Do you care about canon?

[Acid_Reign161]

It wouldn't have been a glitch. The USM would be an authoritarian government for a period of around 150 years, and the knowledge would have been deliberately erased.  Over the course of decades stories about Aliens invading Earth would gradually fade to conspiracy theories to ultimately nothing.  It would have ignored all the old Dark Horse stuff (which definitely wouldn't have worked as they were not only on Earth but every second planet as well).

But similar to the story I concocted to make Prometheus fit with AvP a few years earlier - like I said, I'm kinda glad they didn't go with it.

Curious to know more about this, (was this to make AvP fit with the Alien movies?) but also *really* glad it didn't happen.

One of my fave TV shows as a kid, 'War of the Worlds'(1988) did something similar; we were supposed to believe that nobody remembered the 1953 invasion from the George Pal movie only 35 years later, thus nobody believed in Aliens. 😂 It was described as something like "collective memory block" with a General in charge of the operation even noting that he "remembered a lot of action in '53, but he'd be damned if he could recall what happened." (Even 9 year old me couldn't get my head around that as an explanation, when we saw cities levelled by the alien invasion, and of all the fighting machines that crashed when bacteria put the aliens into "deep hibernation" (rather than killing them), somehow the military only mothballed 3 ships in hangers? 🤣 Sure it hand waves logic to get a story going, but honestly, I'd have preferred something with a little more thought. 😂 (loved it all the same). Great show for anyone who hasn't seen it; Stars Richard Chaves from 'Predator' as Colonel Ironhorse 😊👍[intro here: https://youtu.be/f0X1JLIDJXA?si=NCvJhzo3OsaCtrXa ]

[Local Trouble]

I remember losing interest when season 2 soft-rebooted everything as a dystopian future and killed off the leads.

[Acid_Reign161]

I remember losing interest when season 2 soft-rebooted everything as a dystopian future and killed off the leads.

Yup, not sure what the creators were smoking when they penned season 2 🤣 Killed off the main leads, completely changed the Aliens physiology, they were now no longer Mortaxans from planet Mortax, but were Mothren from Mothrai, all their tech changed from technological to biological (except their warships), the 1953 invasion was no longer an invasion, but a misunderstanding, the suits we saw the advocacy create from factory materials on Earth in '88 to protect them from radiation burns, were now being worn in 1953 and in the invasions of other worlds prior, and they brought their god with them from Mothrai before the planet exploded 🤣 it was an..Errm..interesting take on the source material.

[SM]

Curious to know more about this, (was this to make AvP fit with the Alien movies?) but also *really* glad it didn't happen.

Two separate things. Back around 2015-16 I was working with Fox on a big 'Alien Hub' project, which would've been an huge official online timeline and encyclopedia.  I explained to the Fox rep that AvP doesn't fit with Prometheus and, here's what Ridley said, etc. and as a throwaway said, 'You could probably find a way make it all fit I guess' and they said 'Could you do that please?' So I pitched a couple of options and they picked one, but even I didn't find it that convincing, so it was kind of a mercy - albeit a really disappointing one - when the project ultimately got canned due to staff changes.  The timeline pages actually got to the point of being created, but never went live.

The USM thing was to conform to a storyline they wanted to explore around 2019-ish which would have conflicted with Resurrection.  I found my solution a bit more convincing this time, but as I mentioned it was never fully fleshed out (nor was there any planned medium to flesh it out - it would've just been background info).

[Acid_Reign161]

Curious to know more about this, (was this to make AvP fit with the Alien movies?) but also *really* glad it didn't happen.

Two separate things. Back around 2015-16 I was working with Fox on a big 'Alien Hub' project, which would've been an huge official online timeline and encyclopedia.  I explained to the Fox rep that AvP doesn't fit with Prometheus and, here's what Ridley said, etc. and as a throwaway said, 'You could probably find a way make it all fit I guess' and they said 'Could you do that please?' So I pitched a couple of options and they picked one, but even I didn't find it that convincing, so it was kind of a mercy - albeit a really disappointing one - when the project ultimately got canned due to staff changes.  The timeline pages actually got to the point of being created, but never went live.

The USM thing was to conform to a storyline they wanted to explore around 2019-ish which would have conflicted with Resurrection.  I found my solution a bit more convincing this time, but as I mentioned it was never fully fleshed out (nor was there any planned medium to flesh it out - it would've just been background info).

Thanks for the intel! 😃👍 it sounds really interesting (but yes, like you I'm kind of glad it's not a thing. I love Predator, but I don't want it anywhere near my beloved Alien timeline) 😂

[The Cruentus]

Its fine as long as they keep it as three/two seperate continuities. One for Aliens only, the other for either Predator only or Aliens and Predator. There does seem to be more references to Aliens on the Predator side of the franchise.

[E. Shaw]

Its fine as long as they keep it as three/two seperate continuities. One for Aliens only, the other for either Predator only or Aliens and Predator. There does seem to be more references to Aliens on the Predator side of the franchise.

I think the three continuity approach is best, three canons:
Alien
Predator
AVP 
Thanks for this! That is how I shall arrange it in my headcanon now.
 

[Stitch]

Curious to know more about this, (was this to make AvP fit with the Alien movies?) but also *really* glad it didn't happen.

Two separate things. Back around 2015-16 I was working with Fox on a big 'Alien Hub' project, which would've been an huge official online timeline and encyclopedia.  I explained to the Fox rep that AvP doesn't fit with Prometheus and, here's what Ridley said, etc. and as a throwaway said, 'You could probably find a way make it all fit I guess' and they said 'Could you do that please?' So I pitched a couple of options and they picked one, but even I didn't find it that convincing, so it was kind of a mercy - albeit a really disappointing one - when the project ultimately got canned due to staff changes.  The timeline pages actually got to the point of being created, but never went live.

The USM thing was to conform to a storyline they wanted to explore around 2019-ish which would have conflicted with Resurrection.  I found my solution a bit more convincing this time, but as I mentioned it was never fully fleshed out (nor was there any planned medium to flesh it out - it would've just been background info).

Just out of interest, how would you have made it fit?

[E. Shaw]

It's a tie! That is all.

"Weyland-Yutani Corp. Building Better Worlds."

[Corporal Hicks]

Well, no, canon doesn't require that the rules or list of accepted text are ordained by any specific authority, just that there are rules or a list of accepted texts. If that's reached by consensus it's as much a canon as anything else.

So if the license holders don't make one, or don't make it known, fans will try to make their own, resulting in endless arguments.

While canon in its strictest sense of religion can't be defined, when it comes to a fictional franchise canon does need to be defined by the licensor/studio for people coming in to work on that franchise. In a fictional property canon is defined by the owners. Or, at least, for Alien/vs/Predator it is. Or it was. I can't speak for how lose other properties may do it.

That's not to say official products can't incorporate fan theories or popular ideas from within the fandom, but it still has to be vetted and deemed as fitting by Studios/Fox/whatever.

I'm farming for talking points and comments for the upcoming podcast here. For reference, my view on it is I think it's a bit of a complicated topic. As a fandom canon is pointless to us because how many of us are going to be writing a novel, or developing a video game, or a comic in which it directly effects what we can do/what we can reference.

But on the flipside of that, if certain elements that we like/dislike are canon/not canon it effects whether or not we'll see them revisited going forwards.

[oduodu]

there is one thing i would like to add:

if there can be many timelines then what prevents fox/disney at the very least from making a low budget animation movie (or comic or book series etc )  which explores  the engineers and sj 's as 2 seperate things?

so if well written stories exploring that exists will having the alien tm not be liable to copyright issues?

i mean if someone writes a short story about the 2 seperate species can that not lead to trademark issues?

if the story contradicts a current story line or explores something which fox/disney wishes to remain a mystery couldn t  f/d  claim trademark issues?

as to prevent the story being told? isn t canon then important since it can be sold as non canon and not to be taken seriously? hence it will receive very little attention in the msm since f/d doesn t realy want those issues explored?

isn t canon then a tool to be utilised to protect the "mysteries" so to speak?

[E. Shaw]

there is one thing i would like to add:

if there can be many timelines then what prevents fox/disney at the very least from making a low budget animation movie (or comic or book series etc )  which explores  the engineers and sj 's as 2 seperate things?

so if well written stories exploring that exists will having the alien tm not be liable to copyright issues?

i mean if someone writes a short story about the 2 seperate species can that not lead to trademark issues?

if the story contradicts a current story line or explores something which fox/disney wishes to remain a mystery couldn t  f/d  claim trademark issues?

as to prevent the story being told? isn t canon then important since it can be sold as non canon and not to be taken seriously? hence it will receive very little attention in the msm since f/d doesn t realy want those issues explored?

isn t canon then a tool to be utilised to protect the "mysteries" so to speak?

There is the Alien anime, and I think a whole AVP anime that was done bur not released before 20th Century Fox was sold.

I can see animation being a medium for Alien and Predator.

[Nightmare Asylum]

There is the Alien anime, and I think a whole AVP anime that was done bur not released before 20th Century Fox was sold.

I can see animation being a medium for Alien and Predator.

There was no animated Alien project in development, to my knowledge (unless you're referring to that Alien: Isolation machinima thing?). The Alien vs Predator: Annihilation anime was totally completed and then shelved, all during Fox's tenure, and Disney/Studios hasn't done anything to dust it off.

[oduodu]

there is one thing i would like to add:

if there can be many timelines then what prevents fox/disney at the very least from making a low budget animation movie (or comic or book series etc )  which explores  the engineers and sj 's as 2 seperate things?

so if well written stories exploring that exists will having the alien tm not be liable to copyright issues?

i mean if someone writes a short story about the 2 seperate species can that not lead to trademark issues?

if the story contradicts a current story line or explores something which fox/disney wishes to remain a mystery couldn t  f/d  claim trademark issues?

as to prevent the story being told? isn t canon then important since it can be sold as non canon and not to be taken seriously? hence it will receive very little attention in the msm since f/d doesn t realy want those issues explored?

isn t canon then a tool to be utilised to protect the "mysteries" so to speak?

There is the Alien anime, and I think a whole AVP anime that was done bur not released before 20th Century Fox was sold.

I can see animation being a medium for Alien and Predator.

do you know the story of the anime?

[Nightmare Asylum]

do you know the story of the anime?

Everything we know about Annihilation is collected here.