Merry Christmas, kids! It’s a new one Alien movie!
“Um…” begins an Instagram post from writer-director-producer Neill Blomkamp, ”So I guess it’s officially my next movie. #alien”
The post’s image is a painting by Swiss surrealist HR Giger in the artist’s famous airbrush style, from the film Aliens eponymous alien in profile, toothed tongue outstretched, leg raised like a dancer.
Although last night’s Instagram post is a little light on detail Variety confirmed that the message it seems to be sending – that Blomkamp will accompany a new film in the Alien franchise – right. Citing “sources” Variety says Blomkamp and 20th Century Fox have indeed struck a deal for a new one Alien movie and that the movie will be separate from Ridley Scott’s Prometheus 2 (which is still being written while Ridley Scott is filming the movie version of Andy Weir’s The Martian).
There are currently no solid details about what Blomkamp’s Alien movie might look like and whether it will be a “reboot” of the franchise, a sequel, or something in between. Earlier rumors of a new one Alien film indicated series star Sigourney Weaver may have been added; there’s no word at this time on whether Weaver is involved with Blomkamp’s project. With the ink still wet on the deal, there’s also no leaked script and no real solid pre-production efforts to spy on.
However, to get an indication of what kind of story might be lurking in the head of the 35-year-old South African sci-fi author, one need look no further than the Alien concept art Blomkamp posted in early January – concept art featuring Ellen Ripley from Weaver (in one image wearing a suicide vest full of explosives and in another in some kind of alien-like suit) and Corporal Dwayne Hicks from Michael Biehn (with his face on one side deformed ghost of the operastyle after the sour splash he took at the end of Aliens).
Considering that Hicks was unceremoniously killed off screen during the opening moments Stranger 3 in 1992 it seems likely that Blomkamp’s plans – at least at this stage – relate to a Superman is coming back-like “midquel”, where the new film is then placed in the middle of the existing canon Aliens and fire Stranger 3 And alien resurrection, much like Superman is coming back was a direct sequel to the one from 1978 Superman II and ignored the remaining (bad) movies in the franchise.
With any luck, if the deal results in a completed movie, it won’t fall victim to the growing trend in Hollywood to bowdlerize blockbuster movies to achieve a “PG-13” rating (a trend that this summer apparently the Terminator Genisys as his latest victim). Blomkamp’s past two releases—District 9 And Elysium– have earned an “R” rating as well as his latest movie, Chappie, also got the same rating. It’s hard to imagine a PG-13 rating Alien movie, and thankfully Blomkamp isn’t afraid to hold the camera for nasty acts – something that will definitely be needed in a movie about monsters exploding from your chest.
There’s no release date for the movie just yet, but we don’t expect anything earlier than the end of 2016.
Frame image by Geoffroy Thoorens