I'd also like to see them finish out the David storyline. I think they could be done with Alien movies after that, though.
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"Alien" Where does the franchise go from here?
- Thread starter Blue Skies
- Start date
I'd also like to see them finish out the David storyline. I think they could be done with Alien movies after that, though.
5th option: Let the franchise die. They got as much blood out of that stone as they are going to get.
Also let Terminator and Predator die too.
Also let Terminator and Predator die too.
We need just one more film
...to explain away that all the other sequels were dream sequences from a "what if" machine and the series really does end at Aliens.
Some things are better left unexplained, the series survived for years without needing to explain where the aliens come from or what a "space jockey" is, you don't need to explain everything.
Also I'm not sure what there is to reboot.
Anything you change from the original will be met with disdain from the fanbase it's been building up for the past 40 years, and do you want to replace the practical effects - which aren't flawless but still hold up just as well as they always have - with CG that will look old in 2 years unless you find a team that will put the time and effort into it? Disney won't even allow that for their biggest movies.
I voted for Dead Space.
...to explain away that all the other sequels were dream sequences from a "what if" machine and the series really does end at Aliens.
Some things are better left unexplained, the series survived for years without needing to explain where the aliens come from or what a "space jockey" is, you don't need to explain everything.
Also I'm not sure what there is to reboot.
Anything you change from the original will be met with disdain from the fanbase it's been building up for the past 40 years, and do you want to replace the practical effects - which aren't flawless but still hold up just as well as they always have - with CG that will look old in 2 years unless you find a team that will put the time and effort into it? Disney won't even allow that for their biggest movies.
I voted for Dead Space.
You know what they should do next? Make a Colonial Marines movie. No xenomorphs. Have Paul Verhoeven direct.
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I gotta say, wouldn't Dead Space make for the coolest film trilogy?
Have Sony screen gems do it for about $60 million each, it would do good.
Have Sony screen gems do it for about $60 million each, it would do good.
Indeed.
The Fermi Paradox not being a paradox, but simply a result of each civilization being unlucky enough to run into this parasite, as an outcome of evolution without the need for 'great filters' or what not, would work. None of that Halo shit or Intelligent Design by Engineers or any of that crap. Just pure accidental randomness leading to a dreadful outcome to the horror of all who can appreciate what that means.
I loved Dead Space, all of it. The online stuff, the promotional anime movies, the games, all of it. It made me whole.
What saddens me that it took a few years to actually realize why the franchise is good though. There is a lot of thought in the background on resources, the universe, and the need for a typographical representation of language if your memories are to survive beyond your entire species. Getting EA'd still sucks, but despite the third one being a strange duck it got most of its ideas out the door nonetheless.
Kinda wish they hadn't made the final DLC though, even if that is the expected outcome.
What saddens me that it took a few years to actually realize why the franchise is good though. There is a lot of thought in the background on resources, the universe, and the need for a typographical representation of language if your memories are to survive beyond your entire species. Getting EA'd still sucks, but despite the third one being a strange duck it got most of its ideas out the door nonetheless.
Kinda wish they hadn't made the final DLC though, even if that is the expected outcome.
Though my other head fanfiction is basically flipping the script and literally going with RIPLEY instead of ALIEN (edit: since she is the 'alien' now). Continue from Resurrection, and have a now older Ripley go through the entire history of her namesake (she is a clone, after all), and actually managing to trace the Space Jockey's trajectory and so on, while dealing with the human expanse that isn't doing too hot either. So basically Picard, but in the Alien franchise. Whoop.
It's literally the only two moves left that could reasonably lead to a working script / project. There is nothing else left to do, unless they want to re-do Hadley's Hope as a soft reboot where somehow the creature is found on a different colony. Which is basically ALL of the video games anyway, so there's little point in doing that.
Terminator actually still has a viable 'final product' in it though (more like a comic or novel probably), in the form of completing John Connor's arc in the future war. Take the infiltration scene from the 1984 movie, have the Terminator get burned and badly damaged, with its chip no longer set to Skynet commands, making it capable of learning in the same way as the T2 one, and resulting in one 'Nemesis' that isn't playing for team Skynet, but is very much still chasing John Connor (this is consistent with what T1 and T2 have set up). Being able to learn how John Connor (and humans) think should lead into the eventual time chamber confrontation, where Skynet never sent a machine because it couldn't deal with the insanity of temporal mechanics or simply died before it had the chance. Winning the war doesn't just magically shut down every machine, you know. Or maybe it had to split that part off, so you could have some terminator referring to itself as John Henry ( :'D ) appear to be in charge of it, also having a bunch of T-1000s in mannequin mode there could be neat. (so you can have 'Nemmy' realize he's looking at a Connor replica, because that's what that Connor would do. A simple man vs bot story is what you want. )
Keep it simple and realistic, is what I'm saying. But then I don't get how Hollywood works because no one does. It's literally Bistromathics.
None of this will ever get made anyway, wubba lubba dub dub.
Also you guys hating on AvP don't seem to realize the first one is alright. There is no second one, it is known. Just believe me, there isn't. Don't do it, don't google that shit! Awww, you googled it. Why Morty?
Just play the video games, you *burp*s. Running around spaceships taking flack from a Predator while dodging facehuggers that move faster than lightning. That trauma is worth it.
The sequel, AvP 2 is based on the comics and has a very different vibe to it, so while it's stuck in 1999 fovever, it's probably the best game for the franchise anyway. Who wants to fight an Xeno Empress as a Predator? AvP 2 has something for everyone. It's the best we got, people.
(... and Alien Isolation, Aliens: Infestation (DS game, awesome), Alien 3 on SNES maybe... maybe I shouldn't make bold statements before using brain google?)
Beyond that, let it all die. Oh right, that's what the Disney vault is for. BYYYYEEEE
Fassbender is too good for this shit, and Covenant was trash of an offensive degree. I could rant for a while on that one, but uurgh, it's just... filth. I feel a certain degree of honest to god shame for having watched it, and that is NOT a reference to a different movie. That stain is never coming off.
Let it stay dead, or send in Raziel to tear out its vampirical heart- now that franchise (Legacy of Kain) actually had a pretty decent end, though by accident.
Let it stay dead, or send in Raziel to tear out its vampirical heart- now that franchise (Legacy of Kain) actually had a pretty decent end, though by accident.
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Have it take place in the future of the franchise timeline, or have it be an "alternate reality". The xenomorphs finally make it to Earth. David takes control of a Weyland-Yutani android production facility and infects a new android model line with Xenomorph DNA. So we have the body horror we got when Ash was dying combined with adaptations the xenomorph takes when incubating inside it's host body. You can have the production facility off-world to get around the logistics of David having to get into what would be a heavily protected facility if it was on Earth.
Probably would turn out shit, but it seems cool.
Probably would turn out shit, but it seems cool.
Alien isolation was better than Prometheus and covenant.
Challenge me cowards.
I kinda just want to see a direct sequel to covenant. It would probably be bad, but also batshit and weird. Probably not a good idea for the health of the franchise 🤷♀️lol
I wanna see what David was gonna do with that ship full of colonists
I wanna see what David was gonna do with that ship full of colonists
The fan in me says the films should have stopped while the latch was strong, and the be films are so different in tone and the way the alien is used that I think the relation to the Alien franchise actually damaged them.
But the hypothetical studio-man in me says this franchise has a substantial dollar value.
But the hypothetical studio-man in me says this franchise has a substantial dollar value.
Take the first 3 as cannon and ignore everything else. This would conclude ripleys story and allow for a new story to be told without trying to find a way to bring back aged cast members. Also means the lore around the space jockey isn't ruined by Ridleys albino muscle man and Jesus fetish and the look can remain that gritty style that's been lost in the newer films beyond 3.
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This. Prometheus while not very good was interesting. Covenant was pure garbage.
I think a more dialed back, soft reboot is the right path. Focus on colonists and scientist running afoul with the Xenos that invokes a similar feel to the original. Try to keep the budget down, and just make a damn good character driven sci-fi horror -- win the audience back.
I'd also say canonically, they should make David from Prometheus/Covenant an unreliable narrator, and reintroduce some ancient mystery into the Xenos.
I'd also say canonically, they should make David from Prometheus/Covenant an unreliable narrator, and reintroduce some ancient mystery into the Xenos.
They had a chance to continue this with Prometheus and Covenant... And they blew it. I was so hyped for Prometheus after the awesome trailer. What a fuck up.
Just let it die. I don't think it can be salvaged.
Just let it die. I don't think it can be salvaged.
Let it die. Alien Isolation was cool but I also thought it was a bit silly that in this vast galaxy Ellen Ripley's daughter somehow ends up going through the same thing. Never bothered with Prometheus or Covenant because they seemed crappy.
The right time to stop was after Alien 3. The second best time to stop is now. Keep the IP alive with comics, merchandise, video games, let the film franchise go.
Ridley Scott couldn't pay me enough to sit through another trainwreck prequel and the Alien franchise is one of my favorite things on this miserable planet.
Ridley Scott couldn't pay me enough to sit through another trainwreck prequel and the Alien franchise is one of my favorite things on this miserable planet.
Alien vs. Robocop. Get Lexi Alexander to direct it. Make War Zone look meditative and nuanced in comparison.
Nothing needs a sequel. But terminator 2 shits on the original and is one of the best action movies ever and I love the prequels, even more so than the OT, so whatevs
I've never watched the full thing, but this part had be laughing so hard. The fact she slips I can accept, but everything afterwards...
Scott needs to retire already, he's gotten way to old to keep doing this. And this and Prometheus clearly show he lost his way.
My love of the first two movies and dislike of everything that followed isn't so fragile that the mere thought of further sequels existing makes me mad online, so I'd watch more Alien movies. Narratively, I think the best course may be to make a sequel to Alien 3. That way, nothing needs to be retconned, since Resurrection takes place hundreds of years later and Prometheus/Covenant are... I don't even know anymore. AU? Would give them freedom to tell stories without Ripley too.
I think a lot of the reason why Alien worked so well for me is because it really is, at its core, a hard sci-fi movie. Yeah, it's a slasher in spaaaace, but the first hour of that movie is basically an R-rated episode of Star Trek. It's got slowly-paced scenes about scientific discovery. It's got long conversations of people standing around talking about the anatomy and life cycle of an unknown alien organism. And then the horror happens. And it's damn good horror, but what made it so enduring as a series is that it took its time to establish world, lore, and characters, from which other stories could organically grow. It's not like the Friday the 13th series where they just keep coming up with nonsense reasons to keep resurrecting Jason. It's a living, breathing world with plenty of stories left to tell.
Take the series away from Scott though. Jesus.
I think a lot of the reason why Alien worked so well for me is because it really is, at its core, a hard sci-fi movie. Yeah, it's a slasher in spaaaace, but the first hour of that movie is basically an R-rated episode of Star Trek. It's got slowly-paced scenes about scientific discovery. It's got long conversations of people standing around talking about the anatomy and life cycle of an unknown alien organism. And then the horror happens. And it's damn good horror, but what made it so enduring as a series is that it took its time to establish world, lore, and characters, from which other stories could organically grow. It's not like the Friday the 13th series where they just keep coming up with nonsense reasons to keep resurrecting Jason. It's a living, breathing world with plenty of stories left to tell.
Take the series away from Scott though. Jesus.
Why not, at this point, who really gives a shit. Lindelof already fucked it proper with Prometheus. Bring JJ to finish the job and may we never hear from the Alien franchise again.
With that said, I would still watch anything if Sigourney Weaver was on board, at least once.
Yeah. I am in the same boat. Let it die (just like terminator).
Ridley has damn near killed the franchise off with his 2 garbage movies.
Realistically they need to let the franchise rest for a fair few year then either do a soft reboot with new characters and no references to Ripley and co or do a something set in the future where humans are trying to colonise a new planet and stumble on the Alien homeworld and shit hits the fan.
Realistically they need to let the franchise rest for a fair few year then either do a soft reboot with new characters and no references to Ripley and co or do a something set in the future where humans are trying to colonise a new planet and stumble on the Alien homeworld and shit hits the fan.
Like Terminator, the place the Alien franchise needs to go, artistically, is not a place conducive to making money at the box office, so it should be shelved.
If I didn't have to worry about the studio funding me getting an actual return on their investment, though, I'd go full Giger with it: biomechanical, erotic, and terrifying on a reptilian level. Videodrome, The Fly, and Alien were the body-horror films that defined their era. If you ask me, we haven't had that film for our era yet. It Follows and Upgrade are maybe the closest, although Cronenberg's son has a film on the festival circuit that looks like it could be pretty compelling. In the right hands, and without actual box office performance in mind, Alien could easily be that film.
But on the other hand, you could make that film without the Alien license just as easily.
If I didn't have to worry about the studio funding me getting an actual return on their investment, though, I'd go full Giger with it: biomechanical, erotic, and terrifying on a reptilian level. Videodrome, The Fly, and Alien were the body-horror films that defined their era. If you ask me, we haven't had that film for our era yet. It Follows and Upgrade are maybe the closest, although Cronenberg's son has a film on the festival circuit that looks like it could be pretty compelling. In the right hands, and without actual box office performance in mind, Alien could easily be that film.
But on the other hand, you could make that film without the Alien license just as easily.
Please let the franchise die already. There hasn't been a notable sequel since Alien 3 which closed Ripley's arc in a satisfying manner