Neill Blomkamp's (cancelled?) Alien 5 project

[vikingr]

fresh new story, plot and unrelated to the original 3 films except for Aliens and Weyland Yutani is what the franchise needs.

To fill that hole we already got Prometheus.

[Vrastal]

fresh new story, plot and unrelated to the original 3 films except for Aliens and Weyland Yutani is what the franchise needs.

To fill that hole we already got Prometheus.

Prometheus is already taking a path of its own its backround story essentially. Theres nothing wrong with new people settings and story. Avp, avp2 avp2010, numerous comics. All for the most part individual of the original story line which is fine I find it hard to believe that ripley is the only person that would un into these creatures.

I hate that everything has to connect to ripley when it doesnt.


I did however love the Aliens:earth hive, nightmare asylum  and female war novels (which i felt were better than the comics) which were yes originallyy based off hicks and newt but works for the most part rewritten

[vikingr]

I don't think Ripley is necessary too, but some familiar persons would be good. Ripley should be not more than a sidekick.

[HuDaFuK]

There is more to this story not listed above. Neil says it's a standalone story and he himself is the roadblock. So Alien 3 would probably be safe.

If it's standalone and won't alter the third film, how can Ripley and Hicks be in it? This statement worries me, because it reminds me of how they shoehorned Ripley into Out of the Shadows, and it sucked.

[Vrastal]

There is more to this story not listed above. Neil says it's a standalone story and he himself is the roadblock. So Alien 3 would probably be safe.

If it's standalone and won't alter the third film, how can Ripley and Hicks be in it? This statement worries me, because it reminds me of how they shoehorned Ripley into Out of the Shadows, and it sucked.

Yeah ripley added nothing to that story good story but it was essentially just a selling point. Maybe he had two different film ideas or she could just be referenced in some way through recordings or something.

[Russ]

I'm reading "Out of the Shadows" at the moment and I have to admit, Ripley feels very shoehorned (I've yet to discover how she hasn't remembered any of this happening, I guess that'll be at the conclusion).

As for this: As I've said many (many) times on this thread, the only feasible way that I can see is a ret-con with Ripley's dream as it's been established that people dream in hypersleep (demonstrated really well in Prometheus to be fair).

That's the only way I can see it working - I really can't think of any others that feel right (arguments about Bobby Ewing withstanding). You know, it'd be better than Ripley's twin-sister Helen and Hick's twin brother Wayne deciding to team up and find out what happened to their siblings.

NB's comment on politics is interesting - Let's say he has pitched it and they've said "Yes, but we need to keep Ripley and Hicks alive in case there's a sequel." So the concept is OK (he's clearly done the treatment),  but the politics are on the nuances of the story. I feel that the germ of this idea is (as I've said before on this thread) is not to resurrect Ripley, Hicks and Newt for multiple sequels but rather to deal with the dissatisfaction many people (including the actors to be fair) feel at the way that those characters were dealt with in Alien3.

This is not to say that I want to go down the "yes, but it fitted with the dark tone" road - we know all that and most people accept that of course it does but it could - and should - have been handled better. Even Biehn himself, notoriously bitter about the whole thing, stated that killing off the character was fine and dandy (paraphrasing) but those deaths should have had some meaning.

So, assuming all this goes ahead, I feel that's what the film will be trying to address? But it may get stuck in development hell if NB can't agree with Fox's terms - again, if my assumption above is correct (and there's a high percentage that it won't be). I don't think it'd be salary based, it must have something to do with the control and direction of the franchise - maybe they want to tie it in with Prometheus and NB is against that (that just came to me this second).

[whiterabbit]

Burke was a liar, Ripley's daughter never died and that old lady was just a pic he downloaded from the internet. The pixels gave it away. Thus Weaver can play Rips daughter on the hunt for her missing mom to only discover the bullshit that was alien³. Yea no need to retcon that shit.

NB is probably thinking just what he bit into... he knows that we will rip him a new one if it blows. 

[Russ]

Just found this on Den of Geek

""Fox, they would make it," Blomkamp said. "Like, tomorrow. They would make it."

So if Blomkamp has the concept, and Fox like it, what's the hold up? The sticking point, it seems, is that Blomkamp isn't sure whether he wants to direct another movie or not.

"I just wasn't sure if I was going to do another film, like, at all," Blomkamp revealed. "Sometimes Hollywood just sort of gets to me. I love movies, but Hollywood itself is a difficult animal to negotiate. So, then I was like, if I don't do any, I should put some of this artwork out and that's exactly what happened."

While we don't know exactly what happened on the set of Chappie, it sounds as though the experience of making it - and dealing with the Hollywood machine for his previous movie, Elysium - has taken its toll on Blomkamp. But if he does change his mind, then it could be that his Alien concept could become is next film."

I think we postulated on another thread that Burke being a liar works for an Amanda spin-off - its fitting with the sort of thing he'd do if he wanted to keep Ripley in his back pocket (isolate her, make her think he's her only friend etc).  But in this instance, I don't think it works because Hicks is older too?

[HuDaFuK]

So if Blomkamp has the concept, and Fox like it, what's the hold up? The sticking point, it seems, is that Blomkamp isn't sure whether he wants to direct another movie or not.

There could be a hundred reasons. Weaver may not be interested, Fox might not be willing to put up the budget Blomkamp wants, they might mandate a PG-13 rating (*shudder*)...

[Russ]

Sorry, HuDa, they do address some of that in the article, should have linked it:

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/alien/34063/neill-blomkamps-proposed-alien-sequel-fox-would-make-it

They suggest Weaver's on board, but these are valid points. Especially the PG-13 part... 

[Corporal Hicks]

I'm not too sure where I stand on this. Both Biehn and Weaver are significantly older and I can't say I'd be interested in seeing them come back to reprise their characters after all this time. The only way I'd be interested in seeing Weaver again would be a continuation of the Ripley 8 character - which had some really interesting potential.

However, I think Blomkamp is a very talented guy and I loved District 9. I've only seen Elsyuim once but I remember it being gorgeous. I'd also love to see Alien return to the big screen on its own.

Despite all its flaws Alien 3 was a film I enjoyed very much. And I don't want to see it retconed like that. I wouldn't object seeing a new standalone that didn't feature Ripley or Hicks, but took the core essence of Alien and went somewhere else (not Prometheus).

[HuDaFuK]

Despite all its flaws Alien 3 was a film I enjoyed very much. And I don't want to see it retconed like that. I wouldn't object seeing a new standalone that didn't feature Ripley or Hicks, but took the core essence of Alien and went somewhere else (not Prometheus).

This would be my preference too.

Plus, like you say, Weaver and Biehn are just too old now (no offence to them). And at the same time I certainly don't want to see the roles recast.

[Darkness]

Is his story supposed to retcon Alien 3 altogether?

[HuDaFuK]

How else could Hicks be in it?

Unless he's following on from ACM. In which case my interest in the project just went through the floor.

[Russ]

Is his story supposed to retcon Alien 3 altogether?

I can't imagine it working any other way as I say above. Not without it being totally ridiculous (more so than Ripley's Nightmare, which at least makes sense in terms of what has been set up).

Whether they'd go down the Hicks Pariah/Newt Nuts road or if it's all happy families on the farm when "something" happens, we don't know of course.

It is hard to see how you'd bring those two (three) back any other way with out retcon. Though, I think the retcon will be reconned as I reckon it'll be the "Superman Returns" in a narrative sense (let's not turn this into a "quality of Superman Returns" debate) of the movies. Essentially 3 and 4 didn't happen, they were shit, this is AL III EN (and they should use that and pay whoever on here came up with it too!).

They could just come out and say "they didn't happen" - as they did with 'Returns, although that sort of thing is easier to take in a superhero verse than in an Alienverse and I imagine doing it without some sort of explanation would leave the layperson scratching their heads.