Alien 5 to be "Genetic Sibling" to Alien & Aliens

[Vrastal]

Keep in mind that the odds of his Alien 5 being as good as Alien and Aliens is slim. Very slim.

Unless this story is perfect in everyday its going to put the final nail in the film part of the franchise's coffin

[RakaiThwei]

Sadly no one can be surprised at them thinking of writing out two films. The Alien series has little to no integrity both in its fanbase and the controlling company.

What is that supposed to mean?

[HuDaFuK]

As I just said in another thread:

Personally, while I'm upset they're apparently retconning the later films (although I'm still waiting for the studio to actually confirm this), at the end of the day, if that's what's being done, I'm excited to be getting a new movie. I'm not gonna lose sleep over it, even if I do think it was a lame move that just unnecessarily muddies the waters. It's not like my being angry and resentful will change anything. I just hope Blomkamp has some decent ideas for his film.

Of course, if the new movie sucks, then I'll be genuinely pissed.

[Liberator]

The makers need to take the project seriously.

[predxeno]

Superman returns was a bad idea then???

Yes.

What about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles?

[Russ]

I'm looking forward to the "Hitler reacts to the news that Alien3 and Resurrection are to be retconned" video.

[Born Of Cold Light]

Superman returns was a bad idea then???

Yes.

What about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles?

The Terminator multiverse has been an irredeemable mess ever since the NOW Comics series was overwritten by T2, so SCC hardly did much damage by then.

[SpreadEagleBeagle]

Superman returns was a bad idea then???

Yes.

What about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles?

They have the "time travel card", Alien(s) doesn't, unless that is a part of A5.

As much I like T:SC, I still find it superfluous and unimaginative.

[SpeedyMaxx]

I just have a difficult time with how much this could retard growth. Every film in the series other than this has at least tried to be uniquely, tonally different from the last, trying to do and say different things within the existing framework - even the bad sequels do that. This, OTOH, sounds just like a riff on Aliens with the old favorites, doing more Neill Blomkamp shoot-up-the-Weyland-Yutani-baddies fun, just like his other films, which have had diminishing returns. Maybe Jodie Foster will even return to affect a terrible accent and demand that her stormtroopers kill Ripley before she can destroy the alien eggs. I just don't see what this approach could bring to the table that's new, beyond how lovely it would be to have Sigourney back.

This is what sank the Terminator franchise, first with the show and then with the films, to say nothing of the wretched Terminator 3. They keep trying to paper over what was a natural endpoint with loops within loops of time travel and it just gets sillier each time.

[Vrastal]

It would be nice if Aliens could exist without ripley and still do well.. like the comics, and most games.

[shakermakerman]

If they roboot the franchise im not having that as it ignores all the originals  .

[xeno-kaname]

Fact is, the general audience gives about zero shits about this whole ordeal. Most don't even remember there were films after Aliens; and those that do do not remember them fondly. This decision is only pissing off some long time fans -- a small portion of the overall target audience.

Im not sure I agree with this,.. First, I will say again, I don't understand why it is necessary. And secondly, if the whole idea is to attract new fans and please the old, this will do neither.

Imagine what this will do to further boxed sets and interviews and to new fans who start watching the series from the beginning. It will be like, ok it ends w/ Alien 3 but then they made this A:R spin off and there's a cliffhanger that was never wrapped up, so then 20 years later they came back and retconned the third film so they could restart where they liked things? Why was that necessary?

I will say this again, every attempt to make the series more like what it was before, specifically in Aliens has been a step in the wrong direction and has arguably been what ruined everything after Alien 3. Take all the Aliens-ish stuff out of A:R and you have left all of the redeeming things in that script.

So here are the real questions I need to hear answered to take this in stride:

1. Why does it have to take place after Aliens and ignore 3 and 4?

2. Why can't it remain the spiritual successor to Aliens and still be a sequel to A:R (Just because people don't like it, is a lazy reason). It doesn't change that continuing on, it can still be a sequel.

3. Why can't it 'categorically' not feature what Ripley 8 was while still remaining a sequel to A:R? Why can't they just ignore A:R MOSTLY, but explain something away, in a way that doesn't detract from two other entires in the series?

I just have not heard a good reason and so I think we will end up with a bad film.

This is the same mistake all those PLATINUM DUNES remakes make. Its not that they are remakes, its that they attempt to reestablish the series, for instance FRIDAY THE 13th, to a place that it reached in stride after several sequels. And to do so it hamfists all this extra stuff to bring the film to where it once was, instead of letting its growth happen and it just feels forced.

There's been so many good answers to the questions you're posing that it would be extremely repetitive to address each single one.

But I'll say this about your first question "why does it have to be before A3 and A4?"

Very simply because that's what is available to Fox right now. If not this then the franchise might've stayed as is for an indefinite amount of time. It really looked like Fox just didn't know what to do with it. With Weaver not interested in continuing Ripley 8's story or anything earthbound, hopes for them closing that storyline were gone. And continuing the story with new characters after that movie without closing it properly was probably troublesome for them too.

So their solution was Prometheus. And they sat on Alien until the concept art Blomkamp made came to light. With Weaver interested in reprising her old role. It was clear they weren't going to ger a Ripley 8 conclusion, and they probably won't want to introduce potential torch carriers without a final Ripley send off. So if it means negating one conclusion and creating  a new one with the possibility of revitalizing the franchise with bew characters even after Weaver leaves, the studio will take it.

So again, it's not about fan pandering. It's about  $$$. I'm just hoping that they accepted Blomkamp's pitch because it was damn good and not out of desperation. I feel good about it though.

[SpeedyMaxx]

Maybe I missed an interview, but I always got the impression Sigourney was very interested in continuing with Number Eight. I think it's FOX (and much of the general, non-fanbase audience) that have little interest in that iteration of the Ripley character or in the post-Aliens universe. And I can't blame them given the volatile quality of the sequels, but I also don't think simply retconning them out is the solution. If I was still twelve years old it would be a dream come true; as an adult it just comes off like desperate fan service.

And regardless of what Sigourney does or doesn't think, I personally don't think there is any market for an Alien sequel which continues onward from AR with Ripley 8 - the film is generally reviled and dismissed by what little of the public that saw or remembers it. But I also just don't think either option here is great.

[Magegg]

"Genetic sibling", mmm... I prefer to take this as a hint that both Ellen Ripley and Hicks had twins and they will be the protagonists of the new movie...

[Vrastal]

Well it is fan pandering and about the money.

And years ago Weaver said she wanted to finish the ripley8 story