The swirl or reports and rumors following the announcement that Alien 5 is being shelved for the time being has left me the most confused I've ever been when it comes to the development of a movie. This is especially in the wake of reported comments by Ridley Scott that he regrets not doing anything with the series after the first film and would like to keep it to himself. Considering Scott's history of breaking commitments with film projects, choosing scripts that don't suit his talents, and inconsistent track record, this is very concerning, if true.
Everything seemed so much simpler when the announcement of the film being greenlit by 20th Century Fox, and everyone that really mattered signing contracts to do the film arrived and raised our hopes. But now, everything has just descended into a mix of confusion and consternation.
This all leads to the important question: What in the hell is going on here?! How did everything descend into total anarchy? I also can't help but wonder if the Internet pressure that came when Neill Blomkamp tweeted that concept art and made 20th Century Fox decide to approve the idea is to blame here. Did the cart get put before the horse? Is it possible that there's really nothing there, and that this is the cinema equivalent of vaporware?
If I were in charge of everything, I'd keep to schedule, and not let scares about Terminator Genisys disallow for a retcon of eliminating 3 and Resurrection, possibly merely state that it's an AU film and a "what if?", so as to keep people who want 3 and Resurrection to stay canon happy. I would allow Alien 5 to be shot at the same time as Paradise Lost/Covenant, and then withhold the release for a year after Paradise Lost/Covenant to maximize earning potential. I'd of course also ensure not just that Scott and Scott Free Productions join Brandywine in assuming production duties, but have input from James Cameron and Lightstorm Entertainment, though not enough to have their names in the credits, especially in terms of allowing the Avatar sequels to push on without any snags or obstacles besides technical. And I'd push for a tie-in FPS game to go along with the film, especially to mark a full redemption from the clusterf**k of Colonial Marines (though I do hope it and AvP 2010 part of the Xbox One backwards compatibility for completion's sake with the Xbox One copy of Isolation).
If Scott really is doing all of these things and basically holding everything hostage, I'd want Blomkamp, Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and assorted others to confront him and get him to change his mind and allow for filming to occur at the same time as long as the film is withheld from release for a year. At this moment, if we're gonna get a satisfactory ending to the series, it's now or never. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
