UPDATE – 2/24/2015
As you can see below, the news that there is going to be a new Alien film being directed by Neill Blomkamp has made waves. Now what’s recently come up, is the direction the film may take. According to the Alien5-Movie website, veteran creature effects artists Tom Woodruff and Alec Gillis will be involved with the creature designs and effects. That’s definitely a bonus. According to some interviews, it seems very likely that Sigourney Weaver will reprise her role as Lt. Ellen Ripley and Michael Biehn as Corporal Dwayne Hicks. If this is true, and the concept art that we have seen is pointing to this, is that this new Alien film will ignore the third and fourth movies. There’s no word on whether or not Lance Henriksen’s Bishop character or Newt from the second film will show up. It’s entirely possible, and I hope it will be the case. Since this is going to be a Neill Blomkamp feature, it’s very possible to expect actor Sharlto Copley to be involved in some way. It was Neill Blomkamp that gave us Sharlto Copley in the first place, so his presence can be expected. What we also know is that Alien 5 won’t be released until after Ridley Scott finishes and releases Prometheus 2. This very well could be the Alien film that people have been wanting for years. 20th Century Fox is apparently the driving force behind this now, so I’m crossing my fingers and hoping. If all this is true, we are going to have a lot of happy Alien fans, myself included.
*End Update*
A little while ago, I made a post about some concept artwork for a possible new Alien film. Well, it has been confirmed by Neill Blomkamp via Variety that he will be developing the next Alien feature film. I can’t even begin to express how thrilled I am. It’s unclear as to whether Sigourney Weaver or Ridley Scott will be involved in some capacity, but with Blomkamp involved, this could be really, really good. Why now? I’m speculating, but I think Fox is jumping on this for a number of reasons. One: Prometheus. It’s a love it or hate it kind of movie, but it did take place in the same universe as Alien. It had connections to the previous franchise, but it was still its own movie. The other reason could be the success of the video game Alien Isolation. I’ve played through that game a number of times, and each time my heart was pounding. It’s intense and it really captured the atmosphere and look of the original film. I think Prometheus and Alien Isolation sparked a new interest in the franchise, and I believe that Neill Blomkamp could bring a fresh set of eyes and perspective to a series that has been plagued by problematic sequels(not bad movies by any stretch, but flawed)and two lousy spin-offs. I remember back in 1994-95 that there were rumors on the World Wide Web(as it was known)about a fourth Alien film. I kept my eyes on it and sure enough, we got Alien Resurrection in 1997. That’s nearly twenty years since we’ve had a proper Alien film.
I think the time away from the film franchise could do it some good. Alien 3 was plagued by the lack of a script and major studio interference. It got so bad, that the film’s director, David Fincher, ended up leaving the project frustrated by the whole situation. I’m honestly surprised that Alien 3 turned out as well as it did. The Assembly Cut of the film was a better film, but it highlighted a lot of issues that the theatrical release had. Characters showed up and disappeared without any explanation, but the film had really great performances, especially from Sigourney Weaver. It was intense, brutal and a hell of a ride. Alien Resurrection suffered from having a very different tone. The previous films were dark, gritty and terrifying. Resurrection was a fairly light-hearted affair with a dark sense of humor, yet a very cliched premise. It was fun, and had colorful characters, but it was too different from the others. So, what do we know about this new Alien film? Absolutely nothing at this point. It just got the go-ahead from Fox Studios, so it’ll be another year or two before we see it. Is there a possibility that it could bury the franchise permanently? It’s possible, but I doubt it. Neill Blomkamp has two fairly successful movies already under his belt: District 9 and Elysium. His new movie, Chappie is looking to make some serious waves later this year. This guy knows exactly what he’s doing, and I think it’s smart for Fox Studios to bring him on board. It’s too early to really say whether this movie will be any good, but I seriously doubt it could be worse than the Alien Vs. Predator movies. I know there are people out there who will say, “Leave it dead!” As I said in my post about the artwork, while I wouldn’t mind seeing Ellen Ripley again, I would also like the film to take on a new hero/heroine. Alien proved that a woman could handle being a hero.
While I would certainly like to see Ridley Scott direct this film, he already did Prometheus and is hard at work on the sequel to that film as well as Blade Runner 2. James Cameron is also busy with his Avatar sequels. Truth be told, I would actually like to see David Fincher be allowed to direct his vision of an Alien film. Won’t happen though, considering he’s still bitter about his experience on Alien 3. When I first saw that concept artwork that Mr. Blomkamp had released, I had truly hoped that Fox Studios would take this seriously. Well, they are and I hope that they give Blomkamp the latitude that he needs to craft an incredible film, because he’s already made two awesome movies. I’m honestly looking forward to seeing what Blomkamp can do with this franchise, and I’m also looking forward to who gets to be involved with the film when it finally enters production. I’m hopeful that Neill Blomkamp can bring Alien film franchise back into the spotlight. This is a franchise that is loved by many, many people, yours truly included. It deserves another shot. So, check out that Variety article that I linked to, because it has some of that concept artwork that I mentioned. So, I’m absolutely thrilled that Fox Studios has decided to take another stab at Alien. I would love to see Sigourney Weaver’s reaction to this news. I really would. I think after Prometheus, people were itching for a new Alien film. We’re about to get another express elevator to Hell. I’m game.