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Maybe I've been living under a rock but this is the first I have heard of this, couldnt see any thread or discussion here about it & at the moment am feeling a little jingly in my private bits...with Prometheus 2 on the way & this coming in 2017, Alien lovers have plenty to look forward to.
‘Alien’ Movie Is ‘District 9′ Director Neill Blomkamp’s Next Project
Neill Blomkamp’s ‘Alien 5′ Was Changed For ‘Prometheus 2′ & Already Has A Title
‘Alien 5′ Concept Art Hints At New Story & Design Details
‘Alien 5′: How Is Hicks Still Alive?
‘Alien’ Movie Is ‘District 9′ Director Neill Blomkamp’s Next Project
Sci-fi filmmaker Neill Blomkamp’s next movie, Chappie, is just around the corner, but the director has been making headlines for reasons other than his anticipated original tale. A couple of months ago, Blomkamp revealed unofficial Alien concept art, which he pegged as nothing more than “a mental stroll” in the universe that Ridley Scott created in his seminal 1979 film.
But, there was apparently fire to go with this smoke. Not too long ago, Blomkamp was openly discussing his desires to make Alien 5 one of his films, and franchise star Sigourney Weaver (who worked with Blomkamp on Chappie) said that she’d be game should the project ever get the green light. Now, it seems that day is here – with word coming from none other than Blomkamp himself.
In a post on his Instagram account, the director stated that his next movie will indeed be an entry into the Alien franchise:
Shortly after Blomkamp shared his news, sources from Variety confirmed that Fox has closed a deal with him to call the shots on a new Alien movie. So anyone who thought that the Instagram image was nothing more than Blomkamp’s wishful thinking need not take those grains of salt. This is really happening.
With a new Alien film so early in development, it’s also impossible to say what exactly the plot will entail. Blomkamp’s post, however exciting it may be, is scarce on other details. Weaver’s previous quotes would indicate that the Ellen Ripley character will be involved in some capacity, but right now only Blomkamp knows what her next mission could be. However, story details could emerge shortly, given that Fox has put this project on the fast track.
Though it looks like Alien 5 has come together rather quickly, there has been talk about the possibilities of such a film for a while. Weaver has gone on record stating that she thought there was still more story to tell and that longtime fans of the franchise would want to see her character’s (Ellen Ripley) arc completed in a new installment, following the events of Alien: Resurrection. Whether those were clues that this news was on the horizon or not, Weaver seems to be getting her wish granted.
The one question on everyone’s minds will be how this new film relates to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus 2, which is coming through the pipeline for a possible 2016 release. As we’ve speculated before, the two movies will co-exist and not cancel each other out. Justin Kroll of Variety tweeted that Alien 5 is a separate entity, and the Prometheus sequel is still happening. It seems that Fox has another blossoming shared cinematic universe to go with its Marvel Comics properties.
Now that it’s officially happening, Alien 5 is just the latest film in a long list of productions that will look to revive long-dormant Hollywood franchises and introduce them to a new generation of moviegoers. The box office numbers for 2015 will be a strong indicator as to how long this trend will go on, but given the levels of excitement surrounding some of these films, there is a strong chance that this business strategy proves to be as successful as the superhero movies. Some may frown upon the studios returning to the well after so many years, but if a creative eye like Blomkamp is behind the camera, we doubt too many will complain.
We’ll keep you updated on the development of Neill Blomkamp’s Alien movie as more information becomes available.
Neill Blomkamp’s ‘Alien 5′ Was Changed For ‘Prometheus 2′ & Already Has A Title
Shared cinematic universes are in style – and currently, 20th Century Fox is working on a couple, including one that does not feature Marvel comic book characters. The latter would be a reference to the Alien franchise, which currently has two installments in development: Neill Blomkamp’s Alien 5, which will bring back Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley; and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus 2, a sequel to Scott’s Alien quasi-prequel (or, rather, spinoff) that released in 2012.
The Prometheus followup has been in semi-official development for much longer than Blomkamp’s film, but the latter is the one that’s been grabbing headlines of late since Blomkamp’s been out promotingChappie. Scott, as it were, is producing Blomkamp’s Alien movie – and in a new interview, the District 9/Chappie director talked a bit about working alongside Scott, to make sure their two Alien films may co-exist in peace (and not “tread on the toes” of the other).
Blomkamp, when he spoke with Empire, admitted that he had to make at least one significant change to his plans for Alien 5, once he learned what Scott has in mind with Prometheus 2:
“I changed the one thing [Ridley Scott] felt was bumping ‘Prometheus’ a little bit. One thing that makes me feel good about it is that Ridley is producing it. He likes the idea of what I want to make.”
Blomkamp’s Alien film artwork (that he released online, anyway) included one of the Engineer ship designs introduced by Prometheus, so it seems that from the beginning, the filmmaker has planned to acknowledge the revelations in Scott’s prequel/spinoff.
All the same, Blomkamp reiterated what he’s said in the past during his talk with Empire: that Alien 5won’t undo the events of Alien 3 or Alien: Resurrection (and won’t break continuity with Prometheuseither)… but, at the same time, his film won’t necessarily be strongly tied to those installments either:
“The first two films [‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’] are the ones that I care about.”
One of the Engineers’ ships from Blomkamp’s ‘Alien 5′ artwork
That Alien 5 already has a proper title is something else that Blomkamp teased during his Empireinterview:
“I sent what I wanted as the title to Ridley. It’s kinda quite bold, and he was like, ‘I really like that.’ So I’m gonna test it, I don’t think it’s gonna work, though. I have my own idea but it gives away too much if I say the title. But in the event that it doesn’t work, I’m dead in the water…”
It’s encouraging to hear that Blomkamp is keeping Scott in the loop, regarding his developing plans for Alien 5 – and not just because it will help to make sure that these two projects (Alien 5 andPrometheus 2) will neither contradict one another, nor will they cover similar plot/thematic material.
Blomkamp has admitted in the past that at times he’s been guilty of focusing more on fleshing out concepts and ideas with his film work, as opposed to keeping his attention on making sure his movie narratives are cleanly structured. The director’s two films since his breakout hit District 9, Elysium andChappie, arguably both suffered from that problem to varying degrees. The mileage that you get from either of those movies depends in no small amount on how much their premises resonate with you, more than anything else.
For the reasons mentioned, it’s good to see Blomkamp disciplining himself a bit more with Alien 5, by running some of his ideas by Scott first. That’s also encouraging since this is a project that clearly means a lot to Blomkamp (and, in turn, one he wants to get right) – as noted by Terri Tatchell, co-screenwriter on District 9 and Chappie (she also happens to be Blomkamp’s wife), during the Empireinterview.
Tatchell: “[Neill’s been] hemming and hawing, going back-and-forth [about making ‘Alien 5′]. Finally I said, ‘Look, look at what you make me drink my orange juice out of every morning,’ and I pulled out of the cupboard, we have these set of glasses that have these brutal scenes from the movies. I said, ‘You make your daughter drink out of these cups! This is a sign.’”
Blomkamp: “No bulls**t, that made me realize there is a massive portion of my brain taken up by the xenomorph. I was like, ‘Hmm, that’s a valid point.’”
Prometheus 2 has a finished script ready for shooting in place. Now that we know that Scott is not directing the Blade Runner sequel, it looks like he will set to work on the Prometheus sequel sometime this year – after wrapping up post-production on his space exploration drama The Martian (which hits theaters in November 2015).
Neither Prometheus 2 nor Alien 5 have official releases dates yet, but right now the former appears to be on course to make a 2016/2017 release – with Blomkamp’s film presumably following a year (or so) later. Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm already have a release plan in place to have one new Star Wars movie installment arriving in theaters every year, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Fox took a similar approach to its Alien cinematic universe.
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We’ll continue to keep you posted on both Alien 5 and Prometheus 2‘s development.
‘Alien 5′ Concept Art Hints At New Story & Design Details
Neill Blomkamp has specialized in original science fiction genre films thus far, but for his next project he’s working within the confines of a well-established sandbox: the Alien franchise. It’s not clear yet what Blomkamp’s Alien 5 will be about, nor when it will take place in the Alien cinematic timeline. However, similar to 2015 series revivals Jurassic World and Terminator Genisys, Blomkamp’s movie will come the closest to being a direct continuation of the last widely-acclaimed installment in its respective franchise (James Cameron’s Aliens, in this case).
As such, Blomkamp’s Alien 5 will bring back Sigourney Weaver as series’ lead Ellen Ripley, and herAliens costar Michael Biehn may well return as Dwayne Hicks too. The latest piece of concept art for the project unveiled by Blomkamp confirms that so much remains the plan now.
Blomkamp posted the newest piece of Alien 5 concept art to his Instagram account, with a note that the project is “going very well.” The picture features both Ripley and Hicks (alongside some as yet identified people), facing a soldier(?) wearing futuristic armor, who appears to have the South Korean flag as a logo on their left shoulder.
Previous Alien installments, as well as director Ridley Scott’s Alien quasi-prequel/spinoff Prometheus, explored the actions and history behind the futuristic Weyland-Yutani Corporation (a British/Japanese multinational conglomerate). However, if that is indeed a South Korean logo on the above soldier’s(?) uniform, then it could be this individual works for a different company – one that will be introduced in Blomkamp’s Alien 5.
The incorporation of a new corporate body could be necessary for story purposes in Blokamp’s Alien 5(after the events of previous Alien films), similar to how the Jurassic World narrative necessitated the introduction of the Masrani Corporation. According to the Alien series canon, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation collapsed and was ‘replaced’ as the top dog organization on Earth by the United Systems Military, only to later re-merge as a more powerful company than ever before (following the events ofAlien Resurrection). So, another possibility is that Weyland-Yutani now has a South Korean wing.
Such questions are part of what makes Blomkamp working on Alien 5 appealing; he will be able to mold and refashion that mythology with his unique artistic style, but while working within structured parameters that he perhaps could’ve used on his past couple films (Elysium and Chappie). It’s been a while since we had a widely-loved Alien movie too, so this could prove to be a win-win-situation for all concerned parties.
‘Alien 5′: How Is Hicks Still Alive?
In 1979, Ridley Scott brought the Xenomorph (which would become one of the most famous andhorrific science fiction monsters of all time) to the big screen in his film Alien. James Cameron took over for the sequel Aliens, ramping up the action and introducing Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) to Colonial Marine Corporal Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn) and Newt (Carrie Henn), a child who survived an alien attack on her colony.
Biehn has been rumored to reprise the role in Alien 5, joining Sigourney Weaver in director Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming entry in the series. The character was thought to be dead at the beginning ofAlien 3, when the escape ship carrying himself, Ripley and Newt crashes and Ripley is pronounced the only survivor. That decision has long been derided for ending Hicks’ storyline too abruptly, and the concept art released by Blomkamp seems to confirm the director agrees: Hicks’ story isn’t over.
The most recent concept art released online by Blomkamp (see below) clearly features Hicks alongside Ripley. In continuity, the photo must take place after the events of Aliens, as Hicks’ face was disfigured at the end of that film by the Xenomorph’s acidic blood.
#alien going very well. Love this project
A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on Jul 16, 2015 at 12:07pm PDT
The biggest question about the decision to include Corporal Hicks in the film is how the continuity of the universe is laid out. In the beginning of Alien 3, Hicks is said to have died in a crash landing. However, the events of the 2013 video game Aliens: Colonial Marines revealed that Hicks was never in the crashed ship. Instead, he had been awoken from stasis to help fend off an attack from Weyland-Yutani mercenaries. During the ensuing battle, Ripley and Newt are accidentally ejected from the ship, crashing onto the planet Fiorina 161, the planet where Alien 3 takes place.
It seems unlikely that Blomkamp is going to want to include events from the game in his story, considering the poor critical reception for Colonial Marines. Still, the game does set a precedent for the character’s survival in the series. It seems that Alien 5 may also re-examine the crash and reveal that Hicks was never killed in the first place. After the franchise’s recent lackluster offerings, it’s hard to imagine any fans would complain if Hicks was brought back with minimal backstory.
Blomkmap has previously gone on the record stating that he considers his film to be a successor toAliens – calling it “the genetic sibling of Aliens” – and as such the timeline would be “Alien, Aliens, and then this movie.” However, with the obvious aging of the characters, it would be hard to imagine that this film somehow took place between Aliens and Alien 3. He’s also told media outlets like AlloCiné that he doesn’t want to undo the events of the last two Alien movies:
“My favorites are the first two movies, so I want to make a film that’s connected to ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’. That’s my goal. I’m not trying to undo ‘Alien 3′ or ‘Alien: Resurrection.’ I just want it to be connected to ‘Alien 1′ and ‘2’.”
Hicks has been repeatedly showing up in the concept art for Alien 5, so it’s more likely than not that we’ll be seeing him in the upcoming film. While Blomkamp can’t remove Alien 3 from continuity, the safest bet is that Hicks will be ret-conned to have survived the crash that begins the film. There are certainly other possibilities (some kind of cloning experiment a la how Ripley returned in Alien: Resurrection?), so feel free to share your own theories below.
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