Planets, landscapes and environments for the new Alien movie?

[Immortan Jonesy]

Let's get some Syd Mead up here!




Not necessarily as final designs, but as potential starting points that can be de/reconstructed in order to better suit the needs of an Alien film. Blade Runner is similar to Alien in many ways, and could be a great starting point for developing an Earth (or other planet, for that matter) city for this film, should we get to see one. And the Elysium ring reminds me quite a bit of the artificial habitat in the concept art. Something sleek and clean like that, but ultimately broken down and ravaged by the Aliens, could make for a striking visual, so long as the actual design work/tech can be retrofitted to look at home in this universe.

I certainly want to see a city in the upcoming film. Maybe something a little inspired by what we saw in Blade Runner, but elegant and comforting at the same time. Xenomorphine made mention of Mass Effect previously, and I believe that the "Citadel" fits a little with that style. Although I really liked what Neill Blomkamp made in Elysium.

[NetworkATTH]

http://41.media.tumblr.com/5342d2d5c547c841ad597cddfcb3c2cd/tumblr_nkf34f62Ya1qhrm3lo1_500.jpg



http://media.tumblr.com/4423bab401d0220fca7f70c8642cbbd7/tumblr_inline_nkg7b2Xltw1qzj1dd.jpg



http://33.media.tumblr.com/9c761fa6a0f396c3b93660560cd76cca/tumblr_nkdecumlyf1qhrm3lo1_500.gif







A vibe I would go after with anything post-Aliens. But I'm assuming they'll distance themselves from the low-tec aspects of everything, and all the work that was inspired by Alien itself in science fiction. Honestly, if I was in charge (and I'm not), I would just devote so much of it to all Alien inspired aesthetically. I'm sure knowing Neil, that will happen, none of his films avoided science grit, but I'm just hoping they keep this downbeat future Alien had going, and not just give up to holographic screens and impossibly large objects when that's so inappropriate to everything Alien has always been about. And I'm not one to usually go so melodramatic, but I just hope they don't fall for the scale of everything and instead focus on how restrictive every environment in the Alien saga has always been.

Yes, I understand. The dystopian Future with retro technology. (In other words the opposite of what was Prometheus  ). There are other movies with that kind of background, like "Outland" or the British TV series "Space 1999". Even I am thinking of the original Star Wars trilogy.

But from what I can see in the concept art, the new director has other very different plans with a concept that is closer to the paradigm of today (in science fiction). Although I could be wrong, since the director claims to be a big fan of the first two films, so we'll have to wait and see what happens. 

The problem I have with that, is Alien has always been a Post-Modern piece. Or at least, its best has always been Post-Modern. A bit of almost parody of the real world. Its lived in environments are just as parallel to its lived in genre. See, the modernist way of looking at things, would be an It! Terror from Beyond Space!, and all its countless knockoffs. Alien took the concept and analyzed/subtly parodied it, it analyzed/subtly parodied the culture at the time as well. Aliens, you have the same situation; example, Burke is a parody of the nervous cocaine businessman of the 80's stereotype. Everything real good in Alien has postmodern contexts. Even Prometheus is a bit postmodern in how it turned around in modernism.

What your suggesting, is really modernist environments that don't synch well with, Alien. Alien has always been a bit meta, forcing modernist landscapes, while pretty, don't really synch. If you force that, you could end up with an audience feeling like something is off, because it might feel taking itself too seriously, that it doesn't, fit or synch, with what they consider Alien visually, or just subconsciously.

And frankly, the wide almost kubrickesque landscapes that seem epic™  and big™ aren't doing well as of 2015, people are starting to enjoy art in postmodern contexts, as generations begin to fall in a more lived in society, and how entertainment is perceived, than previously. You can't just ignore that within Alien, everything that makes it unique has always been, meta.

I hope someone, anyone knows what I'm talking about. And I don't sound like a giant nut.

[Born Of Cold Light]

You know, in regards to the Gigeresque landscapes that I and some others have posted, one idea that I had is the concept of cultural spaces.  Think about it; there are cultural and agricultural zones in human society, so why not in the rest of the universe?  Maybe they could have it where there is a chunk of the Milky Way where all of the architecture of different civilizations all has a very Giger-like feeling, with regional differences of course.  Not just Engineers but other species as well might have adopted this bio-mechanical style, possibly due to the resources in the sector and possibly due to influence from the xenomorph, maybe in a religious sense.  You could have very disparate species that all broadly take from the style seen in Alien and Prometheus and make it their own.

[Corporal Hicks]

I'd like to see some zero gravity action, in the vein of Dead Space.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW2sTvCZVac

This. So much this. I wanted to see Briggs' script for AvP with this in.

I'd really like to see something Giger-esque on a planetary scale. And I do mean biomechanical, not the rocky Giger from Prometheus.

[ash9426]

I always imagined a direct sequel to Resurrection to take place on Earth (that is a hellish place took over by Aliens ) and the look to be a mix of art by Zdzislaw Beksinki with the visuals from Black Hawk Down, District 9, Stalker (Trakovsky film) and some flavours from Crysis and Dead Space 

Something like that:



But looking at the A5 concept arts it's obvious that Blomkamp is taking a completely different route. He will probably try to copy Cameron's Aliens look.

[Russ]

Given their biology, a xenomorph homeworld would have to be:

1. Almost pitch black to negate the need for eyes or so close to a star than anyone's optic nerves would be fried immediately
2. Little to no oxygen or an atmosphere so toxic that traditional breathing is impossible
3. Absolutely ferocious competition between species, far more than what is seen on Earth, to necessitate the need for a body built for constant combat and a fast growth period
4. Volatile, dangerous environment that would necessitate a tough, heavily adaptable frame
5. Minimal access to constant, large amounts of food, necessitating an ability to go into semi-hibernation at a moment's notice (and to wake up quickly from said hibernation)
6. Organisms as dangerous or more so than xenomorphs to necessitate all of their defense capabilities

Basically, it would have to be hell in every sense of the word.

Like Venus. Imagine there was life on Venus - it'd be totally... well... alien.

If they went down this road, these are exactly the sort of things they'd have to look at, rather than what was cool. Unless of course, they worked out finally that a xeno environment wasn't going to look great visually, then they'd go with cool. But you'd hope that they'd at least try looking at what was "natural" for that kind of creature in the first place.

[Born Of Cold Light]

Given their biology, a xenomorph homeworld would have to be:

1. Almost pitch black to negate the need for eyes or so close to a star than anyone's optic nerves would be fried immediately
2. Little to no oxygen or an atmosphere so toxic that traditional breathing is impossible
3. Absolutely ferocious competition between species, far more than what is seen on Earth, to necessitate the need for a body built for constant combat and a fast growth period
4. Volatile, dangerous environment that would necessitate a tough, heavily adaptable frame
5. Minimal access to constant, large amounts of food, necessitating an ability to go into semi-hibernation at a moment's notice (and to wake up quickly from said hibernation)
6. Organisms as dangerous or more so than xenomorphs to necessitate all of their defense capabilities

Basically, it would have to be hell in every sense of the word.

Like Venus. Imagine there was life on Venus - it'd be totally... well... alien.

If they went down this road, these are exactly the sort of things they'd have to look at, rather than what was cool. Unless of course, they worked out finally that a xeno environment wasn't going to look great visually, then they'd go with cool. But you'd hope that they'd at least try looking at what was "natural" for that kind of creature in the first place.

A Venus-like environment, or something equally twisted, would work perfectly.  If we ever do see the xenomorph homeworld, I do not want to see a planet where any old Earth life form could exist (nor do I want to see an LV-426 clone).  Beksinski might be a good model to go on; the environments are suitably harsh and morbid with a Giger-like flair of melding the organic with the inorganic (though he seemed to like melding living tissue more with stone that with mechanics).

[Immortan Jonesy]

Given their biology, a xenomorph homeworld would have to be:

1. Almost pitch black to negate the need for eyes or so close to a star than anyone's optic nerves would be fried immediately
2. Little to no oxygen or an atmosphere so toxic that traditional breathing is impossible
3. Absolutely ferocious competition between species, far more than what is seen on Earth, to necessitate the need for a body built for constant combat and a fast growth period
4. Volatile, dangerous environment that would necessitate a tough, heavily adaptable frame
5. Minimal access to constant, large amounts of food, necessitating an ability to go into semi-hibernation at a moment's notice (and to wake up quickly from said hibernation)
6. Organisms as dangerous or more so than xenomorphs to necessitate all of their defense capabilities

Basically, it would have to be hell in every sense of the word.

Like Venus. Imagine there was life on Venus - it'd be totally... well... alien.

If they went down this road, these are exactly the sort of things they'd have to look at, rather than what was cool. Unless of course, they worked out finally that a xeno environment wasn't going to look great visually, then they'd go with cool. But you'd hope that they'd at least try looking at what was "natural" for that kind of creature in the first place.

A Venus-like environment, or something equally twisted, would work perfectly.  If we ever do see the xenomorph homeworld, I do not want to see a planet where any old Earth life form could exist (nor do I want to see an LV-426 clone).  Beksinski might be a good model to go on; the environments are suitably harsh and morbid with a Giger-like flair of melding the organic with the inorganic (though he seemed to like melding living tissue more with stone that with mechanics).

Yes! Venus is like hell come true, and if one day we will be lucky enough to find the home of the Xenomorphs, I have just one request in this regard:

Spoiler

Don't call it "Xenomorph Prime" XD

[close]

I'd like to see some zero gravity action, in the vein of Dead Space.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW2sTvCZVac

This. So much this. I wanted to see Briggs' script for AvP with this in.

I'd really like to see something Giger-esque on a planetary scale. And I do mean biomechanical, not the rocky Giger from Prometheus.

With Alien Isolation they did something similar

I always imagined a direct sequel to Resurrection to take place on Earth (that is a hellish place took over by Aliens ) and the look to be a mix of art by Zdzislaw Beksinki with the visuals from Black Hawk Down, District 9, Stalker (Trakovsky film) and some flavours from Crysis and Dead Space 

Something like that:



But looking at the A5 concept arts it's obvious that Blomkamp is taking a completely different route. He will probably try to copy Cameron's Aliens look.

I agree. I think it would be perfect for a post Resurrection movie. Beksinski was a genius, just like Giger was.

[KiramidHead]

I wouldn't mind something like these areas from System Shock 2:























Then again, it did lift a lot of its aesthetic from the Alien films.