An interesting read, Hicks. I'm with you on the ship combat - there was that cut scene in AvP2 where the Yatjua ship decloaks and blows the Marine one up - its a great shot and I can "see" it in a movie (with the necessary dead body bouncing off the glass - thank you Armageddon).
I think any such endeavour has to tread a really careful line - fan opinions count for sure, but a vocal fanbase doesn't make up the vast majority of viewers.
If it were me, I'd be looking at forums like this one for a long time and seeing which contributors had the knowledge and, importantly, put forward views that - by and large - were along the same lines as my "vision." The Strausse boys did that, but I honestly feel that they were badly treated on here and went too far over the fourth wall. Some say it was a marketing ploy, others that it was a genuine intent to engage with the biggest (or one of?) AvP fan forum in the world. That said - and here's the thing, if AvPGalaxy is one of the biggest forums and every single member went and saw it, that's less than 20000 people.
But that's how I'd engage with the fanbase. Subtly. But I'd hope that this sort of thinking could inform a new AvP movie (and for all we know, Neill Blomkamp is at this moment reading the epic threadery around his project). It's clear that AvPG has experts - real experts - in the subject matter at hand.
Also, if it were me, I'd be using the vocal minority as stick with which to hit the studio - the one thing everyone can agree on is that if you're going to do this, it needs to be in space, in the future, with pulse rifles and smart guns. That'll cost heaps more than Paul's movie and The Strausse boys.
I mentioned before on a different thread, though, Woodruff was saying that he'd love to see a huge budget Alien movie, but those films - as much as we love them - just don't resonate in the way that "Independence Day" did (he cited that and, I think, Star Wars) - Aliens and Predator just aren't as big. On the other hand, they did throw a lot of money at "Prometheus."
I'm confident that if Shane Black's and Neil Blomkamp's movies hit, this one will follow: it's whether later chapters of those guys renewed franchises reference each other's universes in someway shape or form.
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There is absolutely no reason to make it a sequel to the others. They're disliked for a reason. The human characters are boring and retreads and there's no loose story threads hanging that need to be addressed. It can be it's own thing ala Predators without referencing the first two.
Just as an aside, I find this an interesting standpoint, given your views on Blomkamp's movie.