Remember how Alien director Ridley Scott was poised to resurrect the ailing sci-fi/horror franchise for Fox with a prequel film? Well, as Private Hudson might say, “Game over, man! Game over!”
According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, the canceled Alien project—which would have taken place long before the 1979 original film—has been reconfigured into an original film called Prometheus. The new film is slated for a March 9, 2012 release date.
“While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place,” Scott said in a statement. “The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn’t be more pleased to have found the singular tale I’d been searching for, and finally return to this genre that’s so close to my heart.”
Sounds intriguing, but it’s odd move for Fox to cast aside such a lucrative property in favor of a wholly new one. Then again, perhaps Fox is looking for its next Avatar, which was helmed by Scott’s fellow Alien franchise veteran James Cameron. There’s no word whether this film will also be in 3D.
Click here for the full story.
Auto Ads
Showing posts with label Ridley Scott. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ridley Scott. Show all posts
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, July 31, 2009
Confirmed: Ridley Scott Returns to Direct Alien Prequel
After months of speculation, Variety confirmed on July 30 that Ridley Scott—who directed the 1979 sci-fi classic Alien—will return to the series to helm a prequel film. Twentieth Century Fox has hired Jon Spaihts (Passengers, St. George and the Dragon) to write it.
The film will apparently take place before the original, in which the crew of a commercial space ship is terrorized by a toothy, acid-blooded monster.
Do we necessarily need another Alien movie? Not at all. The series peaked in 1986 with James Cameron’s breathtaking sequel, Aliens, and unless this “reboot” aspires to that level of filmmaking there’s no real point in going through with it (save for the obvious exploitative monetary benefits). It’s also yet another prequel from the studio that brought us the half-assed X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this summer, which proved that adhering to established continuity is not only completely optional in doing these backstory films, Fox seemingly discourages it. That’s the only plausible explanation for how that film turned out.
However, with Scott now officially attached, consider my skepticism subdued.
The film will apparently take place before the original, in which the crew of a commercial space ship is terrorized by a toothy, acid-blooded monster.
Do we necessarily need another Alien movie? Not at all. The series peaked in 1986 with James Cameron’s breathtaking sequel, Aliens, and unless this “reboot” aspires to that level of filmmaking there’s no real point in going through with it (save for the obvious exploitative monetary benefits). It’s also yet another prequel from the studio that brought us the half-assed X-Men Origins: Wolverine earlier this summer, which proved that adhering to established continuity is not only completely optional in doing these backstory films, Fox seemingly discourages it. That’s the only plausible explanation for how that film turned out.
However, with Scott now officially attached, consider my skepticism subdued.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Fox Wants Ridley Scott for Alien Prequel
Awesomely, it seems as though 20th Century Fox is not going to be moving forward with a prequel to its 1979 sci-fi classic Alien without the original director, Ridley Scott, at the helm. Entertainment Weekly has the full story.
While it was previously reported that relatively unknown director Carl Rinsch was in line to reboot the franchise, Fox sources told EW that this is simply not the case. However, Scott himself has yet to comment.
I don’t necessarily think that a prequel to Alien is necessary. I’m aware that, from a business perspective, brand recognition is extremely important in idea-starved Hollywood. However, do we really need an expository film to shatter the mystery that made the original film so fascinating in the first place? Just introduce new characters in the same film universe, write a good script and pretend that those terrible Alien vs. Predator movies never happened. By starting fresh with a completely new sequel story, the film won’t be as tethered to decades-old continuity and will have far more room to grow.
Regardless, it’s cool that Fox isn’t rushing things, and it would be even cooler if Scott finally returned to science fiction.
While it was previously reported that relatively unknown director Carl Rinsch was in line to reboot the franchise, Fox sources told EW that this is simply not the case. However, Scott himself has yet to comment.
I don’t necessarily think that a prequel to Alien is necessary. I’m aware that, from a business perspective, brand recognition is extremely important in idea-starved Hollywood. However, do we really need an expository film to shatter the mystery that made the original film so fascinating in the first place? Just introduce new characters in the same film universe, write a good script and pretend that those terrible Alien vs. Predator movies never happened. By starting fresh with a completely new sequel story, the film won’t be as tethered to decades-old continuity and will have far more room to grow.
Regardless, it’s cool that Fox isn’t rushing things, and it would be even cooler if Scott finally returned to science fiction.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)