I am curious to hear some critical input regarding what actually can and CANNOT be included in the PREQUEL, without compromising the other films, and why.
You see, I wonder how everyone else feels about this stuff. Especially in light of this leaked script because of the various concerns people have with the material. Are we really all waiting for the ALIEN prequel to just rehash what we have already seen?
Does the new script cause any major difficulty with what we know, or infringe upon the accomplishments of the other films within the franchise?
Because when I think about it critically, the things we are familiar with are exactly what kinda CAN'T happen...,
1- it can't be on Earth (AVP anyone?) without just rendering the rest of the series worthless, or directly linking it to AVP.
2- It can't involve the company's knowledge of the ALIEN by way of previous encounter, without centering on the Derelict, or it will render the first film redundant.
3- MOST IMPORTANTLY!!*** It cant focus on, revolve around, or even revel in the discovery the ALIEN's life cycle w/out ruining the dramatic tension of the first film. This is a major mistake made by PREQUELS! Please I hope we've learned something by now/for a change.
So, really think about it. If we make the Prequel tell a similar story, we ruin ALIEN. Think about knowing Darth Vader is Luke's father b4 watching EMPIRE...Do we want that to happen to the chestburster in ALIEN?
That means this film either needs to occupy different space altogether, or be the brainchild of some serious creative writing.
Basically alls I'm saying is, fans should take caution in what they expect or even WANT from an ALIEN Prequel. There is a fine line that it is necessary to walk.
You cant just fly into this story trying to make another ALIEN movie, because the story has to remain on a certain ladder.
So my question is, what stories can be told? And can you think of anything else that cannot be told without unwittingly undermining the existing films.
If there's anything I know for sure, it's that I DON'T want a prequel that restarts the series in a similar fashion WITHOUT Ripley. But this is actually for A LOT of reasons.
Not only because I love that character so much, and not even just because the typical ALIEN-formula has also been beaten quite closely to death. The results which rendered later sequels just not scary anymore. We are too familiar with the monster and the formula, so to rehashing that formula, would be to the detriment of the series.
So consider that, if the first film in the franchise, THIS PREQUEL, includes even SMALL amounts of what turns up in ALIEN, then we are ruining the impact of the earlier films.
Now, I don't think this means they shouldn't make one, it's just that Im sure the last thing we want is for the Prequel to tell a similar story and render the earlier sequels less than what they are!! No?
Well, the way to do that is to make 'another ALIEN movie.'
Ridley is right! (THANKGOD!) It HAS TO BE a 'new bag of tricks'!
Because it would be a tragedy of the highest order to mess with one of the greatest SCI-FI films of all time by including all of it's plot points in it's Prequel.
So the more I think about it, the LAST thing I want, is a new hero, another crew, on another spaceship/space-station/colony up *beep* creek without a paddle trying to kill the ALIEN.
Its just not fresh anymore, and it seems only logical that the thing to flesh out now is the world this all takes place in, and how the ALIEN fits into it, and maybe, on a more philosophical level, why is this happening?
I can also see why some fans think including the SJ's seems risky. To be honest, I've like the idea that they are extinct, or maybe close to extinction, because of the ALIEN. I also like the Mind control thing aspect of the race from the comics. So, as long as they are off on some distant world, it doesn't do any harm to the series to tell their story and it seems like a secure place to turn.
And please, PLEASE, keep the PREDATORS out of it.
