things change and the focus will change again in the future.  If Fox is not actively considering this, then all the more reason to bring this idea to their attention.  Its an idea that would really revitalize the franchise if we could see Ripley and Hicks on screen again, but probably only if James Cameron directed such a sequel.  The reality is that this sort of thing would be the only way to bring back James Cameron into the Alien franchise.  Cameron knows that it's really Aliens (and Terminator) that built his career.  I personally may considering donating my left nut if it would mean having Cameron direct another Alien film.  ;-)  It's my ultimate movie wish.