Work on the Sequels Stopped?

[Spooky799kil]

I really think they should stop focusing on movies since it hasn't been working out with them. I don't hate covenant but I didn't really like it either. I actually preferred if they went just doing video games with the franchise as I have been enjoying the games more than the movies as of late. I still holding out on new AVP FPS and AVP extinction 2 RTS. Also an alien hive simulator with the gameplay of Natural Selection 2 would be very awesome as well. I give any Alien movie a shot but I would prefer it if they just did the video games.

[Gash]

YES!!!!

THANK GOD!!!!

Wow. Get rid of ridley's crap immediately and get Blomkamp's film back in action!!!  Or at least set an alien movie in the proper alien 1-3 timeline. No more f**king spin off/prequel garbage anymore. Cmon fox......

No thanks.

who the f**k were these fans? twitter users five years ago? what about prometheus fans? numbers dont lie. double covenant box office.

Film landscape 5 years ago was not inundated by superhero movies the way it is now. Prometheus was big because of promotion and its assumed links to Alien. Coveneant suffered from the film landscape being different and from a certain Prometheus backlash.

[SM]

It wasn't that much different.  Avengers, Dark Knight and Spider-Man were ripping cash out of punters wallets to the tune of $3.5b

[0321recon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR7n5NT72ak

COLLIDER heard that the plan is a SMALLER Budget ALIEN movie AFTER ALL the other movies. Way ahead in the future.

Watching the blurb, the guy isn't even sure on what's going to happen next. It's going to be a waiting game from here.

Though, the good thing from this vid is that at least Blomkamp ret-con has been tossed to the side.

[PierreVW]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR7n5NT72ak

COLLIDER heard that the plan is a SMALLER Budget ALIEN movie AFTER ALL the other movies. Way ahead in the future.

Watching the blurb, the guy isn't even sure on what's going to happen next. It's going to be a waiting game from here.

Though, the good thing from this vid is that at least Blomkamp ret-con has been tossed to the side.

You could be right. That bald guy could be just lying or dreaming.

At least, Ridley Scott is Directing 2 other films and his career doesn't depend on this.

[tleilaxu]

I'm not surprised. I thought Covenant was very good but it was too idiosyncratic to be a crowd or unanimous fan pleaser. It wasn't Prometheus 2 but it wasn't a full Alien movie either. It was instead an atmospheric, quirky mad scientist's hybrid creation with traits from both. Not exactly a franchise-reviver.

That said, Neil Blompkampf's fan service approach likely wouldn't have fared much better. There's simply no going back to box-office glory for this franchise. It's part of a larger trend: even previously strong and reliable franchises are sinking. Superheroes, Star Wars, CGI animated family films and Disney remakes are now the only consistent bringers of $$$.

Theatrical movies are losing their artistic and cultural relevance in the zeitgeist. There are good independent and smaller studio films now and again but most of the artistic energy has moved onto TV, leaving theaters mainly as purveyors of spectacle.

While there will be no doubt be more films in this franchise, the spiritual successor  to Alien/Aliens (in terms of having a game-changing impact in the sci-fi horror genre) probably won't be an Alien film or even be a theatrically-released movie.

We're in a transitional moment, which is very scary but also exciting. Who knows what the future will bring?

I still think a lot of it had to do with the marketing. Fox seems to still think they've made a horror movie, which is not the case. Aside from that, I agree that the current zeitgeist doesn't lend itself well to films like Covenant. I honestly don't think its going to get any better. Superhero movies and other big budget CGI-fests are here to stay.

[Ash 937]

I still think a lot of it had to do with the marketing. Fox seems to still think they've made a horror movie, which is not the case. Aside from that, I agree that the current zeitgeist doesn't lend itself well to films like Covenant. I honestly don't think its going to get any better. Superhero movies and other big budget CGI-fests are here to stay.
[/quote]

Eventually they will lose traction too.  The Marvel/DC cinematic universes appeal to the public today in the same way that westerns appealed to the world for decades.  None of these things are forever.

[SM]

It'll be just about a 20 year run when the current crop of MCU movies wind up, and doesn't show any signs of stopping.

[Jonesy1974]

This fanbase will never be satisfied. The problem is that there are three fanbases meshed together: One for Prometheus, Alien, and Aliens. I happen to love all the Alien movies so I'm clearly in the minority. Covenant is one of the best films in the franchise so I'm really confused by all the negativity. We were finally starting to get some amazing ideas put back into the franchise. I fear Fox will kneejerk into another commercial endeavor like AvP to satisfy the lowest common denominator. The "fanbase" would deserve it though.

Agreed

[Salt The Fries]

I have an impression that Star Wars, Star Trek and any DC / Marvel fanbases / fandoms are MUCH MORE easily pleased. Alien fandom on the other hand is full of malcontents (sure they are to be found everywhere), but it is the most divisive one.

[Jonesy1974]

I have an impression that Star Wars, Star Trek and any DC / Marvel fanbases / fandoms are MUCH MORE easily pleased. Alien fandom on the other hand is full of malcontents (sure they are to be found everywhere), but it is the most divisive one.

The franchises you mention all have one thing in common and that's a formula, they all have a template to follow so you pretty much get what you expect. The alien films are all so different that the fan base splits into different camps.

The Aliens action orientated approach appears to be the most popular from what I can see so I think that's probably the most financially viable route to take. It's not what I would like personally but it looks like I'm in the minority.

[SM]

I have an impression that Star Wars, Star Trek and any DC / Marvel fanbases / fandoms are MUCH MORE easily pleased. Alien fandom on the other hand is full of malcontents (sure they are to be found everywhere), but it is the most divisive one.

It's not about being easily pleased so much as those fanbases are much bigger than Alien.

When Alien and Aliens were made there were a stack of imitators.  These days there's Life which didn't do terribly well.  Then there's Apollo 18 or Event Horizon. I think it's simply a case of audiences not being that interested in these kinds of movies anymore.

[Toolate]

Okay, go reassess, FOX.

Maybe, just maybe don't hire hack writers like Lindelof or Logan. Next time you maybe should hire a director who actually cares about the creature of this franchise. Not a director who tells that it is cooked. The Space Jockey is cooked now. A way too small albino who looks like a human? Very creative. Thanks for that, Ridley.


Maybe another studio should get the rights, because today's FOX is too dumb for a big movie franchise.

[zoidy]

".....seeing how the new Predator movie does next year, I really wouldn't be surprised to see a new Alien vs Predator reboot on the horizon."

Ahahahahahahahaha!

[axiomatic]

Fox would have made more money with Prometheus 2 or The Forever War. Instead they let the rights to TFW lapse and asked him to turn P2 into an Alien prequel. If they learn anything from this error, it should be that they are better off asking Scott to make something original than ask him to copy prior work. He's much better setting trends than following them. Anybody can make a carbon copy of Alien, and it's been done many times. What nobody can replicate is Scott's perfect track record with original sci-fi movies. He knocks it out of the park every time. Covenant is the first sci-fi movie he's made that wasn't either a huge hit or a classic - or both. Covenant was the first time he made a movie that was neither. They should either get back on the Prometheus train and finish the trilogy in a bold, idea-driven way, or get the rights to something like The Forever War.

As much as I like Scott's work. Covenant feels like he phoned it in a bit. There is a great movie hiding in there somewhere but it feels rushed and underdeveloped. Either that or the studio meddled to much.

The xeno just isn't strong enough to carry the movie and they failed to establish a strong lead to hang the franchise on. David is a great character but he'd need to be on the level of Lecter insane to get people to put their butts in the seats.

At this point I'd say going for broke is probably the best idea for the franchise. Roll the dice and let Ridley do his thing. If it fails then soft reboot it and get Scott as far away as possible.