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Director Neill Blomkamp, who was set to direct the alternate-sequel “Alien 5,” before it was indefinitely shelved, has shared some additional artwork via his Instagram. The pictures show a dropship docked in a hangar, as well as a Xenomorph emerging from the darkness in a ventilation shaft.

 

Blomkamp also showed some conceptual character designs on Twitter, while reiterating the project as “never to be made.”

Just going through the volume of art created for this never to be made aliens sequel. From environments to characters to set design, we did a lot. Mostly over 2015. pic.twitter.com/nkfwHu3OF7

— Neill Blomkamp (@NeillBlomkamp) December 27, 2017

This is the first media share from the project by Blomkamp in a good while. However unlikely, with Disney in the process of acquiring the franchise assets of 20th Century Fox, we have to wonder if they might bring this project back into consideration. Blomkamp himself seemed amused at the suggestion:

The art is impressive and even if this project is never made, we’d love to see a book detailing these works.

Keep a close eye on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Alien news! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien fans on our forums!

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Nice.

Not near as strong as the first concept art he shared last year, this guy sucks at directing movies anyway.

"Just going through the volume of art created for this never to be made aliens sequel." --_blomkamp... Once again another false spam article to stir the pot. not happening. Alien Awakening/Covenant sequel from ridley is happening. quit posting this inaccurate bs and starting rumors.

That drawing of the Alien in the shaft is awesome. You gotta love the xenomorph doing its thing. But seriously, if it's not going to be made, somebody release the script.

Quote from: Covenant on Dec 27, 2017, 04:31:47 AM
"Just going through the volume of art created for this never to be made aliens sequel." --_blomkamp... Once again another false spam article to stir the pot. not happening. Alien Awakening/Covenant sequel from ridley is happening. quit posting this inaccurate bs and starting rumors.

What?  It said "never to be made aliens sequel".  What's false?

Disney needs to call him asap to resurrect this, I mean he had Weaver and Cameron backing his script.

Quote from: Covenant on Dec 27, 2017, 04:31:47 AM
"Just going through the volume of art created for this never to be made aliens sequel." --_blomkamp... Once again another false spam article to stir the pot. not happening. Alien Awakening/Covenant sequel from ridley is happening. quit posting this inaccurate bs and starting rumors.

It's artwork that hasn't been seen, it's newsworthy. And I never said it has any chance of being made, as I say at the end we'd like a book of the artwork. But likely Disney will reassess the franchise after the box office performance of Covenant. Figured it was clear that I was just speculating.

This is going to happen. There's a reason fox didn't green light Ridleys sequel to covenant. Fox can read the tea leaves. Ridley is the only one who wants to watch fassbender play with his flute, the fans moved on along time ago.

Fox have definitely canned the Covenant sequel then?

Quote from: SM on Dec 27, 2017, 05:29:38 AM
Fox have definitely canned the Covenant sequel then?

That's just a rumor I believe.

Quite.

One that is already perpetuating it would seem.

Quote from: RidgeTop on Dec 27, 2017, 05:39:06 AM
That's just a rumor I believe.

From what I can tell, all blog rumor crawling was spawned from Carl Braga's comment:

"I was part of the crew, had the script for it and was on set while they shot it. The sequel to Covenant was originally due to start preproduction this month in Sydney. After the box office results, filming was cancelled, and a warehouse storage unit full of stuff was auctioned off a few months ago. So the original plan of pumping out another quickly has definitely changed with no immediate plans for anything."

Where'd he post that

Quote from: Whos_Nick on Dec 27, 2017, 06:04:57 AM
Where'd he post that

That information is yours for only $3.99. I accept Paypal.














I'm kidding. Didn't save the page, give me a second, I'll dig for the link.

This rumor is so full of fanboi 'meh'. What EXACTLY did Scott say recently? It sounds like you need to be reminded. (http://comicbook.com/horror/2017/12/06/ridley-scott-alien-covenant-sequel/)

Still waiting for an official word from Fox, the current owner of the Property (Do you really think a 52 billion dollar deal is just going to be handed over by the weekend..?  This handshake may take months - or even years - to be completed!)

Windebieste.

Okay, sorry for delay, I stopped for a covfefe break....Anyway....

Where he says he was part of the crew......
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=14039293#post14039293

And the rest......
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=14128165#post14128165

---

Quote from: windebieste on Dec 27, 2017, 06:12:06 AM
What EXACTLY did Scott say recently? It sounds like you need to be reminded.

Dude, no one here is campaigning the rumor is true. We're simply discussing how it possibly got started.

Relax.

(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scifimoviezone.com%2Frelax.png&hash=93bf0d40e0d64aa61649bd74045f288fad48c41a)

Needs more homo erotica, Wagner and flutes. C'mon, children, let the member-berries die. Kill them, if you have to.

Looks like Blomkamp is trying to peak Disney's interests.

Seriously though this great concept art.

Lol to the rumors that Scott's third David movie is cancelled cause some dude on a forum said so.

Covenant 2 was supposed to shoot after Ridley Scott shot THE CARTEL. Before he got to that movie the script for ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD came across his desk and he moved things around drastically including DAVID so he could immediately jump on that cause he loved the material (something he's done before when he got the scripts to THE COUNSELOR and THE MARTIAN).  Scott was supposed to be done with MONEY (he was doing the initial final mix in October) and prepping CARTEL for a shoot starting now but the whole Kevin Spacey debacle and reshooting material with Christopher Plummer altered things.

Scott holds sway in the film industry. His Scott Free productions has a hand in dozens of projects so he'll still be able to negotiate one last DAVID film I think. But first he's doing THE CARTEL and unless another great script comes along to pull him aside I would bet DAVID would follow that. 

Scott says one thing; and Blomkamp releases some concept art while Fox says nothing.  There's nothing in any of all this to contradict or preclude the other.

Is it possible Scott and Blomkamp are in collusion on an upcoming Project and Fox is all good with it..?

-Windebieste.

I doubt it. Ridley seemed to waffle on his approval/dissapproval of Blomkamp's intentions going forward. So I doubt they'd be working together on something.

Smooth-domed alien... Alien '79 rehash?

Glad this high school writing exercise will never see the silver screen. This would be just as bad as the trex fanboy pandering they did in that garbage heap Jurassic World.  You know the completely unnecessary part where the trex breaks through the spinosaurus skeleton   ::)

Quote from: BishopShouldGo on Dec 27, 2017, 07:17:50 AM
Smooth-domed alien... Alien '79 rehash?

Considering the dropship - must be.

Quote from: MovieFan on Dec 27, 2017, 06:45:32 AM
Lol to the rumors that Scott's third David movie is cancelled cause some dude on a forum said so.

What it looks like to me, Screenrant took a three month old comment from one of the film's graphic designers who made his comment prior to the Disney announcement, and turned it into click bait in late December. A trick among popular movie blog sites.

Post as many rumors as you can get your hands on. Then when once in a blue moon one of those rumors turns out to be true, they splash all over their front page, "Look at this, back in December we told our faithful followers this was going to happen, and boy did OUR sources deliver!" They just don't bother mentioning the hundreds of rumors they posted that were dead ends.

Quote from: Biomechanoid on Dec 27, 2017, 06:02:05 AM

Quote from: RidgeTop on Dec 27, 2017, 05:39:06 AM
That's just a rumor I believe.

From what I can tell, all blog rumor crawling was spawned from Carl Braga's comment:

Did we have confirmation that was actually Carl?

Also, loving that artwork! And some more of Calum Watt's character design for the film. And perhaps we have the working title for this, Red Harvest.

---

I have to wonder if he's trying to drum up renewed interest following the merger?

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 27, 2017, 08:07:32 AM
Did we have confirmation that was actually Carl?

Depends on what you consider confirmation. HumanMedia public profile at BRcom states "Carl Braga."

Quote from: Biomechanoid on Dec 27, 2017, 08:13:18 AM

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 27, 2017, 08:07:32 AM
Did we have confirmation that was actually Carl?

Depends on what you consider confirmation. HumanMedia public profile at BRcom states "Carl Braga."

Fair enough. That name rings a bell for me. Lemme check some stuff in regards to that.

Also, updated the initial posts with better quality copies of those concepts from IG.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 27, 2017, 08:23:04 AM
Fair enough. That name rings a bell for me. Lemme check some stuff in regards to that.

HumanMedia is his business site, confirms contact is Carl Braga. He's fairly active on BRcom accommodating their members on requests for special order/hard to find discs. That is among his business ventures when he's not on film projects. I saw no pattern of rumor spreading in his post history.

But that's not even the point, even accepting his claim as the truth only reveals their status three months ago. Who knows what iteration/status that project has went through since then. A movie blog took a three month old comment out of context and tried to make it a juicy Xmas rumor. It grew legs.

I think - Alien5 is alive! New concepts from nowhere? Blomkamp just shared it? HAHAHA. No.  Alien5 is alive and more! The project in develop, but slow, very slow, But in develop. Maybe soon, we will hear the new details. I think Alien5 return.

Not from nowhere.  He has a folio of art from the project.

Good God, more Aliens rehashes: Aliens crawling inside an air vent, a dropship from 1986. No evolution, no new design ideas on the table.

How many times has Aliens been rehashed for this to be "more'?

Every time Blomkamp releases a piece of concept art or prop from his story.

So... never?  ???

Another crazy idea - RS Alien Awakening and Blomkamp's Alien5 (was called Awakening too) - is the same movie.

RS put Awakening far way from original Alien and longer in time. And... emm. In 2199 WY will find David's lab (with living David) and also there will be Ripley, Hick, and Hewt (under cover). David attack humans with xeno. New model Bishop fight with him. And, finally, Enginers find this place too and attack all. In the end from David appears whi will kill everybody. Newt escape from planet for another siquel.

Masterpiece.

I think it would be quite cool if they did go down the 80s analogue tech route (assuming something like this project ever got off the ground). Vectors and DOS all the way.

So the 80s dropship is all fine with me... it they were going to make a direct sequel to Cameron's film, that'd be neat. Though there's an argument to say if this happens 30 years after Hadley's Hope, look how far our own tech has developed in that period.

But ... it'd look awesome *lol*

Aliens sequel is a bad idea, mainly because I really like Alien 3 and I'm certain his sequel wouldn't be as good and would mess up the franchise even further. The prequels are what they are, at least the original series timeline is intact, let it stay that way.

But let Blomkam do the next AvP movie, set in the future and Aliens technology. A film version of AvP 1999, yes please!

An 'ALIENS' sequel is very possible without retconning 'ALIEN 3'.  The only real problem is Ripley.  Make 'ALIENS 2' about the discovery of the Covenant and send some marines on board to investigate the ship that's been lost for 70 years...  Easy.

Just ditch any idea of Ripley being involved.  Said it many times before.  I even like the idea of Blomkamp making an 'ALIENS 2'. 

-Windebieste.

Quote from: windebieste on Dec 27, 2017, 11:36:23 AM
An 'ALIENS' sequel is very possible without retconning 'ALIEN 3'.  The only real problem is Ripley.  Make 'ALIENS 2' about the discovery of the Covenant and send some marines on board to investigate the ship that's been lost for 70 years...  Easy.

Just ditch any idea of Ripley being involved.  Said it many times before.  I even like the idea of Blomkamp making an 'ALIENS 2'. 

-Windebieste.

That could work but Blomkamp wouldn't do it without Weaver, that much is certain. And personally I don't want any movie that takes place in the original timeline so much as hint of Covenants existence. Take the Isolation approach, I don't remember any Prometheus stuff in it. I think we finally deserve a proper Aliens style AvP film (tech, look, feel), Blomkamp could make it work.

Quote from: reecebomb on Dec 27, 2017, 11:54:34 AM
That could work but Blomkamp wouldn't do it without Weaver, that much is certain.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. The project had initially started a Weaver and Ripley-less concept.

Let the Alter-Alien live!!! Blomkamp is a last hope for the franchise  :(

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 27, 2017, 11:55:59 AM

Quote from: reecebomb on Dec 27, 2017, 11:54:34 AM
That could work but Blomkamp wouldn't do it without Weaver, that much is certain.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. The project had initially started a Weaver and Ripley-less concept.

Perhaps, but he and Weaver have had already worked on multiple projects together and he would no doubt feel the pressure to include Weaver unless she herself wouldn't want to do it,  just a speculation. Disney would approve the inclusion of Ripley, just like they did with the old characters in Star Wars.

I really dont want him to touch this franchise. At least maybe now with disney buying the IP we can can new charecters and story that doesnt have to do wirh ripley

Dude needs to move on.

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 27, 2017, 01:12:21 PM
Dude needs to move on.

Pretty sure he has, it's called Oats Studios. Even still if an entire volume of art was created, fans will want to see that and he probably likes sharing it. Even if he is testing the waters as some have suggested then so what? Let him. In my opinion Fox made a mistake by not simply having both of these films made. And if Fox has new leadership they'll be looking at things like this. The fact that this art goes viral whenever he shares it says that interest for the project remains strong, regardless how hopeless it seems to ever be officially revisited.

As we've also said on the podcast, if the project is officially cancelled, there should be a book of this artwork, or perhaps some other media format like a graphic novel, elaborating on what could have been.

Is there any credence to the idea that if was really utterly dead, the treatment would have surfaced (or script - I can't remember now). I mean, we have loads of scripts of aborted projects in the library here.

I don't think this is a "meaningless" post. He knows there's a shakeup at Fox... if I was him, I'd be thinking "why the hell not." I mean, people are clearly still interested in it, it always gathers buzz when he "suddenly remembers" he has more artwork lying about *lol*.

So for me, he's hoping for another shot - and fair play to him, he put a lot of work in and it's clearly a passion project. NB's ability to deliver is up to the individual, I guess... I don't know how well he'd be able to pull it off - it could be great.

Quote from: RidgeTop on Dec 27, 2017, 01:26:46 PM

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 27, 2017, 01:12:21 PM
Dude needs to move on.

Pretty sure he has, it's called Oats Studios.

A webseries. Far cry from his career pre-Elysium and Chappie. Getting in like Flynn with the Alien franchise would be a ticket back for him. He's not worthy of it but he can't drop the topic.

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 27, 2017, 01:50:53 PM

Quote from: RidgeTop on Dec 27, 2017, 01:26:46 PM

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 27, 2017, 01:12:21 PM
Dude needs to move on.

Pretty sure he has, it's called Oats Studios.

A webseriies. Far cry from his career pre-Elysium and Chappie.

It's an independent film studio that he just started. These shorts are proofs of concepts and as he's stated, he has the goal of one of them being developed into a feature film. District 9 and Chappie both started as short films of his. Also, the media landscape is drastically changing and he's experimenting with how this type of media is released. The reception to these shorts has been wildly positive, so to insinuate he's done anything other than progress in his career I would say is unfair.

He's also said a sequel to District 9 is likely his next major project.

And he's also attached to the book adaptation, The Gone World or something like that?

The artwork is nice, just leave Alien3 alone Neil. :laugh:

Quote from: RidgeTop on Dec 27, 2017, 01:58:00 PM
It's an independent film studio that he just started. These shorts are proofs of concepts and as he's stated, he has the goal of one of them being developed into a feature film. District 9 and Chappie both started as short films of his. Also, the media landscape is drastically changing and he's experimenting with how this type of media is released. The reception to these shorts has been wildly positive, so to insinuate he's done anything other than progress in his career I would say is unfair.

I really don't think it is. It's been a steady fall. If he was able to get A5 or something else off the ground at a studio, I doubt you'd ever have seen him going DIY with self-produced shorts or talking about returning to D9, his one wholly well-received film.

I loved District 9. But his subsequent projects have made it clear to me that Blomkamp was a one-hit wonder - he had one skill, one idea and he's been trying lackluster variations on it since.

And to be clear, while I think doing an A5 that is some sort of fanfic redo of a post-Aliens film is a bad idea, I'm all for seeing Ripley once more. I just in no way think Blomkamp has the skill or creativity to do anything beyond a sort of James Cameron imitation reskin. His one note is "tech fetishism vs. the evil corporations" - and that's a note this franchise already ran into the ground in the 1990s.

Blomkamp needs to leave screenwriting to others.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 27, 2017, 02:23:19 PM
And he's also attached to the book adaptation, The Gone World or something like that?

Oh yeah, it looks like he is slated to direct, for 20th Century Fox no less. Strange thing is that the book itself isn't supposed to be released until February of 2018.

http://www.slashfilm.com/neill-blomkamp-to-direct-the-gone-world

Some interesting tidbits in that link:

"With his experimental passion project Oats Studios, Blomkamp is going through a process of creative renewal right now — or supposedly he is. After his breakout success of the high-concept sci-fi film District 9, Blomkamp has struggled to get another critical and commercial hit. Elysium was too sanctimonious, while Chappie was atonal and just plain bad. He was using Oats Studios as a creative "lab" to cook up ideas that could be turned into feature films, and perhaps get in touch with his short-film roots that first got him noticed.

Now with The Gone World, an adaptation may be the safest step back into the sci-fi feature world for him."

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the very fact that he's admitted flaws and a desire to improve in his storytelling is a great attribute. Most directors would have too much of an ego for that. If you look on Steam his new shorts have an "Overwhelmingly Positive" reception. This phase is probably just what he needs right now. I mean, look at how M. Night Shyamalan made a comeback. It can be done and I suspect his best films are yet to come. I will admit that District 9, Elysium, and Chappie had too many tonal and aesthetic similarities, however I enjoyed all three and would say they were at least decent sci-fi.

So.... his aesthetic decisions for this were
"i really liked Aliens, guys. Let's repeat all that stuff?"

???

Quote from: Russ on Dec 27, 2017, 01:31:49 PM
Is there any credence to the idea that if was really utterly dead, the treatment would have surfaced (or script - I can't remember now).

Last I heard, there is no script, just a concept, but I haven't followed A5 in detail. In 2017, Scott stated that it was doubtful Blomkamp's film would ever be made as there had never even been a script written for it, but simply a basic, undeveloped concept built around Blomkamp's artwork. But that is from IMDB, user submitted info, so who knows if it's legit.

He did say that. But he also said in the past that'd he'd seen the script and it was good. Cameron and Weaver both said they'd read the script and it was good. So methinks Scott is wrong/mis-remembering/purposefully downplaying how far the project went.

Thanks both.

As I say, my guess is that this is a bit carpe diem given the Disney takeover. How much traction it'll actually garner is anyone's guess... and I can imagine that he may well drop whatever he's working on if they told him to go ahead with this?

But, it it all goes Pete Tong, maybe the script will leak one day too...

Maybe it was just a long "scriptment" that Blomkamp prepared.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptment

There's got to be a chance of interviewing Blomkamp about this, now.
Get some details out of him.

I'd love to. I've reached out but I'm not sure I'll get very far. Pretty drowned out in the responses to him.

what an absolute shame we missed this just to get that prometheus/covenant garbage.  sigh.  Looks amazing.  colonial marines are so underused (they were only in ONE film!) So much more we couldve seen. 

Quote from: skhellter on Dec 27, 2017, 04:14:01 PM
Maybe it was just a long "scriptment" that Blomkamp prepared.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptment

There's got to be a chance of interviewing Blomkamp about this, now.
Get some details out of him.

That could be possible, but I got information from a trustworthy source that there was a screenplay written for it. Unfortunately, they seemed pretty convinced that it was done for. (They did, however, suggest a fan movement of sorts. Not sure exactly what he meant. I need to try to get in touch with them again one of these days).

Nice!

Quote from: skhellter on Dec 27, 2017, 04:14:01 PM
Maybe it was just a long "scriptment" that Blomkamp prepared.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptment

There's got to be a chance of interviewing Blomkamp about this, now.
Get some details out of him.

Scott specifically stated that the first draft of the script was completed. That was after about 7 months of early pre-production after the project was officially greenlit. Enough time to write a full script.

Quote"We have Neill Blomkamp's Alien, which will be out in 2017. We just have the first [screenplay] draft in so far but it looks pretty good." - Ridley Scott

http://www.avpgalaxy.net/2015/10/05/ridley-scott-talks-neill-blomkamps-alien-5/ (http://www.avpgalaxy.net/2015/10/05/ridley-scott-talks-neill-blomkamps-alien-5/)


Blomkamp's original pitch to Fox might have been in the form of a "scriptment" though.

Quote"We put together essentially a script and all the artwork and that's what I went to 20th Century Fox with." - Neill Blomkamp

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 27, 2017, 08:07:32 AM
I have to wonder if he's trying to drum up renewed interest following the merger?

About 10 years before Disney bought Lucasfilm, John Knoll (ILM's visual effects supervisor) pitched a film idea to Fox/Lucas that basically went nowhere. After the Disney takeover he pitched it again to the new owners. The film's name was Rogue One. If Blomkamp was still interested in Alien 5 he'd be stupid not to give it another try.

They have to let Neil do this! They've already eff-ed up the Star Wars, this way they can make the fans actually happy with the fact that the franchise so longer belongs to FOX. :o

Yeah!  It has a pulse!  Make it happen Neill!

Seems a real shame that so much beautiful artwork went into something that was snuffed out so quickly. I was really hoping this would be the next big Alien movie that ADI could work on... especially since it looks and feels like something that belongs in the franchise.

Looks like Aliens, it has a Dropship in it,... very original, Neil.

BRING IT BACK DISNEY! For the love of Giger, bring it back.

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/dm4Px

Here's one of the artists.

Quote from: Tonyhartmorph on Dec 27, 2017, 06:19:01 PM
Looks like Aliens, it has a Dropship in it,... very original, Neil.

I guess Alien 3 is unoriginal too, because it features Pulse Rifles and not one, but two Conestoga class transports, eh?

i think he's fishing following the Disney news. I hope to god it never happens as I just can't see it being the least bit satisfying.

I'd quite happily see an Alien 5, colonial marines, drop ships and all but not one that resurrects dead characters or slavishly attempts to copy Aliens. Blomkamp would be bad news IMO.

Blomkamp is a little slag. I'd say that people don't seem to be able to see through him, but I think most just don't care. I don't think I'd enjoy any film he makes related to the series with the way he's going about things.

I don't get the hype for his YouTube shorts either, zero story and exactly the type of effects fans would be moaning about if they saw them in an alien film, SyFy channel material at best. His level is about Stephen Norrington when he made Death Machine, he just got a little more attention at the right time from someone like Jackson. 

Quote from: OpenMaw on Dec 27, 2017, 07:19:34 PM

Quote from: Tonyhartmorph on Dec 27, 2017, 06:19:01 PM
Looks like Aliens, it has a Dropship in it,... very original, Neil.

I guess Alien 3 is unoriginal too, because it features Pulse Rifles and not one, but two Conestoga class transports, eh?

That's because Alien 3 reused those props for budgetary reasons.

This nothing but pure fanboy Aliens remake.

After rewatching District 9, I think I would rather see Blomkamp's take on something like RoboCop rather than Alien. These designs look rad, but I don't think this would ever happen.

District 9 is the only good movie that the guy has done in my opinion. I don't know why people want his new Alien movie to happen so badly.

I want his take on it because it's been nearly 30 years since the last good/great Alien movie, I don't know why people are so against it, at this point what do we really have to lose?

I think Blomkamp must've stole their lunch at school or something.

Meh. If the art suggested something interesting and new I'd be happy to have my mind changed on his approach. But frankly, a painting of a drop ship and an alien in a air duct doesn't say very much. - why do you even need concept art for that? All you need is screen grabs from previous films and a bit of photoshop editing.

Quote from: N-Shifter on Dec 27, 2017, 08:45:28 PM
I want his take on it because it's been nearly 30 years since the last good/great Alien movie, I don't know why people are so against it

Because his ideas for this one seem deeply derivative and fanfic-y, and he makes bad movies.

Quote from: Gash on Dec 27, 2017, 09:20:46 PM
Meh. If the art suggested something interesting and new I'd be happy to have my mind changed on his approach. But frankly, a painting of a drop ship and an alien in a air duct doesn't say very much. - why do you even need concept art for that? All you need is screen grabs from previous films and a bit of photoshop editing.

Sounds a little lazy.  Doing dedicated artwork shows a little more commitment.  Didn't Anderson do the same on AvP?

Quote from: SM on Dec 27, 2017, 09:23:31 PM

Quote from: Gash on Dec 27, 2017, 09:20:46 PM
Meh. If the art suggested something interesting and new I'd be happy to have my mind changed on his approach. But frankly, a painting of a drop ship and an alien in a air duct doesn't say very much. - why do you even need concept art for that? All you need is screen grabs from previous films and a bit of photoshop editing.

Sounds a little lazy.  Doing dedicated artwork shows a little more commitment.  Didn't Anderson do the same on AvP?

But concept art is about presenting new vehicle design, creature design, costume design.. anything that needs visual representation because it doesn't yet exist. You do get scene setting art which might be a guide to post production but these new pieces seem, in pre-production film making terms, fairly pointless. I can see that they would drum up interest to a certain element of fandom, and that's probably the purpose, but it doesn't say anything about script quality, other than it is extremely derivative. Now he might think that is a good way to sell a pitch to Disney. Maybe he's right.

No disrespect to the artists he's commissioned, there's nothing wrong with the execution of the images, but the ideas he's presented thus far continue to leave me uninspired.

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 27, 2017, 09:22:41 PM
..and he makes bad movies.

Sigh... here we go again with the mindless hyperbole.

District 9:

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%, Metacritic 81
4 Oscar Nominations including best picture.
Made back more than x7 times it's production budget at the box office.

Elysium was on par critically with Alien Covenant (RT 67% vs. RT 68%, IMDb 6.6 vs. IMDb 6.5) but outperformed Covenant at the box office.

Chappie scored higher at IMDb @ 6.8 but suffered critically RT 32%. Also keep in mind that Chappie suffered from a very troubled production, the ending was heavily compromised due to issues they had with one of the lead actors.

But yeah, the guy makes bad movies cause I don't likes his Alien movie proposal.

To be fair he doesn't have the greatest track record after a very promising start.  Elysium and Chappie aren't bad movies, but they're not that good either.

Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 09:57:15 PM

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 27, 2017, 09:22:41 PM
..and he makes bad movies.

Sigh... here we go again with the mindless hyperbole.

District 9:

Rotten Tomatoes: 90%, Metacritic 81
4 Oscar Nominations including best picture.
Made back more than x7 times it's production budget at the box office.

Elysium was on par critically with Alien Covenant (RT 67% vs. RT 68%, IMDb 6.6 vs. IMDb 6.5) but outperformed Covenant at the box office.

Chappie scored higher at IMDb @ 6.8 but suffered critically RT 32%. Also keep in mind that Chappie suffered from a very troubled production, the ending was heavily compromised due to issues they had with one of the lead actors.

But yeah, the guy makes bad movies cause I don't likes his Alien movie proposal.

But you could reasonably argue that though his first film felt new, his follow-ups have been derivative of the same themes and so the diminishing box office reflect an audience view that he isn't building a solid reputation as a film maker. Given the derivative nature within his own films, melding that with being derivative of Aliens too is probably the overriding thing that makes some of us doubt there's a great film aching to be made.

Reading all of the posts below it's easy to see that fans(including myself) are fickle. People either love blompkamp's unmade alien film or hate it.Although Blompkamp's ideas might not be terribly original I would love to see an Alien film in "a Cameron-esce" setting. We've gotten a number of alien films in a "horror setting" Which hasn't worked too well. Let's give an action film another go. How many novels, comics and games have colonial marines fighting Alien hordes?

You could argue that Aliens is as much of action film as it is horror, but the setting has always been undeniably horror.

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 10:12:50 PM
Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

You know anyone an vote IMDB and RT Audience Score right?, those aren't valid metrics for qualify his movies:

District 9

Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 90%

Metacritic Metascore: 81

Box Office Mojo: Worldwide  $210,819,611 on a production budget of $30 million


Elysium

Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 67%

Metacritic Metascore: 61

Box Office Mojo: Worldwide $286,140,700 on a production budget of $115 million


Crappie

Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 32%

Metacritic Metascore: 41

Box Office Mojo: Worldwide:    $102,069,268    on a production budget of $49 million


And some of you want this guy to direct a Alien film??? The quality of his movies and also his Box Office got exponentially worse every time, why no just call it a day, and search for a GOOD DIRECTOR? Someone who move the story forward instead backwards, someone who gives us something new and fresh and no just a rehash of their fanboy wet dreams about AlienS, while destroying 2 cannon movies in the process.

I guess it's time to took off those nostalgia tinted glasses, Ripley died in Alien 3, end of the story,

---

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Dec 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 10:12:50 PM
Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

(https://media1.tenor.com/images/e826ce2e477f83e9a9217716fd208f69/tenor.gif?itemid=5154236)

And then she was resurrected.

Why aren't IMDB and RT audience scores valid?  They give an indicator of what an audience thought of a film.

Quote from: SM on Dec 27, 2017, 11:16:22 PM
And then she was resurrected.

Why aren't IMDB and RT audience scores valid?  They give an indicator of what an audience thought of a film.

Do you see the shit DC/Marvel/Star Wars fans doing on IMDb with their user score??, they collectively invade IMDB before they see the movie and rated it 10 or 1 in the case of the haters, that's allowed because IMDb release the vote pool waaaaay to early, you just can't trust on IMDb user score.

Quote from: Kane's other son on Dec 27, 2017, 09:56:09 AM
Good God, more Aliens rehashes: Aliens crawling inside an air vent, a dropship from 1986. No evolution, no new design ideas on the table.

On the contrary. That shot of the creature in the duct looked far more like what we saw in 'Alien' than 'Aliens'. He's been saying for ages he's a big fan of both the original films.

Quote from: reecebomb on Dec 27, 2017, 11:54:34 AM
I think we finally deserve a proper Aliens style AvP film (tech, look, feel), Blomkamp could make it work.

Know what you mean, but he's already said that he dislikes the AVP concept.

Quote from: reecebomb on Dec 27, 2017, 10:52:58 PM
You could argue that Aliens is as much of action film as it is horror, but the setting has always been undeniably horror.

Absolutely. People who dismiss it as only an action film have very superficial memories of what it actually shows.

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 27, 2017, 09:22:41 PM
Because his ideas for this one seem deeply derivative and fanfic-y

Unless you have access to material none of the rest of us do, nobody knows what the story - and, thus, the ideas - actually involved.

We know it featured Ripley and Hicks, but that was at Weaver's urging, not his own. His story was Ripley-less and 'Alien 3' was factored in.

Why can't Disney do it?

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 27, 2017, 11:23:00 PM

Quote from: SM on Dec 27, 2017, 11:16:22 PM
And then she was resurrected.

Why aren't IMDB and RT audience scores valid?  They give an indicator of what an audience thought of a film.

Do you see the shit DC/Marvel/Star Wars fans doing on IMDb with their user score??, they collectively invade IMDB before they see the movie and rated it 10 or 1 in the case of the haters, that's allowed because IMDb release the vote pool waaaaay to early, you just can't trust on IMDb user score.

What are you basing this on?  I just looked at Batman vs Superman, Winter Soldier, Dr Strange, Rogue One and Last Jedi.  I'm not seeing the votes flooded by 10s and 1s.

QuoteUnless you have access to material none of the rest of us do, nobody knows what the story - and, thus, the ideas - actually involved.

I continually find this criticism strange too.  We know it was probably going to be more like Aliens than Alien, but beyond that we don't know enough of the story to form an opinion.

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 27, 2017, 08:21:56 PM
That's because Alien 3 reused those props for budgetary reasons.

No. It's because they fit those respective parts of the film, and the film makers weren't disgruntled people on the internet worried about "souring" their movie with "Teh pulse rifles."

Quote from: ROYCE_THE_PREDATOR on Dec 27, 2017, 11:31:14 PM
Why can't Disney do it?

They could totally do it. We'll have to see what happens.

I legitimately don't understand the instant negative response to the Blomkamp idea when we still hardly know anything about it.

Alien hasn't had an objectively good film in years, and people would rather Fox triple down on Ridley Scott after both of his prequels were met with a mixed response? Sure let's let Ridley sit around for a few years and decide what he wants to do with a franchise that isn't even his.

I'd rather see other things happen within a franchise that, in my opinion, has been viewed through a keyhole for many, many years.

Quote from: Whos_Nick on Dec 27, 2017, 11:44:51 PM
Sure let's let Ridley sit around for a few years and decide what he wants to do with a franchise that isn't even his.

Yeah, let's do that.

Quote from: OpenMaw on Dec 27, 2017, 11:34:15 PM


No. It's because they fit those respective parts of the film, and the film makers weren't disgruntled people on the internet worried about "souring" their movie with "Teh pulse rifles."

You're taking the mickey, obviously.

The pulse rifles in Alien 3 weren't even the same.  Different colouring, different sound effect.

Of course it would be the same ship as the Sulaco because it's a sequel.

They reused queen from Aliens in A:R as well. 

A reason this movie should be made, is because it gives a definitely large budget and expansion of a  universe that should be discovered again. The universe should expand with this film building on what was established with Aliens and defining what Prometheus should be in the future. Perhaps this is the ticket to securing the franchise as something Ridley had just compared to as  another  Star Wars,hopefully with less childish complexity.

nothing about this idea sounds interesting or good, sounds like not great fan fiction

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 09:57:15 PM
But yeah, the guy makes bad movies cause I don't likes his Alien movie proposal.

I saw them. They were bad.

Quote from: N-Shifter on Dec 27, 2017, 08:45:28 PM
I want his take on it because it's been nearly 30 years since the last good/great Alien movie, I don't know why people are so against it, at this point what do we really have to lose?

I feel like he would ruin the point of Alien 3. What makes Alien 3 so great is the dark tone in the story with the characters being killed off. Alien 3 is a reverse summer blockbuster which is why I love it. People want the Alien series to have a happy ending like a Star Wars movie. When Alien is not meant to be Star Wars. Save that shit for the family friendly movies.

Quote from: SM on Dec 27, 2017, 11:16:22 PM
Why aren't IMDB and RT audience scores valid?  They give an indicator of what an audience thought of a film.

They are one of a number valid indicators. Any whackadoo can hop on a forum and boast IMDB ratings are invalid but without obtainable evidence to back that accusation, it's nothing more than empty boasting.

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 27, 2017, 11:23:00 PM
Do you see the shit DC/Marvel/Star Wars fans doing on IMDb with their user score??, they collectively invade IMDB before they see the movie and rated it 10 or 1 in the case of the haters, that's allowed because IMDb release the vote pool waaaaay to early, you just can't trust on IMDb user score.

No offense, but you're mouthing off on a rating system it sounds like you're, as many do, filling in the blank with assumptions. Sure anyone can vote, but a value is placed on your vote and there are minimums required before your voted value is added to the weighted average.

Those fanatics who create dozens of accounts voting all 10's or 1's on a given film, are totally ignorant they are just spinning their wheels. It took their vote, but that submission has a weighted average of zero. The fanatics walk away thinking they successfully ballot stuffed the vote, but know none the wiser their vote is essentially worthless.

You have to earn the right to have your rating count in IMDB's rating system.

With a decent script, his talent and of course his passion for the franchise, it's pretty safe to say that Neill Blomkamp can make a good Alien film.

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 28, 2017, 02:35:15 AM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 09:57:15 PM
But yeah, the guy makes bad movies cause I don't likes his Alien movie proposal.

I saw them. They were bad.

(https://howsmyenglish.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Thats_just_your_opinion.jpg)

Quote from: Hellspawn28 on Dec 28, 2017, 02:41:56 AM

Quote from: N-Shifter on Dec 27, 2017, 08:45:28 PM
I want his take on it because it's been nearly 30 years since the last good/great Alien movie, I don't know why people are so against it, at this point what do we really have to lose?

I feel like he would ruin the point of Alien 3. What makes Alien 3 so great is the dark tone in the story with the characters being killed off. Alien 3 is a reverse summer blockbuster which is why I love it. People want the Alien series to have a happy ending like a Star Wars movie. When Alien is not meant to be Star Wars. Save that shit for the family friendly movies.

I've come to love Alien³ over the years, but I don't think this film would undermine it. Blomkamp himself said "I'm not trying to undo Alien³ or Alien Resurrection." This would likey be an alternate sequel and one wouldn't be canon over the other. It would be up to the fans to decide, which is honestly how I feel the series needs to go at this point. Like the comics, they should just have multiple continuities. Things have gotten too convoluted to keep it as a singular one. And I don't think there's any evidence the film would have a happy ending, for all we know maybe Ripley and Hicks die taking out a Weyland Yutani installation. The ironic thing is that Ridley Scott is the one who wants Alien to be Star Wars.

Quote from: Whos_Nick on Dec 27, 2017, 11:44:51 PM
I legitimately don't understand the instant negative response to the Blomkamp idea when we still hardly know anything about it.

Alien hasn't had an objectively good film in years, and people would rather Fox triple down on Ridley Scott after both of his prequels were met with a mixed response? Sure let's let Ridley sit around for a few years and decide what he wants to do with a franchise that isn't even his.

I'd rather see other things happen within a franchise that, in my opinion, has been viewed through a keyhole for many, many years.

Agreed. I've never seen the kind of widespread excitement for a new Alien film as I have with this, but a faction of fans just take this idea as an affront to the franchise and Alien³ in particular. This is an idea that's truly unique that could meld with Blomkamp's signature style. I'm really just ready for someone to make an Alien film who's actually a fan of them. When he's talking about how much he enjoyed Isolation and wants to incorporate elements of it, it shows how cued in he is to the franchise at large and that he's willing to take input from interesting areas, as opposed to Scott who seemingly only cares for his vision and nothing else.

Also, I think people are focusing too heavily on his three feature films (two really because one is near universally praised), and not giving him enough credit for what he's done with Oats Studios. Shorts or feature length that's still directorial experience that shouldn't be overlooked, I mean Fincher was given the job from what he did with music videos and advertisements. These shorts have near universal acclaim, and he's already worked with ADI on them. That experience with ADI would likely make for a strong collaboration on an Alien project.

Scott had two chances and both films were incredibly divisive among fans and general audiences. Hell if they want to let him finish his trilogy I'll roll my eyes but still go to see it. I just think it's time something be made of this, one way or the other. They should either officially cancel it and give us an art book, script, graphic novel, whatever, or just do it already.

A few random thoughts here.

Wouldn't it be a head trip if sometime in the future, we heard news that Cameron was in talks to return to this franchise. Ridley did it, so why not Cameron? If Cameron did though, would it be in the same style as Aliens? I can't see him doing anything else.

In regards to bringing back characters like Ripley and such, is it really necessary that her character or anyone else from the old movies be involved in any sequels to the original films? If that happens, and they retcon anything, are they basically saying the series revolves and can only truly exist around these particular characters? I really hope that's not a direction Disney chooses.

The idea of any future Alien films being made in the same spirit of Aliens is a hot button issue to say the least. While I personally prefer a lone alien doing its thing, wouldn't a sequel in the 1986 style be the natural direction the series was progressing? We went from a handful of people on the Nostromo to colonial marines dropships, planet colonization, Alien queens etc. It really was a big jump. To go full tilt Alien 1979 again would have been one heck of a slowdown. Had the transition been gradual, it may have been different, but Gibson's Alien 3 was (I think) a more accurate representation of the natural progression.

Perhaps, the fallout of Ripley's death and the events immediately following it are the proper way to go for Alien 5. Hicks and Newt would still be dead as well, as would Bishop. You have the opportunity to go Alien 1986 without rehashing old characters and storylines. Wey-Yu is panicking at the death of Ripley. Send in the Marines with some science officers to try and recover a sample from the original derelict. We'd get to see more of the cave system. Maybe the movie revolves around their survival in the derelict, maybe things go bad back at the lab and the film ends on a cliffhanger with a grown Alien escaping into the vent system at Wey-Yu. A bloody and mutilated grate is seen on the wall, as science personnel stare at it in horror.

A slower film could involve a crew dispatched to search for the Nostromo, with disastrous results. They find the derelict and never make it off the surface. Whether the fight for survival is fought in the derelict, the caves, or inside their own landing craft would be up to the writers. Heck you could even include a quick scene of them finding David's remains, a little nod to the prequels. Either way, we don't really need to have Weaver around to make an Alien film. There's a lot of good characters out there just waiting to be written.

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 28, 2017, 12:26:16 AM

Quote from: OpenMaw on Dec 27, 2017, 11:34:15 PM


No. It's because they fit those respective parts of the film, and the film makers weren't disgruntled people on the internet worried about "souring" their movie with "Teh pulse rifles."

You're taking the mickey, obviously.

The pulse rifles in Alien 3 weren't even the same.  Different colouring, different sound effect.

Of course it would be the same ship as the Sulaco because it's a sequel.

They reused queen from Aliens in A:R as well.

A pulse rifle is a pulse rifle. Gun go boom. Does it matter.

Frankly, I have a lot more faith in the resurrection of the Predator franchise than any future Alien sequels.

Quote from: Huggs on Dec 28, 2017, 05:09:19 AM
Heck you could even include a quick scene of them finding David's remains, a little nod to the prequels.

This.

And you could take the franchise in an entirely new direction similar to Blade Runner 2049.

You could plug David into any scenario. He's a robot. Let Ripley come across him and have him be rebooted somehow.

You have to give the David character a proper ending first.

To be very honest i don't like the idea of Blomkamp's sequel, there's been already enough retcons in the franchise to add a another HUGE one besides i like Alien 3 and even Resurrection. Honestly i kinda thank this project was cancelled.

What the Alien franchise needs is to take a new root following new characters, new environments (just try to imagine a Rogue One-like movie with Aliens set on Earth) and expand the universe in more refreshing ways.

QuoteThe ironic thing is that Ridley Scott is the one who wants Alien to be Star Wars.

He didn't say that.

Quote from: Valentine Hale on Dec 28, 2017, 07:43:07 AM


What the Alien franchise needs is to take a new root following new characters, new environments (just try to imagine a Rogue One-like movie with Aliens set on Earth) and expand the universe in more refreshing ways.

I was thinking about this earlier.  We have a David trilogy, a Ripley trilogy.  So if they want further sequels, create a new and really interesting and great character that is nothing like Ripley or David, and that we will want to follow for maybe 3 movies.

Forget about bringing back old characters, let go of the past and start fresh if they truly want to save this franchise.

But isn't the major hook of NB's concept that Rippers and Hicks return (whatever we personally think of that idea - we know that there's strong feelings on retconning / not retconning).

I would love to see a film in this mien, but like some, I don't know if NB is the right chap to pull it off. Look, I'm a big Paul WS Anderson fan and I really like AvP (not being ironic). But I know a lot of people really hated it (like REALLY hated it. Until AvP:R came out at least). On paper, Anderson seems like the perfect guy to do a Alien or Predator movie.

His most critically acclaimed film might as well be set in the Alien-verse, he's a massive fan-boy, he did and commissioned a shit-tonne of awesome concept art (that we see some of the in the special features).... it's essentially the same story we're seeing now.

But AvP didn't turn out as great as some might have hoped. For me, I've always wondered how much "studio" stuff got into AvP - we know that AvP:R was entirely derailed by Joel... Silver (I can't remember - the guy that said "no, set it in small town America" despite the entire concept involving Space Marines and Predator planet).

So this might be a concern for NB? Given the dodgy box office of Covenant, the pulling of the sequel to that movie... would Disney bankroll something ambitious? That's the key, I think. Go big, go large and give the creative team the money they need.

Doesn't always work - there was no shortage of cash for Prometheus, but that wasn't great. Then again, I was watching "Furious Gods" last night and one of the blokes said "Ridley is aware of the wider Alien universe that he created (?!?) and is respectful of it, but ultimately its just a job he did in the 70s and he's not afraid to change it up a bit."

So the counter argument "they gave him zillions of dollars and creative control... and look how that turned out." Thing is though, I don't think Ridley is particularly respectful to the lore and my guess is that NB would be (Anderson was, by and large. I think the life-cycle stuff was done for pacing... as I've said before, I don't think AvP ended the movie he pitched, wrote or wanted to make).

How is Ridley not respecting the lore?  There is no lore, at least not in the films.  The EU is a tangled web of half baked ideas.  He is instead creating the lore, and he of all people has the right to do that.

Quote from: Russ on Dec 28, 2017, 08:42:34 AM
But isn't the major hook of NB's concept that Rippers and Hicks return

Yes it is.  That and, another AlienS movie.

Of course having Hicks and Ripley return is a bad idea for a number of reasons:

1.  Their characters are dead.
2.  The actors are in their late 60s / early 70s by the time this gets made
3.  Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn haven't been in a hit movie for a long time.
4.  Fans may want this but do general audiences care?
5.  They already tried to bring Ripley back from the dead once and it failed

Quote from: SM on Dec 28, 2017, 07:45:18 AM

QuoteThe ironic thing is that Ridley Scott is the one who wants Alien to be Star Wars.

He didn't say that.

"I think they have to. There's no reason why Alien should now not be on the same level for fans as Star Trek and Star Wars. So I think the next step as to where we go is, do we sustain the Alien (series) with the evolution of the beast or do we reinvent something else? I think you need to have an evolution on this famous beast because he's the best monster ever, really."

And earlier he said: "Star Wars will be a juggernaut. Why do you think I'm doing sequels?"

So maybe not verbatim but that's how I took it.

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 28, 2017, 09:59:28 AM
He is instead creating the lore, and he of all people has the right to do that.

Ridley doesn't have some inherent right to the franchise other than the directorial and producer jobs the studio gives him. He's not the father of Alien as some seem to claim. He's not the George Lucas of Alien. He did a damn good job directing the original film but the art of Giger and writing of Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett were equally important. If enough fans are unhappy with the modern state of the franchise, you bet the studio may alter their course and take away his creative control.

He meant it should be as popular as Star Wars.

Quote from: SM on Dec 28, 2017, 11:00:14 AM
He meant it should be as popular as Star Wars.

Right, but the Alien series just doesn't work that way. It'll never have that mass appeal, which is why they're better off focusing on their core demographic: the fans. The allure of the original four movies was that each one was an entirety different beast with its own directorial vision. Then Scott comes after Prometheus, saying now he wants to "keep cranking it for another six." The franchise will grow stale with such a homogeneous vision, it needs creative diversity.

The growing narrative is that people are tired of Scott's prequel series, and even one more is pushing it.

https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/07/ridley-scott-has-lost-his-marbles-over-these-alien-prequels/

https://www.tor.com/2017/09/26/ridley-scott-needs-to-stop-why-we-dont-need-any-more-alien-prequels/

People are not tired of the prequels, Scott's vision has re-invigorated Alien from becoming a tired and stale series of endless retreads.

Quote from: RidgeTop on Dec 28, 2017, 10:58:03 AM


Ridley doesn't have some inherent right to the franchise other than the directorial and producer jobs the studio gives him. He's not the father of Alien as some seem to claim. He's not the George Lucas of Alien. He did a damn good job directing the original film but the art of Giger and writing of Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett were equally important. If enough fans are unhappy with the modern state of the franchise, you bet the studio may alter their course and take away his creative control.

Dan O Bannon unfortunately passed away in 2009. Ronald Shusett is still alive but Alien is mostly O Bannon's work.

Giger was one of the artists on Alien like Ralph McQuarrie was for Star Wars, but he had nothing to do with creating the story.

Ridley Scott did not write the story for Alien, but he did direct it and apart from Dan O Bannon who wrote the original story, he is the most qualified to be the Father of Alien.  If not Ridley then who else?

QuoteRight, but the Alien series just doesn't work that way.

Indeed.

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 28, 2017, 11:19:34 AM
Dan O Bannon unfortunately passed away in 2009. Ronald Shusett is still alive but Alien is mostly O Bannon's work.

Giger was one of the artists on Alien like Ralph McQuarrie was for Star Wars, but he had nothing to do with creating the story.

Ridley Scott did not write the story for Alien, but he did direct it and apart from Dan O Bannon who wrote the original story, he is the most qualified to be the Father of Alien.  If not Ridley then who else?

Current status of life doesn't mean the others get relegated.  ::) And besides, Walter Hill and David Giler are still around and I think their conflicts with O'Bannon should also be taken into account when thinking about the success of the script. There is no The Father of Alien, there are Fathers. Plural.

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 28, 2017, 11:19:34 AM
People are not tired of the prequels, Scott's vision has re-invigorated Alien from becoming a tired and stale series of endless retreads.

Lackluster returns for Covenant would claim otherwise. I know it wasn't a huge failure but it still wasn't the success Fox expected and it shows diminishing returns.

Not to mention, it's not an either/or - it's not like the only options here are either "endless retreads" or "Ridley Scott's prequel vision" and nothing else. The sequel movies aren't "endless retreads", each is unique in tone, style, and themes. Shit, even the EU is similarly all over the map. It's one of the things I like best about the series as a whole, it isn't a "stale series of endless retreads".

And just because Alienkamp's concept art features dropships or pulse rifles doesn't mean it's going to be a retread. It's just visual consistency. We've heard how influenced he was by Alien: Isolation and Alien as well. We know nothing about the core or themes of Blomkamp's story.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 28, 2017, 11:27:48 AM



Current status of life doesn't mean the others get relegated.  ::)

No, of course it doesn't.  And I don't mean to be disrespectful.  But being dead kind of disqualifies you from being involved in the franchise's future.

QuoteAnd besides, Walter Hill and David Giler are still around and I think their conflicts with O'Bannon should also be taken into account when thinking about the success of the script. There is no The Father of Alien, there are Fathers. Plural.

Hill and Giler rewrote O Bannon's script, among other things.  Their contributions cannot be underestimated.  But the director is the ultimate author of the movie.

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 28, 2017, 11:19:34 AM


Lackluster returns for Covenant would claim otherwise. I know it wasn't a huge failure but it still wasn't the success Fox expected and it shows diminishing returns.

Box office returns don't really mean much.  The original Blade Runner failed at the box office.  It's the life of the film after its initial run that's important.

Help me out here... is it right the main issue with Prometheus and Covenant is that they're neither one thing or the other. As I say, above, I'm watching "Furious Gods" at the moment (it's really long!).

The mission statement seemed pretty clear: this has the DNA of Alien - it could be taking place in the same universe, running parallel... something like that, I can't recall the exact quote. But it wasn't Alien. It was... like Alien.

Certainly, Ridley Scott was interested in creation - where do we come from... Chariots of the Gods (I'm surprised there wasn't a character called "Erick" or ship called "The Von Daniken")... all that stuff.

As far as I know, the Spaights story was much more about Xenos proper, but Scott pushed against that till he got the draft  from Lindelhoff .... the draft that he wanted?  (Spaights was fired according to the documentary).

So both Prometheus and Covenant are falling between two stools aren't they? At least that's what it feels like to me. One of my mates said that they basically both suffer from the milestone of Alien being hung around their necks and it seems like Scott didn't really want to have anything to do with the Alien anymore (at least directly).

So both prequels quite confusing in that regard and I don't think anyone wanted to have the origin of the xeno be revealed as it was.

Perhaps it would have been better for Ridley to divorce entirely and stick to his "has the DNA" guns and not go down the route he went down (or maybe he was told go down that road - I don't know).

And I think - despite the arguments about retcons (please, I'm not wanting to start that off again - let's just say some are for it and some aren't on these boards) there is sometimes (dare I say) a substantial dollar value to bringing back beloved characters if done well.

I think an Alien 5 that had the characters from Aliens in it could ride a hefty nostalgia wave in the same way that Star Wars did (people were going mental about Han Solo in the first one). Conversely, it didn't quite work out for the Terminator!

But these few images from NB have garnered massive traction - I'm not sure we can discount Rippers and Hicks NOT being part of that ground-swell.

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Dec 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM
Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

THIS.

It could be set in the late 2100's-2200s where the bulk of the series takes place (Excluding Ridlien: Davidnantmetheus), bring back the iconic human aspects of the franchise, such as the USCMC, Gateway Station, Fiorina, etc. I have a completed screenplay that encapsulates the original trilogy, yes - it does feature the Ripley family, but they could easily be substituted with original characters and personalities that already exist in the story in major roles as is. Could easily have a new Grizzled Marine who has spent his days fighting pirates and enemy governments/armies (or even Weyland-Yutani), but the main crux of the story is on a re-imagining of the Xenomorph that postulates there are many different species of Xenomorph that exist throughout the universe (and more importantly that doesn't look like the head of the original was copypasta'd onto the body of a flayed rabbit) and the crew of a dingy, retro-industrial backward-engineered military ship (that is almost literally a power station (https://d1o51r9qdgnnlz.cloudfront.net/static_image/18574f76-b487-4374-b598-532a1a9b66df/static.jpg) in space) happen to run across perhaps the worst of them all. Again, could be entirely original characters. The crux of it is on the atmosphere and central antagonist of the plot (I'll have a teaser trailer mockup for the film up on Kickstarter and IndyGogo Monday...), and I'd recommend Jennifer Kent (she director-debuted The Babadook, watch it, great horror film), but it'll probably end up being a fan-film, (but I'm really shooting for 'indy canon/non-canon spinoff').

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 28, 2017, 11:43:21 AM
It's just visual consistency.

This really struck me with Prometheus - it looked great, but it didn't look anything like pre-Alien technology (I can't remember how long before Alien its supposed to be set). I would have loved to have seen them use the same or similar analogue tech - maybe cleaner looking than the crappy second hand Nostromo stuff (after all, its a multi-zillion dollar mission and the Nostromo is just a tugboat).

Purely subjective on my part, but I would have loved it if they had done that - if it was indeed part of the universe - as I say above, it feels like neither one thing nor the other.

---

Quote from: D. Compton Ambrose on Dec 28, 2017, 11:58:19 AM
I'll have a teaser trailer mockup for the film up on Kickstarter and IndyGogo Monday...)

Wicked, can't wait!

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 28, 2017, 11:54:32 AM
No, of course it doesn't.  And I don't mean to be disrespectful.  But being dead kind of disqualifies you from being involved in the franchise's future.

No-one was actually talking about others being involved were they?

QuoteHill and Giler rewrote O Bannon's script, among other things.  Their contributions cannot be underestimated.  But the director is the ultimate author of the movie.

I disagree. He's one cog in a machine. The extent of the success that is attributed to him should be proportional.

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 28, 2017, 11:19:34 AM
Box office returns don't really mean much.  The original Blade Runner failed at the box office.  It's the life of the film after its initial run that's important.

Blade Runner is a cult film. It's bigger following after it's release didn't exactly help it's sequel either as that also seemed to have failed at the Box Office. Box Office returns reflect the wider appetite.

Quote from: Russ on Dec 28, 2017, 11:57:20 AM
Help me out here... is it right the main issue with Prometheus and Covenant is that they're neither one thing or the other. As I say, above, I'm watching "Furious Gods" at the moment (it's really long!).

The mission statement seemed pretty clear: this has the DNA of Alien - it could be taking place in the same universe, running parallel... something like that, I can't recall the exact quote. But it wasn't Alien. It was... like Alien.

Certainly, Ridley Scott was interested in creation - where do we come from... Chariots of the Gods (I'm surprised there wasn't a character called "Erick" or ship called "The Von Daniken")... all that stuff.

As far as I know, the Spaights story was much more about Xenos proper, but Scott pushed against that till he got the draft  from Lindelhoff .... the draft that he wanted?  (Spaights was fired according to the documentary).

So both Prometheus and Covenant are falling between two stools aren't they? At least that's what it feels like to me. One of my mates said that they basically both suffer from the milestone of Alien being hung around their necks and it seems like Scott didn't really want to have anything to do with the Alien anymore (at least directly).

So both prequels quite confusing in that regard and I don't think anyone wanted to have the origin of the xeno be revealed as it was.

Perhaps it would have been better for Ridley to divorce entirely and stick to his "has the DNA" guns and not go down the route he went down (or maybe he was told go down that road - I don't know).

And I think - despite the arguments about retcons (please, I'm not wanting to start that off again - let's just say some are for it and some aren't on these boards) there is sometimes (dare I say) a substantial dollar value to bringing back beloved characters if done well.

I think an Alien 5 that had the characters from Aliens in it could ride a hefty nostalgia wave in the same way that Star Wars did (people were going mental about Han Solo in the first one). Conversely, it didn't quite work out for the Terminator!

But these few images from NB have garnered massive traction - I'm not sure we can discount Rippers and Hicks NOT being part of that ground-swell.

Wow I totally agree with this. Maybe thats what feels off about Prometheus and Covenant. Scott originally wanted to divorce from Alien and create a story running in the same universe. The studio exes thought it would work better if it WAS about Aliens. Therefore we end up with a product that isn't  Alien or a completely novel idea. So we piss off fans of the originals who were expecting Alien and the average movie goer who doesn't know what these movies are exactly. These prequels suffer from an identity crisis.

Please don't hire Neil Blomkamp!

He isn't good enough. It will be Ridley Scott part II.
Just ask Denis Villeneuve if he has some free time to create new ALIEN movie.  :D
or give it to someone else.

If Hollywood doesn't have any original ideas, they can read some comic books published by Dark Horse.
ALIEN: LABIRYNTH is a better story than Prometheus for sure.

Hint: ALIEN: ISOLATION (video game) has something what fans love.

Fresh charecters and story is what is needed. I enjoyed Prometheus and aliem covenant. But it needs to stick to alien. 

This franchise doesnt need to stick to ripley. But for some reason. They think the only to do alien is to have ripley involved in some way. Be it an asinine bad dream/memory wipe or blood relation.

Ripley died then briefly came back in 4. Now just let her be

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 28, 2017, 11:27:48 AM
Lackluster returns for Covenant would claim otherwise. I know it wasn't a huge failure but it still wasn't the success Fox expected and it shows diminishing returns.

Regardless of how people felt about the film..

Covenant opened right before the last Pirates of the Caribbean film.
R Rated vs Family friendly fare.
That sure didnt help Covenant gain any traction during its theatrical release.

Covenant did really well in the home video market, anyway.

Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 28, 2017, 11:27:48 AM
Lackluster returns for Covenant would claim otherwise. I know it wasn't a huge failure but it still wasn't the success Fox expected and it shows diminishing returns.

Perhaps the returns show Fox spent too much money on the movie. The world-wide haul was respectable, but scales of economy are such that it is not enough. The haul was less than for Prometheus, but part of that may be because Prometheus disappointed the audience. The rest may be because the buzz for Covenant was not that great, and the movie itself was severely flawed. I realize there are rabid fans who love these movies. I'm happy for them, but the prequel movies still have gross internal logic and story problems. They both could have been great, but that's not what we got.

I don't think Scott can rescue the series from the mess he made. Like Lucas with Star Wars, Scott tried to fill in too many of the gaps. Also like Lucas, Scott's prequels are unsatisfying, severely flawed, and undercut the older movies. I also doubt Blomkamp has the right answer, especially after Weaver rewrote his plans for the movie. I'm not bothered that we're seeing a dropship or a derelict Engineer ship in the concept art. These are part of the visual language and texture of the Alien universe, along with hypercapitalist corporations and nightmarish monsters. I'm not even bothered that we may see more marines. As has been said, we only saw them once. It depends how they're used in the story. But resurrecting Ripley (again) and Hicks seems like a bad idea.

Covenant did just OK because it was marketed as yet another alien movie and was seen as a retread. So, I don't think the way to move forward is to make another movie that will appear to be more of the same.

Quote from: Russ on Dec 28, 2017, 11:57:20 AM

I think an Alien 5 that had the characters from Aliens in it could ride a hefty nostalgia wave in the same way that Star Wars did (people were going mental about Han Solo in the first one). Conversely, it didn't quite work out for the Terminator!

But these few images from NB have garnered massive traction - I'm not sure we can discount Rippers and Hicks NOT being part of that ground-swell.

The difference is this, no one of those characters nor Han, Leia or Luke died in the old movies. Newt, Hicks and Ripley died in the original trilogy, end of the story, Disney didn't revive Obi-Wan or Darth Vader because "fans wanted". Even nostalgia got his limits.

And Ripley was not revive in Alien 4, was a clone called Ripley8, the real Ripley died in Fiorina "Fury" 161.

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 28, 2017, 03:35:46 PM
The difference is this, no one of those characters nor Han, Leia or Luke died in the old movies. Newt, Hicks and Ripley died in the original trilogy, end of the story, Disney didn't revive Obi-Wan or Darth Vader because "fans wanted". Even nostalgia got his limits.

And Ripley was not revive in Alien 4, was a clone called Ripley8, the real Ripley died in Fiorina "Fury" 161.

Yeah, and I specifically request that we don't turn this into yet another discussion on the merits of a retcon.

Quote from: Russ on Dec 28, 2017, 08:42:34 AM
But isn't the major hook of NB's concept that Rippers and Hicks return (whatever we personally think of that idea - we know that there's strong feelings on retconning / not retconning).

Quote from: Russ on Dec 28, 2017, 11:57:20 AM
And I think - despite the arguments about retcons (please, I'm not wanting to start that off again - let's just say some are for it and some aren't on these boards) there is sometimes (dare I say) a substantial dollar value to bringing back beloved characters if done well.

NB's artwork featured those characters - its reasonable to assume that they would appear in a version that he wrote.

The only way I could see Blomkamp's ideas working are if it's set after Resurrection. Hicks appears in a flashback, or Being is playing a descendent (just like Lance Henriksen does all the time). Ripley with the Alien suit is actually a mutation which is caused by her hybrid status.

The drop ship shows that it's set in the same time frame as Aliens, though, which discounts that idea. Seems like a rehash of Aliens, which would divide the audience.

Then again, it could combine with the prequels and David got lost for centuries with his new biotechnology and is only found by chance. Sounds a bit like a rehash of Covenant.

I can't think of a good way it could work.

Quote from: Stitch on Dec 28, 2017, 04:48:03 PM
I can't think of a good way it could work.

There isn't really a good way to make it work.

But I've always thought the most expedient and canon way is a hypersleep-dream handwave. No one really likes it, but as I say, its established - from novels and now from Prometheus that we have the extremely lucid dreams in the old freezerinos.

You could literally show this in a few shots and it answers all the issues in one fell swoop. Sure, there's the Bobby Euwing / Dallas jokes, but hypersleep dreams weren't a big part of life on SouthFork whereas they are in AlienVerseLand. I recall in the beginning of Prometheus, they were used in a big scene with Noomi Rapace's character (and her dad, I think. I'm gonna watch it again tonight).

As I say - it's not brilliant, but it's established canon and probably the least convoluted way of doing it without wormholes or clones and stuff like that (for me at any rate. I can't think of a better way than this)

Quote from: SpeedyMaxx on Dec 28, 2017, 02:35:15 AM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 09:57:15 PM
But yeah, the guy makes bad movies cause I don't likes his Alien movie proposal.

I saw them. They were bad.

Your personal opinion doesn't matter. Neither does mine. Which is why I gave both audience and professional critic consensus scores. It's the only reasonable way to measure a film's quality.

I'm just posting the facts here. Not my problem if most of the world doesn't agree with you.

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 27, 2017, 11:12:32 PM
You know anyone an vote IMDB and RT Audience Score right?, those aren't valid metrics for qualify his movies:

Which is why I quoted both critic and audience scores, professor.

But how about those guys at the Academy and Golden Globes? Are they "valid metrics for qualify his movies"[sic]?

Love Neill and I'm pretty sure he browses here quite often. Hey Neill!  ;D

This is an ace move by him. Much like he did with the original ALIEN 5 "leak", I have no doubts he's leaking this artwork out to get the fans talking about the movie again with the hopes Disney picks up on it.

It seems to me that the "ALIEN" fanbase is split between two polar opposites. Support/make ALIEN 5 and never make/support ALIEN 5.

If just this one time we could come together as a united ALIEN fanbase and throw our support behind ALIEN 5, it not only would bring back fan favorites Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop(I'm highly confident Lance will star if given the chance) but remember, it would give Disney a "safer" entry into making their own ALIEN films. What better way to do this than make what pretty much everyone is calling ALIENS 2(sequel to one of the best movies ever made?).

I don't think Disney will pick a very cerebral Ridley Scott directed "Alien: Awakening" over a pretty much guaranteed hit in a Neill Blomkamp ALIENS sequel-ALIEN 5.

Disney will not want to foul up the franchise if you will and if they're smart, they could work with Neill in making ALIEN 5 a catalyst for a new series of ALIEN films with NEWT as our new heroine.

What we don't want as fans is Disney thinking there's not enough support for ALIEN 5 and not having confidence in Ridley thus the ALIEN films go on extended hiatus(I'm talking multiple years).

So I ask that fans kindly tweet support for ALIEN 5 to Disney/Pixar and Walt Disney Studios, along with Neill Blomkamp, Michael Biehn, Lance Henrickson and Carrie Henn(who all have actual Twitter accounts btw).

Keep the Alien films alive....support ALIEN 5!!

Quote from: LiquidMonster on Dec 28, 2017, 05:40:04 PM
Love Neill and I'm pretty sure he browses here quite often. Hey Neill!  ;D

This is an ace move by him. Much like he did with the original ALIEN 5 "leak", I have no doubts he's leaking this artwork out to get the fans talking about the movie again with the hopes Disney picks up on it.

It seems to me that the "ALIEN" fanbase is split between two polar opposites. Support/make ALIEN 5 and never make/support ALIEN 5.

If just this one time we could come together as a united ALIEN fanbase and throw our support behind ALIEN 5, it not only would bring back fan favorites Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop(I'm highly confident Lance will star if given the chance) but remember, it would give Disney a "safer" entry into making their own ALIEN films. What better way to do this than make what pretty much everyone is calling ALIENS 2(sequel to one of the best movies ever made?).

I don't think Disney will pick a very cerebral Ridley Scott directed "Alien: Awakening" over a pretty much guaranteed hit in a Neill Blomkamp ALIENS sequel-ALIEN 5.

Disney will not want to foul up the franchise if you will and if they're smart, they could work with Neill in making ALIEN 5 a catalyst for a new series of ALIEN films with NEWT as our new heroine.

What we don't want as fans is Disney thinking there's not enough support for ALIEN 5 and not having confidence in Ridley thus the ALIEN films go on extended hiatus(I'm talking multiple years).

So I ask that fans kindly tweet support for ALIEN 5 to Disney/Pixar and Walt Disney Studios, along with Neill Blomkamp, Michael Biehn, Lance Henrickson and Carrie Henn(who all have actual Twitter accounts btw).

Keep the Alien films alive....support ALIEN 5!!

Everything I could never want from an Alien film right there.

given that Ridley was the one that killed this film's production....


i wouldnt put it past Blomkamp to erase prometheus and covenant from the canon, too  :laugh:

Quote from: LiquidMonster on Dec 28, 2017, 05:40:04 PM
Love Neill and I'm pretty sure he browses here quite often. Hey Neill!  ;D

This is an ace move by him. Much like he did with the original ALIEN 5 "leak", I have no doubts he's leaking this artwork out to get the fans talking about the movie again with the hopes Disney picks up on it.

It seems to me that the "ALIEN" fanbase is split between two polar opposites. Support/make ALIEN 5 and never make/support ALIEN 5.

If just this one time we could come together as a united ALIEN fanbase and throw our support behind ALIEN 5, it not only would bring back fan favorites Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop(I'm highly confident Lance will star if given the chance) but remember, it would give Disney a "safer" entry into making their own ALIEN films. What better way to do this than make what pretty much everyone is calling ALIENS 2(sequel to one of the best movies ever made?).

I don't think Disney will pick a very cerebral Ridley Scott directed "Alien: Awakening" over a pretty much guaranteed hit in a Neill Blomkamp ALIENS sequel-ALIEN 5.

Disney will not want to foul up the franchise if you will and if they're smart, they could work with Neill in making ALIEN 5 a catalyst for a new series of ALIEN films with NEWT as our new heroine.

What we don't want as fans is Disney thinking there's not enough support for ALIEN 5 and not having confidence in Ridley thus the ALIEN films go on extended hiatus(I'm talking multiple years).

So I ask that fans kindly tweet support for ALIEN 5 to Disney/Pixar and Walt Disney Studios, along with Neill Blomkamp, Michael Biehn, Lance Henrickson and Carrie Henn(who all have actual Twitter accounts btw).

Keep the Alien films alive....support ALIEN 5!!

I don't want Ripley back. Nor do I want Hicks and Newt.

Maybe a continuation of the Ripley8 story, but not Ellen Ripley. She died on Fiorina 161, and the others died in the crash.

Some of the responses here are mind blowing - we've been getting trash movies for nearly 30 years yet everyone is so against giving someone else a go? It's just "nope, nope, NOPE" - this Alien fandom is about as divided a community as I've ever come across, nobody agrees on anything lol

I wish we could just get a good final Alien film WITH Ripley. Sigourney is still aging remarkably well and she could still look and feel like Ripley. We need a better way to close out the original Alien franchise than Alien Resurrection. This is the same reason why I'm glad they're making one last Indiana Jones (5): We need a better close out to the original series than Crystal Skull.

I don't know. Every time I've ever tried to think of a good story for Ripley 8 to end on... I got nothing. It just isn't a very lucrative avenue for the series. Mostly, in that case I think it's because I never cared about Ripley 8 anyway. The entire design of that universe seen in Resurrection doesn't really work for me either. The best it ever got was the PS1 game. 

Quote from: Stitch on Dec 28, 2017, 08:44:54 PM

Quote from: LiquidMonster on Dec 28, 2017, 05:40:04 PM
Love Neill and I'm pretty sure he browses here quite often. Hey Neill!  ;D

This is an ace move by him. Much like he did with the original ALIEN 5 "leak", I have no doubts he's leaking this artwork out to get the fans talking about the movie again with the hopes Disney picks up on it.

It seems to me that the "ALIEN" fanbase is split between two polar opposites. Support/make ALIEN 5 and never make/support ALIEN 5.

If just this one time we could come together as a united ALIEN fanbase and throw our support behind ALIEN 5, it not only would bring back fan favorites Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop(I'm highly confident Lance will star if given the chance) but remember, it would give Disney a "safer" entry into making their own ALIEN films. What better way to do this than make what pretty much everyone is calling ALIENS 2(sequel to one of the best movies ever made?).

I don't think Disney will pick a very cerebral Ridley Scott directed "Alien: Awakening" over a pretty much guaranteed hit in a Neill Blomkamp ALIENS sequel-ALIEN 5.

Disney will not want to foul up the franchise if you will and if they're smart, they could work with Neill in making ALIEN 5 a catalyst for a new series of ALIEN films with NEWT as our new heroine.

What we don't want as fans is Disney thinking there's not enough support for ALIEN 5 and not having confidence in Ridley thus the ALIEN films go on extended hiatus(I'm talking multiple years).

So I ask that fans kindly tweet support for ALIEN 5 to Disney/Pixar and Walt Disney Studios, along with Neill Blomkamp, Michael Biehn, Lance Henrickson and Carrie Henn(who all have actual Twitter accounts btw).

Keep the Alien films alive....support ALIEN 5!!

I don't want Ripley back. Nor do I want Hicks and Newt.

Maybe a continuation of the Ripley8 story, but not Ellen Ripley. She died on Fiorina 161, and the others died in the crash.

Agree.

Quote from: Jenga on Dec 28, 2017, 08:55:04 PM
I wish we could just get a good final Alien film WITH Ripley. Sigourney is still aging remarkably well and she could still look and feel like Ripley. We need a better way to close out the original Alien franchise than Alien Resurrection. This is the same reason why I'm glad they're making one last Indiana Jones (5): We need a better close out to the original series than Crystal Skull.

Indiana didn't die in The Last Crusade or in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he's pretty much alive, Ripley died in Fiorina "Fury" 161, her story it's done, get over it.

I personally don't care either way in regards to whether or not Blomkamp's Story has Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop. I'm far more interested in what his film could be as opposed to the direction the David 8 line of films are headed. So, I hope Disney or FOX take notice again and green light something! Even it's just an animated feature or comic series.

Please someone has to be logical. Covenant was such a big let down and it is obvious that blomkamp loves the alien much more than ridley scott. Can someone be rational and let blomkamp do the work he likes?

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 28, 2017, 09:16:29 PM

Indiana didn't die in The Last Crusade or in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he's pretty much alive, Ripley died in Fiorina "Fury" 161, her story it's done, get over it.

Exactly.

They brought her back once before in Alien Resurrection, they even made a joke about it in that movie "I thought you were dead"  "Yeah I get that a lot". 

That line of dialogue was more prophetic than they thought.  :D

" it is obvious that blomkamp loves the alien much more than ridley scott. Can someone be rational and let blomkamp do the work he likes?"

In no way do I mean to be critical or insulting, but love for something does not equate to the ability to deliver a quality product. N.B. could be the biggest Alien fan on earth, but that doesn't mean he's got what it takes to make a good Alien film, or that his ideas will be any good. The Ripley inclusion is the big eye roller for me.

It's just my opinion, but it's really a hard sell bringing back Weaver and crew. The movies were made, and Ripley, Hicks, and Newt died. They were good solid characters, but they were human beings. Stuff happened, they died. Bringing them back would feel like some sort of novelty. Gibson's Alien 3 is always there if anyone wants to know what happened if they all survived. But really, there's a nearly unlimited supply of new characters that could be created.

Think of it this way, "a new direction, in an actual Alien movie". No deviation by creating some prequel series that is all over the road, not some continuation of the previous alien films with the same old characters, but a brand new Alien movie with new characters. Novels and comics are written all the time that have nothing to do with Ripley, and nobody freaks out. I'm old enough to remember Alien 3 being considered the end of Ripley's character. The cloning thing was weird enough, but retconning entire films just to include dead characters adds restrictions on the kind of film that can be made. I'd rather any new "true" Alien film have as much creative room as possible.

But should it happen, dollars will get you doughnuts it would be throwback city. Newt would wind up saying the "mostly at night" line, and probably run across some orphaned girl who'd she'd protect, and probably sing "you are my lucky star" to. Thus becoming the new Ripley. It would just be too cheesy. Gads, can we not and say we didn't?

Quote from: Huggs on Dec 29, 2017, 12:11:40 AM
But should it happen, dollars will get you doughnuts it would be throwback city. Newt would wind up saying the "mostly at night" line, and probably run across some orphaned girl who'd she'd protect, and probably sing "you are my lucky star" to. Thus becoming the new Ripley. It would just be too cheesy. Gads, can we not and say we didn't?

There is no way of knowing that is Blomkamp's intention. Yes, we've seen concept art of Ripley, Hicks and Adult Newt. However, there have been no real story points thrown out into the open. We're not even sure how he'd do the film without retconning it or if he will go ahead in another direction? I wouldn't be so quick too peg his film as a pure nostalgia trip for nostalgia's sake.

The word "probably" is a fanboy's best friend.

"You have to give the David character a proper ending first. "

I never thought about it until now but, wouldn't the ending to Covenant be considered a good ending for David already? He goes out on top. He created his perfect organism. He managed to escape paradise, and set off into the sun with his own well-equipped ship, thousands of human hosts to further experiment with, and a workable/manageable destination to head towards. And he got away with all of dirty stuff he did. He's the Jack Sparrow of space, sailing his beloved pearl towards the setting sun. He won. It's kind of the best time to go out.

---

"I wouldn't be so quick too peg his film as a pure nostalgia trip for nostalgia's sake."

"The word "probably" is a fanboy's best friend"

That's a valid point. But one can expect certain things from Hollywood. Newt singing lucky star to an orphaned girl isn't out of the question. How many characters have said the, "come with me if you want to live" line in the terminator movies? Didn't David quote Blade Runner? Lines have been repeated in the predator movies, and many others. Easter egg connections to previous films for nostalgic reasons is far from uncommon. I could see that kind of stuff happening in N.B.'s Alien 5. Not because I dislike his films, but because I'd expect moments like that to be included when you're already bringing back dead characters. And can we not throw the word "fanboys" around, it's rather negative.

Quote from: Huggs on Dec 29, 2017, 01:01:55 AM
And can we not throw the word "fanboys" around, it's rather negative.

I embrace the fanboy in me. If it wasn't for my inner fanboy, there's quite a bit of the film entertainment venue I would have missed out. Sorry to see you have the fanboy in you painted in such a negative light.

Blomkamps movie was never about Ripley until Sigourney showed interest in his movie idea when talking to her on the set of Chappie, it was her enthusiasm for coming back that got "Ripley" into the artwork. I'd be fine with letting him make the movie he originally wanted to make before Sigourney got involved.

Then why this retcon bs, why not just make a sequel to Alien 4?

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 29, 2017, 02:18:01 AM
Then why this retcon bs, why not just make a sequel to Alien 4?

Very few people care about a continuation from Resurrection. Logically Blomkamp is choosing the more popular stepping off point. I dislike the idea, but Weaver might be to blame for that.

Weaver nixed the idea of bringing back Hicks and Newt in the first place.  Why would she change her mind?

Quote from: Gash on Dec 29, 2017, 02:23:38 AM

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 29, 2017, 02:18:01 AM
Then why this retcon bs, why not just make a sequel to Alien 4?

Very few people care about a continuation from Resurrection. Logically Blomkamp is choosing the more popular stepping off point. I dislike the idea, but Weaver might be to blame for that.

She was eager to do a different take on Ripley in Resurrection.  She'd be eager to do yet another in an alternate Aliens sequel.

Quote from: SM on Dec 29, 2017, 02:35:05 AM

Quote from: Gash on Dec 29, 2017, 02:23:38 AM

Quote from: Scorpio on Dec 29, 2017, 02:18:01 AM
Then why this retcon bs, why not just make a sequel to Alien 4?

Very few people care about a continuation from Resurrection. Logically Blomkamp is choosing the more popular stepping off point. I dislike the idea, but Weaver might be to blame for that.

She was eager to do a different take on Ripley in Resurrection.  She'd be eager to do yet another in an alternate Aliens sequel.

I imagine it's the most profitable role for her.

This is all I have to say on the matter.

I want Alien Resurrection Ripley 2! I want. I want. I waaaaaant! With colonial marines of course. Ripley gives rise to a new generation of human-alien spices. New born if you will. A totally dark, twisted and royally f**king terrifying sequel. I've seen District 9 so I know bloomkamp can do f**king disgusting very well. Grow up man and do a proper alien sequel. Let the past go, man.

Quote from: Gash on Dec 29, 2017, 02:23:38 AM
Logically Blomkamp is choosing the more popular stepping off point.

100%

There are many rumors out there about the new Alien prequel being canceled. Does anyone know more on this?

Cross posting from another thread -

Last week we reported on some new comments made by Ridley Scott and at the end of the article included a recent report from Omega Underground and a supporting tidbit we'd found about how Alien: Covenant 2 (aka Alien: Awakening) had initially been expected to start shooting next year. You can read the article here - Sir Ridley Scott Thinks Alien Should Be On "Same Level For Fans as Star Trek and Star Wars"

Since we posted that most of the larger outlets have ran with that rumour and it's pretty much all over the internet now. Couple that with Neill Blomkamp renewing general interest in his Alien 5 pitch by posting new concept art and the Internet seems abuzz with the notion that Fox has cancelled Alien: Covenant's sequel and Blomkamp's is back on.

Since most of these reports are referring back to us for finding the Blu-ray.com forum post, we wanted to just offer some extra context and clarification. We hadn't made it a headline ourselves as it was unconfirmed. Thanks to AvPGalaxy member Biomechanoid, we know that Human Media's public profile gives his real name as Carl Braga who according to IMDB worked on Alien: Covenant as a screen graphics designer. So the odds of the comment genuinely coming from someone who worked on the film seems quite likely.

However, the post was made in September of 2017 and referred to pre-production being originally slated to begin that month. Also back in September, 20th Century Fox CEO Stacey Snider discussed the future of the Alien series saying that Alien: Covenant had been a disappointment but that "I trust Ridley [Scott] and Emma [Watts] to know the right story when they find it."  Just a couple of months earlier, in July, reports also came out that Fox had been "reassessing" the extra movies that Scott had initially wanted to do.

What this seems to indicate is that whatever direction Sir Ridley Scott had been leaning in for the Covenant sequel was not the one that 20th Century Fox ultimately wanted to move forward in. As a result of the reassessment, the sequel in it's then current form was likely shelved while Scott and Watt's explored a different direction for the sequel.

Fox representatives hadn't been shy about how Alien: Covenant hadn't performed as well as expected. Producer Fred Baron had told the Sydney Morning Herald: "It got great reviews and was everything we set out for it to be, it just didn't hit the note at the box office. It will be a profitable film for the studio but whether there's another one [is uncertain]."

Since these reports of the apparent reassessment of the direction of future Alien films, Scott has certainly been happily talking about his current direction, that the films would be moving towards Artificial Intelligence (and presumably David) taking an even more central role in his prequel films which would seem to indicate he's still working away on the concept.

In the same article this rumour had been generated from, we also reported that Scott had said that "they're crazy if they don't. David is a fantastic villain. I love what (Michael Fassbender) did in Covenant. But it's f—ing hard, dude. We lifted Alien out of a ditch and made Prometheus."

Does that mean that a sequel to Alien: Covenant is guaranteed? Of course not. It would seem to be that it is definitely not a green-lit certainty at this point. But it also doesn't mean that a sequel has been cancelled as work seems to be being done on it still.

Until Fox (or maybe even Disney) makes an official announcement, it's all bullshit; and it's just stupid people full of bullshit not knowing what they're taliking about and spreading more bullshit. 

Some people here thrive on such Bullshit.  That's all there is to it.  Just watch 'em try and get away with denying it.  Laugh in their face, I say.  Tell them to f**k off and stop being sucked into the pit of misinformation and attempting to pass it off as 'Fact'. 

It's not.  It's just Bullshit.  lol.

-Windebieste

Some great work, that Im sure will be reused in future

Quote from: windebieste on Dec 29, 2017, 12:19:28 PM
Some people here thrive on such Bullshit.  That's all there is to it.  Just watch 'em try and get away with denying it.

Which people here?

The ones talking bullshit. 

:P

-Windebieste.

Quote from: windebieste on Dec 29, 2017, 01:24:06 PM
The ones talking bullshit. 

:P

I was just curious because in the multiple threads this has been discussed, I have seen no one here say anything similar to.... "holy moly, this rumor must be true!"

So either you saw someone guilty of such or you are doling out a shotgun accusation over something that never happened. Your prerogative to back your accusation or stay on the fence and allow the readers to conclude who is really slinging bullshit. . . .  :P

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Dec 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 10:12:50 PM
Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

I also want to see a new director, but as hard as i try to imagine someone who can fit in this universe, i end up with nothing...

Quote from: BigDaddyJohn on Dec 29, 2017, 02:16:40 PM

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Dec 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 10:12:50 PM
Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

I also want to see a new director, but as hard as i try to imagine someone who can fit in this universe, i end up with nothing...

Zack Snyder.


Peace, I'm out

Quote from: BigDaddyJohn on Dec 29, 2017, 02:16:40 PM

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Dec 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 10:12:50 PM
Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

I also want to see a new director, but as hard as i try to imagine someone who can fit in this universe, i end up with nothing...

I think plenty of directors could fit the bill. Gore verbinski, Danny Boyle, frank Darabont and Tomas Alfredson all have experience in horror/sci fi, have a visual style that fits and are good with characters. Whether any of them would want to make an Alien movie is another matter.

The likes of Jennifer Kent or s craig zahler could be cool too although I'd worry about them lacking the experience of a production size this size.

Personally I think Ridley is the best man for the job but would be confident any of the above could make a great Alien movie.

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 29, 2017, 03:15:44 PM

Quote from: BigDaddyJohn on Dec 29, 2017, 02:16:40 PM

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Dec 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 10:12:50 PM
Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

I also want to see a new director, but as hard as i try to imagine someone who can fit in this universe, i end up with nothing...

Zack Snyder.


Peace, I'm out

Lars Von Trier

Quote from: Xenomrph on Dec 29, 2017, 05:08:57 PM

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 29, 2017, 03:15:44 PM

Quote from: BigDaddyJohn on Dec 29, 2017, 02:16:40 PM

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Dec 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 10:12:50 PM
Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

I also want to see a new director, but as hard as i try to imagine someone who can fit in this universe, i end up with nothing...

Zack Snyder.


Peace, I'm out

Lars Von Trier

I think Zack Snyder dark sensibilities will make him do a great Alien film, just look at his remake of Dawn of the Dead, it was so good.

Plus, the guy sure knows how to make action pieces.

Disney (with Blomkamp) should get their animators and do Alien 5 as a R-rated animated feature/mini-series for their new streaming service. Sigourney is no stranger to voice work and mo-cap; and would probably cost them less than doing a feature film. Check out Alien: Special Order on youtube if you think Aliens couldn't be cool in an animated film.

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 29, 2017, 05:22:39 PM

Quote from: Xenomrph on Dec 29, 2017, 05:08:57 PM

Quote from: Beatnation on Dec 29, 2017, 03:15:44 PM

Quote from: BigDaddyJohn on Dec 29, 2017, 02:16:40 PM

Quote from: Jonesy1974 on Dec 27, 2017, 11:01:47 PM

Quote from: The Eighth Passenger on Dec 27, 2017, 10:12:50 PM
Yeah, but I don't think anyone expects him to do a District 9 level movie each and every time. We really need to see a lot more from him before writing him off as a mediocre or a one-hit-wonder director.

Even if people don't want more Ridley Scott I think many other directors would be a far better choice than Blomkamp.

I want to see fresh ideas and new characters not digging up the past to see an inevitably lesser version of what we've already seen.

That doesn't mean no marines or drop ships, you can do all that without raising the dead, again.

I also want to see a new director, but as hard as i try to imagine someone who can fit in this universe, i end up with nothing...

Zack Snyder.


Peace, I'm out

Lars Von Trier

I think Zack Snyder dark sensibilities will make him do a great Alien film, just look at his remake of Dawn of the Dead, it was so good.

Plus, the guy sure knows how to make action pieces.

Is this irony?

I honestly think Neill Blomkamp's film idea is the best thing for the Alien franchise.  I would only suggest to ixnay the idea of Ripley in an Alien suit.  That looks ridiculous.  What is she going to a Halloween party?

Aliens was a high point in the series.  Ridley Scott had a chance, and while I do want him to finish up his prequel trilogy, I am mostly rooting for an alternate telling of the story post-Aliens, featuring Hicks, Newt and Ripley.  Done well, this could be awesome.

I don't know why it'd be judged ridiculous without any context.

My Lars von Trier suggestion was a joke post.

Honestly, you know what they could do is a riff on the Gibson draft of Alien III. It would require a semi-significant rewrite, but it would allow for a "B" line in the series without undoing Alien 3 or A:R.

USS Sulaco is found drifting through space, recovered, and taken to Anchorpoint. It apparently drifted through the UPP faction's territory.
Ship is deserted, signs of a fire, damage to major systems, and alien genetic material is recovered on board, and cultivated in the lab.

You could retain connections to Aliens in an Alien Isolation style. Have some kind of a log delivered via voice over from Hicks/Ripley. Since the script originally implied that UPP had similiar but less advanced tech (IE Soviet Union...In SPAAAACE) it would be a way to work in Working Joe type droids or something.

Cool fan art  :P

Doesn't any one think that the whole installation would have been obliterated from such a blast so close to it?

I know Colonial Marines doesn't once detail what a thermal nuclear explosion means to anyone, but the fact that in Aliens they made it look like a massive detonation and NOT a powerplant melt down is abit strange. OTherwise if they stuck to Aliens, it would look worse that anything left by Fukashima and somewhere closer to the Trinity tests done in  New Mexico.

Quote from: SM on Dec 30, 2017, 07:54:28 AM
I don't know why it'd be judged ridiculous without any context.

As far as concept art goes it's on a level with Ward's Sheep-Alien, tbh.

I don't think there's anything inherently bad about the concept of a bio-suit. Would just depend on execution.

Quote from: skhellter on Dec 30, 2017, 05:47:28 PM

Quote from: SM on Dec 30, 2017, 07:54:28 AM
I don't know why it'd be judged ridiculous without any context.

As far as concept art goes it's on a level with Ward's Sheep-Alien, tbh.

Wasn't that not meant to be literal?

Quote from: Russ on Dec 28, 2017, 12:01:05 PM

Quote from: D. Compton Ambrose on Dec 28, 2017, 11:58:19 AM
I'll have a teaser trailer mockup for the film up on Kickstarter and IndyGogo Monday...)

Wicked, can't wait!

I don't have the time to finish the mock-up before my power (likely) goes out again due to the weather, but here's a little something I decided to muster since I said I'd have something on new years (audio is a bit off and it still needs some more editing):



I really wanted to have a little bit more than this to show for working my knuckles to the bone on this but this sonofabitch motherf**king got damned snow and ice is  holding the threat of complete loss of power to my house and I'm contacting friends to see if anyone can pick up where I left off while I wait for this snow storm to weather down.

Quote from: OpenMaw on Dec 30, 2017, 11:08:29 AM
Honestly, you know what they could do is a riff on the Gibson draft of Alien III. It would require a semi-significant rewrite, but it would allow for a "B" line in the series without undoing Alien 3 or A:R.

USS Sulaco is found drifting through space, recovered, and taken to Anchorpoint. It apparently drifted through the UPP faction's territory.
Ship is deserted, signs of a fire, damage to major systems, and alien genetic material is recovered on board, and cultivated in the lab.

You could retain connections to Aliens in an Alien Isolation style. Have some kind of a log delivered via voice over from Hicks/Ripley. Since the script originally implied that UPP had similiar but less advanced tech (IE Soviet Union...In SPAAAACE) it would be a way to work in Working Joe type droids or something.

I like this concept. That could work, too. Honestly - I think the best route for another film would be as a Xeno-centric spinoff, since Scott has usurped the main story and made it about androids and AI, and also keeping a distance from Ripley and Hicks so as to not create too much of a distraction from the Xeno-centrality of it.

(https://i.redd.it/hn0niua1nhd01.jpg)

I'm not seeing it myself but someone on Reddit mentioned that the artwork in the top left might be Alien.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BokUzRiAXOt/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=13qipxdccek8o

QuoteRepost from @neillblomkamp who allowed us to play in his ALIEN5 universe. Happy he's letting you all see some of the design work we did. There's no doubt in my mind you would have loved what Neil had planned.
Project supervisor @h2.originals
This sculpt is by @monsterman03gmail along with @monstermania2017 and @ayumi.fx . Molds by @jon_k_miller with tech work by @saratheterra and Brian Clawson. @paulkomoda had a hand in other design/sculpt on A5 too. If I missed anybody's name, chime in!

Oh look at that. He gave um another pair of arms. How adorable. Now he can pick you wallet while little mouth biting you to death.

Blomkamp would be great to handle the visual effects but he needs to stay well clear of the story and direction.

i would still be open to giving neill a chance, but im tired of the whole "muh hix n noot" thing. leave A3 alone, the time for those retcon dreams are 20 years too late and I doubt his movie would be better than A3.

I'd agree.

Quote from: Whos_Nick on Dec 27, 2017, 04:51:26 AM
Disney needs to call him asap to resurrect this, I mean he had Weaver and Cameron backing his script.

That doesn't mean anything. That's just to stir interest in fans who think the success of future movies lies with the approval of those involved with the previous installments. They will say anything if money is involved. 

Quote from: King geedorah on Oct 06, 2018, 05:03:31 PM
i would still be open to giving neill a chance, but im tired of the whole "muh hix n noot" thing. leave A3 alone, the time for those retcon dreams are 20 years too late and I doubt his movie would be better than A3.

Agreed. Retconning and rebooting just creates a mess and the series loses integrity. If Blompkamp really wants to make an Aliens 2 then there's plenty of ways he can do it without bringing back Ripley or Hicks. It's a rich universe to play with. There's no need to milk nostalgia for every last drop.

I've always been steadfast against bringing back any characters. But just this once I'll play devils advocate. I could almost (and I emphasize almost) tolerate seeing the characters come back for one film, just for the fun of it. But only on two conditions.

First, the film would have to follow Gibson's script, and be given a hard "R" rating.

Second, (and most importantly) it would need to be cast with younger actors, like hellboy. I could tolerate a new film sliding in there to go off on a different path, but not with weaver and company. Bring in Hardy or some other younger but capable actor, and the same for Ripley and Newt's characters. That is something I could almost stand. But bringing back aging actors for the sake of fan service and a quick buck is something I'd rather not see happen.

Now, animated versions of Gibson and Ward's scripts with Weaver and others providing voiceovers would be something I could dig.

Quote from: irn on Oct 06, 2018, 08:34:24 PM

Quote from: King geedorah on Oct 06, 2018, 05:03:31 PM
i would still be open to giving neill a chance, but im tired of the whole "muh hix n noot" thing. leave A3 alone, the time for those retcon dreams are 20 years too late and I doubt his movie would be better than A3.

Agreed. Retconning and rebooting just creates a mess and the series loses integrity. If Blompkamp really wants to make an Aliens 2 then there's plenty of ways he can do it without bringing back Ripley or Hicks. It's a rich universe to play with. There's no need to milk nostalgia for every last drop.

I would say a retcon is necessary though. Ive always loved and defend it but resurrection is the problem. Like it or not you need that era of colonial marines/WY/colonies ect. if you're gonna push for an Alien 5 at this point, and a sequel to rez cant really have that.

cut off resurrection as an alternate timeline and continue with new characters after ripley's lead death. It frees you up for anything: earth invasion? engineer shenanigans come to the main timeline? who knows

Agreed

Resurrection's "elseworld" future contradistincts the original Alien film Trilogy- as it is.

I'd say continue after Resurrection. Maybe a 20/30 Year time jump forward and then just do it with completely new characters

Resurrection's existence features troublesome aesthetics but otherwise, lore handwaveable.

So you think a movie which ignores Resurrection, (a film that features Ripley - of sorts) but follows after Alien 3 (which discontinues the presence of Ripley) would do better, and would be better than a film that follows after Resurrection, which already nobody wants to do?

What makes Alien 3 more valid than Resurrection as per this argument?  If you're going to retcon 1 element of the series such as Resurrection, why stop there, and not go to the one point at which the series was at its zenith?

Because Ellen Ripley's narrative concluded in the Trilogy.

& Alien, Aliens, Alien³ is a complete through line.

Resurrection never mattered. "You're not her." -Call

(Frankly, f**k retconning A3.)

Quote from: Perfect-Organism on Oct 09, 2018, 07:25:53 PM
So you think a movie which ignores Resurrection, (a film that features Ripley - of sorts) but follows after Alien 3 (which discontinues the presence of Ripley) would do better, and would be better than a film that follows after Resurrection, which already nobody wants to do?

What makes Alien 3 more valid than Resurrection as per this argument?  If you're going to retcon 1 element of the series such as Resurrection, why stop there, and not go to the one point at which the series was at its zenith?

Because the era of Alien 3 has the Company and marines which are both very popular elements, and Resurrection doesn't.

Ok, I can understand that.  You're a fan of the initial trilogy.  But if you're willing to think about it dispassionately as a studio executive, (look at it from our perspective - Van Leuwen) do you really think it makes sense to axe a film which was made to reset the series after a film that was poorly received in the first place?  Wouldn't that bring you back to square 1?

The argument here, professed often, is that Alien 3 closes the loop in the best way.  That's hardly true.  It only does so in one way.  The likelihood of what happened to Ripley on the Sulaco is much more slim than Ripley and co getting old somewhere until they hear about more Alien shenanigans happening somewhere.  Hilarity to ensue.

I'm not in favour of axing anything.

Retcon sounds ugly and rude. Shall we call it "Alien 3's alternate storytelling" instead?  :)  (I wish I have an anthology of alternate stories in fact, especially focused on the prequel era). 

Quote from: Crazy Shrimp on Oct 09, 2018, 08:08:38 PM
Retcon sounds ugly and rude.

lol. Does it?  Retcon, you're one ugly mother f*cker!

QuoteShall we call it "Alien 3's alternate storytelling" instead?

If that's not nice enough, we can always add Disney to the title...

Disney's Alien 3's alternate storytelling

;D

Quote from: Perfect-Organism on Oct 09, 2018, 08:00:52 PM
@Perfect-Organism

1. I believe it is true.

2. "Shit happens."

3. A new straight Alien film without Sigourney Weaver, in the era of Aliens/Alien³- 0% Ripley.

Quote from: SM on Oct 09, 2018, 08:02:47 PM
I'm not in favour of axing anything.

A respectable position.  Would you be a proponent of continuing where A:R left off or is that a dead end?

Resurrection's "universe" itself is a Dead end IMO.

In stories and aesthetic; Alien, Aliens, Alien³ and Isolation- would be the style the universe returns to regardless.

Whether it's 2250 or 2400 is irrelevant,
I believe not-that AR should undergo a "retcon" but that it wouldn't really matter either way. 

Quote from: Perfect-Organism on Oct 09, 2018, 08:49:15 PM

Quote from: SM on Oct 09, 2018, 08:02:47 PM
I'm not in favour of axing anything.

A respectable position.  Would you be a proponent of continuing where A:R left off or is that a dead end?

I personally would like it, but in terms of attracting an audience - yes it's a dead end.

I wish this franchise didn't feel so painted in the corner as of late.  It's hard to know where to go with it to be honest, kind of how I feel with The Walking Dead. How to tread new ground and keep it fresh, without fundamentally changing what makes an Alien movie an Alien movie.

There must be a way to break this log-jam.  I'm inclined to let go of the idea of canon, and just let this all become a series of "What if?" tales.  There is justification for this.  The first film set up a spectacular mystery of the unknown.  One of the most appealing aspects was that the Alien was unknown.  So much was left to the imagination in terms of filling in the blanks about where the alien came from, how it got there, what it was doing, etc.  That is where the essence of bewilderment stems from, and in 1979 there could have been any one of a million valid answers to these questions.

Personally, I think Dark Horse is on the right track.  They are showing, what if the story took a different direction at a certain nexus point.  This isn't meant to invalidate any of the different sequels to Aliens, but rather to show how the story could have gone on a different tangent.  The same could apply to the films.  A sequel post-Aliens could take things in a different tangent without invalidating what went before.  Maybe 20 years from now, someone else will do a different take that doesn't feature Hicks, Ripley or any of the other survivors but takes a different path.  Likewise, this cold work in the other time direction.  Ridley Scott's films could be set aside for a more bizarre Alien origin story based on actual elephant-nosed people.  That would be interesting to many people.

In this way, new films recognize that it is all just fiction and pose the answer that, this is what could have happened, rather than saying that this is what definitely happened.  This way, Alien 3 remains a valid tale of what could have happened, and other tales could be equally valid but different.  If any new take turns out to be an audience hit, then maybe it will merit a sequel.  Just at this point, I am all for seeing different spins as sequels or prequels to the two core films Alien, and Aliens.  I would even be open to a comic that completely sidesteps Aliens as if it never happened.  Why not?  It's just a different approach to resolving a fictitious mystery.

Sounds pretty messy.

If you're investing tens - or hundreds - of millions of dollars on a franchise film you want to be able to use the existing capital and build on it.  Reinventing itself each time sounds like something that would cause people to lose interest.

Dark Horse wasn't doing 'what-ifs'.  They just tacitly ended up like that when the films trod on their storylines.

Indeed.

I believe the right direction is sacrilegious.
You advance in the direction of Prometheus' basic premise.
The lost universal individuals with no clear motivation beyond basic life.
The universe' turns their personal experiences on themselves and others.

The Alien as a mirror to reflect the individual it is birthed from, such as posture, the facial bone structure, attraction.
Explore new characters, new fears.
The insect-esque noises of the original "Big Chap"- use the soundscape to obscure the lines between the Alien,
the soundtrack and the location noise.

Capitalist exploitation versus Communist exploitation, the Alien in the centre.
Religious restriction, forced to birth a monster.

-

Elizabeth Shaw undergoes an abortion as a devout religious person and it isn't even touched upon.
Witnessing everything she thought she knew revealed to be lies.

Inspiration taken from not alone the Alien franchise, but the nature of horror in Silent Hill;
Traumatic events reflected in reality, impossible space inside the structures of the "SJ" race and the hive infection;
strange horrific shapes- articulation of the creature and it's brethren that would break and bend normal bones.

An excellent writer should have free reign to essentially make the Alien about anything.
If I can think of this, I know someone can do better with real talent.

Quote from: The Old One on Oct 10, 2018, 04:28:30 AM
Indeed.

I believe the right direction is sacrilegious.
You advance in the direction of Prometheus' basic premise.
The lost universal individuals with no clear motivation beyond basic life.
The universe' turns their personal experiences on themselves and others.

The Alien as a mirror to reflect the individual it is birthed from, such as posture, the facial bone structure, attraction.
Explore new characters, new fears.
The insect-esque noises of the original "Big Chap"- use the soundscape to obscure the lines between the Alien,
the soundtrack and the location noise.

Capitalist exploitation versus Communist exploitation, the Alien in the centre.
Religious restriction, forced to birth a monster.

-

Elizabeth Shaw undergoes an abortion as a devout religious person and it isn't even touched upon.
Witnessing everything she thought she knew revealed to be lies.

Inspiration taken from not alone the Alien franchise, but the nature of horror in Silent Hill;
Traumatic events reflected in reality, impossible space inside the structures of the "SJ" race and the hive infection;
strange horrific shapes- articulation of the creature and it's brethren that would break and bend normal bones.

An excellent writer should have free reign to essentially make the Alien about anything.
If I can think of this, I know someone can do better with real talent.

Disney Executive:  "Ooookay... sounds interesting... but for real this time.  How do we relaunch the franchise?  Think "Aliens", but a whole new trilogy!"

;D

If I was in that position? Yeah, I'd advertise as if I intended to do "Aliens 2" then pull the rug out from under the f**kers.

Quote from: The Old One on Oct 10, 2018, 01:10:40 PM
If I was in that position? Yeah, I'd advertise as if I intended to do "Aliens 2" then pull the rug out from under the f**kers.

Haha, they'll never see it coming.

(https://media3.giphy.com/media/qcngMWgXh4SiY/giphy.gif?cid=19f5b51a5bbdfae5316e2f777370c69d)

Quote from: The Old One on Oct 10, 2018, 01:10:40 PM
If I was in that position? Yeah, I'd advertise as if I intended to do "Aliens 2" then pull the rug out from under the f**kers.

You're this passionate that you are will to call Aliens fans fans f**kers?   :o  ok then..

Gotta maintain that edge...

Considering how popular Aliens is - a trilogy like that could also be exceedingly popular.

Good point.  We wouldn't want that to happen..

I referred to the hypothetical Disney executive.
An "Aliens" Trilogy isn't what I would want but it's down to execution.

Popular ≠ High quality, regardless.

If you pulled the rug out from under the "f**kers" paying the bills they'd fire you.

Aw c'mon stop taking everything so seriously.
Duh.

The A L I E N Franchise, not the ALIENS Franchise regardless.

Most stuff over the last 32 years has been published under the Aliens title ...

I know, it's disgusting.

The two best published under "Alien" IMO.

[Yeah that wasn't necessary]

Let's keep it civil, folk. No need to get personal.

why's it disgusting Aliens is what popped off the eu

Quote from: The Old One on Oct 11, 2018, 08:58:32 AM

The A L I E N Franchise, not the ALIENS Franchise regardless.

This is not a position I take personally, but I suspect Ridley privately does.  imo

I dislike the universe Aliens presents in contradistinction to Prometheus and Alien.

Gateway Station for instance, is that the view of what "normal" locations look like to James Cameron in the Alien-verse?
It's so dull. Partially because Aliens in particular has been emulated to the point of parody, by properties like Halo.

Hadley's Hope is spectacular it it's realization, for sure-
but I'm not as attracted to the film's concept of the future it presents as much as Alien.

https://alienseries.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/gateway-station/

One of my favourite sites.

For me the transition from Alien to Aliens is nearly seamless.

Cameron really knew what he was doing - the first chunk of Aliens does a good job emulating Scott's look and feel (the Narcissus salvage, the heated board room meeting, etc.), but once you see the Colonial Marines ship it becomes a full-fledged Cameron movie - and he's more than earned it.

I don't see it in anything beyond the Narcissus rescue, and even that has JC's colour palette all over it.

I guess whoever Moebius'd the tech 57 years earlier kicked the bucket by then.

The Nostromo was pretty 'dull', too. Aesthetically speaking, it was basically a space-going oil rig. To me, the Sulaco, Hadley's Hope and Gateway Station fitted right in.

There's a lot of design similarities between Alien and Aliens. Ron Cobb worked on both films in which he designed the Nostromo and it's interiors as well as the Hadley's Hope colony, the Atmosphere Processor and some of the colonial marines' equipment including the Dropship in collaboration with Jim.

And then you also had Syd Mead (Blade Runner) designing the Sulaco, the APC, the initial drawings for Gateway and the powerloader etc. You can't go wrong with Syd!

Aliens is much closer design-wise to Alien than Prometheus or Covenant.

You're right, I was wrong.

I'm mainly refering to the "cleaner" environments, in terms of not being as busy as the Nostromo.
& Flatter, less angular surfaces. The vents in Hadley's Hope is a primary example of this.

Perhaps what I should say is that Aliens isn't as visually interesting to me personally as the other two films I mentioned.
But that's maybe just more so JC's shooting than what he shoots.

I'd say Alien, Aliens & Alien 3 all had a consistent thematic feel. Resurrection felt like a comic book, and Prometheus felt too clinical and advanced.

Quote from: The Old One on Oct 11, 2018, 10:00:02 PM
You're right, I was wrong.

(https://media.giphy.com/media/umuDPcy78IbkY/giphy.gif)

QuoteI'm mainly refering to the "cleaner" environments, in terms of not being as busy as the Nostromo.
& Flatter, less angular surfaces. The vents in Hadley's Hope is a primary example of this.

Perhaps what I should say is that Aliens isn't as visually interesting to me personally as the other two films I mentioned.
But that's maybe just more so JC's shooting than what he shoots.

Yeah, Jim's films doesn't have Ridley's degree and amount of "layering".

Quote from: Stitch on Oct 12, 2018, 01:49:28 PMI'd say Alien, Aliens & Alien 3 all had a consistent thematic feel.

Repeating what has been said ad nauseam for almost 30 years but 3 always felt like an odd jump in both look and feel to me right from the opening. Cameron did an admirable job bridging the gap between Scott's film and his so it's more than a little jarring to see Fincher bypass Cameron's film almost entirely to get to his version of that world. I get why some like it but you can almost imagine the Narcissus crashing on Fury 161, with an Alien onboard somehow, and not much would change story wise.

Quote from: Gilfryd on Oct 13, 2018, 06:29:45 PM
Repeating what has been said ad nauseam for almost 30 years but 3 always felt like an odd jump in both look and feel to me right from the opening. Cameron did an admirable job bridging the gap between Scott's film and his so it's more than a little jarring to see Fincher bypass Cameron's film almost entirely to get to his version of that world.

As a fan of all three, I do indeed concur with this.

Quote from: Voodoo Magic on Oct 13, 2018, 08:00:16 PM

Quote from: Gilfryd on Oct 13, 2018, 06:29:45 PM
Repeating what has been said ad nauseam for almost 30 years but 3 always felt like an odd jump in both look and feel to me right from the opening. Cameron did an admirable job bridging the gap between Scott's film and his so it's more than a little jarring to see Fincher bypass Cameron's film almost entirely to get to his version of that world.

As a fan of all three, I do indeed concur with this.

Yes, even I am a fan of Alien 3, though would still prefer a different direction.  But the above statement sums it up.  Cameron went as far as putting the spear-gun at the door of the Narcissus, whereas the Sulaco of Alien 3 doesn't even have the same interior as that of the ship in Aliens.  Simply put, Cameron was respectful and reverent of Scott, while the brain-trust of Alien 3 just stomped on the predecessors' work.

I LOVE Alien³'s opening.

It's sloppy.

Great music, but.

Alien³, Aliens and Alien are pretty consistent. The main place it diverges is with Alien Resurrection, but that may be due to them being 200 years in the future.

Prometheus and Covenant though? It almost feels like a different universe at times.

Quote from: D. Compton Ambrose on Nov 15, 2018, 04:45:48 PM
Prometheus and Covenant though? It almost feels like a different universe at times.

Indeed.

Quote from: D. Compton Ambrose on Nov 15, 2018, 04:45:48 PM
Alien³, Aliens and Alien are pretty consistent. The main place it diverges is with Alien Resurrection.

^

Quote from: The Old One on Oct 18, 2018, 08:48:40 AM
I LOVE Alien³'s opening.

Even the egg?

Everything else.

What's the problem with the Alien 3 egg? Seems like a private joke between you, or possibly in the forum, but I think it looks good.  :o

The egg makes no sense and there is a thread here with hundreds of pages of people arguing how it got where it is. The answer is that there is no feasable or logical way for the egg to be where it is unless you do an incredible amount of mental gymnastics.

Visually I think it does look really cool though.

It's an unnecessary complication to the shooting script, which just had no egg- implying stowaway Facehuggers instead of a stationary object, (the egg) the shot shouldn't be in the film.

Thank you for your answers. Now I half-remember having read some of these pages years ago...

And having giggled at a particularly funny post, "They just can't admit that Bishop did it", and the banner another member did, Easter Egg fashion, with a joking Bishop carrying the egg wrapped like a present or something.  ;D

Personally I find it way less terrible than the changed shape of the cryotubes, because you can always bullshit a quick explanation for Alien stuff (which doesn't mean it isn't a plothole, don't kill me, I know what a plothole is, and the egg placement definitely is one, now that you explain the thing), but I don't see a quick explanation for shapeshifting machines.

Complaining about the Cryotubes always seemed silly to me, like the pulse rifle sound effect. It's purely aesthetic and doesn't matter.

I'm not sure the egg qualifies as a plot hole.

One hugger implanting multiple embryos however possibly does though.

Quote from: SM on Feb 11, 2019, 12:14:24 AM
One hugger implanting multiple embryos however possibly does though.

Not really. Twins.

A plothole is something that goes against what's been established and isn't addressed.  I think that could qualify.

There could have been more than one egg off camera or an egg and a facehugger could have made it onto the ship.  Either way, wrong thread folks.

It's just plain ol sloppiness. ;D

Or no Egg, two Facehuggers. One dead on the Sulaco, burned away in the electrical fire and one on the EEV.
The mistake of a single studio insert, that caused a decade's worth of inane arguments.

Sigh

Quote from: SM on Feb 11, 2019, 12:14:24 AM
I'm not sure the egg qualifies as a plot hole.

One hugger implanting multiple embryos however possibly does though.

Thank god for the Assembly Cut.

Two huggers coming from one egg possibly qualifies as a plot hole too.

No doubt, but an arguably smaller hole, if that is how one sees the events playing out.

No egg, no plot hole.

https://tinyurl.com/AlienTimeline

Quote from: SM on Feb 11, 2019, 07:22:22 PM
Two huggers coming from one egg possibly qualifies as a plot hole too.

So she had twins. What's the big deal?  ;)

It's not exactly far-fetched. I could buy into sometimes you get 2 huggers but I'd want to see it done deliberately.

AVP Extinction, Upgraded version.

The two huggers (or dual-use single hugger) works for me as a Queen thing. One Queen embryo, one standard Alien to protect the gestating Queen larva in case there is no hive present.

I remember back in the day I floated around the theory that perhaps the Runner didn't "take" any traits from the dog/ox, but rather that the Runner variant was something built specifically to protect the Queen that would have looked the same coming out of any host that was impregnated by the Queen Facehugger. 'Course Resurrection and Prometheus and Covenant all double down on the way that the host DNA mingles with the Alien DNA so that clearly isn't the case, but it was fun to think about regardless.

Irregardless, the ADI Royal Facehugger's gorgeous.

I've an idea.

Make alien 5. Then right at the end, have something go wrong in Ripleys reality. Newts scream turns into a claxon, or hicks sounds like Charles dance.

Alien 5 would turn out to be the nightmare Ripley was having before she woke up on fury. Would explain all the goofy creatures. Retcon the retcon at the last second. Give em the "gangbusters" movie they want and then delegitimize it anyway.

;D

Quote from: Huggs on Mar 11, 2019, 11:42:35 PM
I've an idea.

Make alien 5. Then right at the end, have something go wrong in Ripleys reality. Newts scream turns into a claxon, or hicks sounds like Charles dance.

Alien 5 would turn out to be the nightmare Ripley was having before she woke up on fury. Would explain all the goofy creatures. Retcon the retcon at the last second. Give em the "gangbusters" movie they want and then delegitimize it anyway.

;D

You suck.   ;)  But that is kinda funny.

Just have her wake up in bed with Dallas and tell us the entire franchise was a dream.

Quote from: Kelgaard on Mar 12, 2019, 03:44:46 AM
Just have her wake up in bed with Dallas and tell us the entire franchise was a dream.

CANON!

Quote from: Samhain13 on Mar 12, 2019, 03:48:21 AM

Quote from: Kelgaard on Mar 12, 2019, 03:44:46 AM
Just have her wake up in bed with Dallas and tell us the entire franchise was a dream.

CANON!

That's what she said.

(https://66.media.tumblr.com/f74c7f4a6fe622ee99014054c3274e35/tumblr_owclcerJPT1u2ragso2_500.gif)