Comments (Page 259)

Regarding Killing Off some of the ALIENS cast, this is a problem that Movie Franchises Face when there is a certain TIME between each movie, which is not a problem sometimes... but it is when a Surviving Character is a Child, but as you said they could have cast another 8-10 Year Old as Newt, i think you can get away with it more if say you had a 9 year old in a movie and the next movie she would be say 13-15 and you Change the Actress, or say 18-21 Years Old now and you use someone else, because any differences could be put down to how people can change in appearance from their Preteen years to Teens and to Adulthood.

So that could have worked.....  this is a Problem that Faces Ripley 8 and David as far as Future Appearances because we have to assume David would remain the same Age Appearance forever... so the longer any Alien Covenant sequel takes, the more they have to explain WHY would a Android Age!   With Ripley 8 as a Hybrid with Regeneration you then have to ASK would a Ripley 8 Age?

I think another Problem at the time of ALIEN 3 was how do you continue after ALIENS with the Survivors and then Figure out HOW/WHERE to you introduce the Xenomorph again?  Did the Destruction of Hadleys Hope, also Destroy the Derelict?  Then IF-NOT its a case of WHY would Ripley want to go back to that Nightmare again for a 3rd Time, she likely be NO THANKS i am off to raise Newt and have a Life Back!

The response would be likely the same IF the company found another place where they could obtain the Xenomorph on another World, which must be something they had no idea about between the years 2122-2179 and so the Alien 3 Plot was a way to introduce the Xenomorph via Eggs on the Sulaco.   While i can understand WHY they would kill off Newt...   they could have still had Hicks Survive and it would maybe give us Greater Character Connection as we see Hicks and Ripley Mourn the Loss of Newt... we could then have had Ripley and Hicks become close.

So when we see Ripley having to Sacrifice herself we could have more impact at the LOSS via Hicks, and this would also have left Hicks open to be the Protagonist in any sequel as he would make a VOW that Ripleys Sacrifice was NOT in Vain and he would NOT allow the Company/Mankind to obtain a Xenomorph at any point!

But ALAS... things Never Turned out that way!

When I see that picture I wonder how the breath of the Xeno is. :D

I kind of wonder what their sources are? I am not sure how much that I shall trust this piece. It is easy to post something if it sounds interesting but you also got to think about how likely something is. I am remaining skeptical.

DK:

Thanks, I don’t really hate any movie in the franchise because it is such a strong word so I save it for other things. Alien 3 is my favorite but I bet that there are people that find things in it that annoys them so they do not like it that much but that is alright. We have had releases since 1979 so there are many things in there that people like or not, I am totally fine with it.

I agree that there are different tones in the movies. 1 and 3 were similar, aliens is action, and 4 is a bad comedy. One thing that is interesting is that they are different from each-other despite of things that unify them but then it would be bad if they were all the same. Prometheus for all of its faults tried something new so I got to respect it for that.

Yeah comedy is probably the closest thing that 4 is in terms of genre. If the franchise is a family then AR is the odd-ball of it. Hmm, I am not sure about that because I did not see that much of what their traits as characters were. The wheel-chair guy was in a wheel-chair and that was what he was about.  The rasta guy was what? I don’t know. The female that got the foot-massage was worried and a crier but we learn nothing about her as a character, actually that goes for most of them. Those that get a background is basically Call and Ripley and that’s it (you see that when they are alone talking).

“I loved that dynamic of Ellen and a Xeno occupying the same body and mind.”

The idea is not bad but it feels too much like a comic-book to me. It doesn’t fit in the tone of the franchise, it is just odd but I got to say that I watch Resurrection when I have nothing to do and just pick a movie without too much thinking (lazy crap).

Sure there is different context to every movie, how it was in society when it was made and what ever so that is just something that I accept no matter if I like or dislike of what becomes.

A male lead could be interesting because we haven't had that in the franchise but what is the most important thing is that he or she is well-written. You mention Amanda, I think that it is a little sad that they got to have Ripley-connections in a lot of things. Having a new character that is independent from those that came before should have been better in my opinion. What they went with is too much of a repetition which I am not too excited about but that is just my take on it.

123Engineer:

I do not mind that Prometheus tried something new, the Engineers were interesting. My problem is that mist of the characters were lame (except for Janek, David, and maybe Vickers). I don’t know about Daniels or Tennesee because they had no personality as far as I could see. How were they as characters? What were their personalities? I can not tell

Raised By Wolves, I am not sure if it is a part of the Alien universe but maybe it has some similar things. I am not very interested in the android thing so I do not have any plans to watch it but if people enjoy that then fine for them.

AC had some things that I enjoyed but too much of it was a waste. Yeah, it depends on what you want in a movie for it to work for you. I can not watch a movie where the characters are not well written but some people are maybe in it for the themes or for the environments, and so on.

“I‘m pretty sure that the fans will love the sequel, if it is how Scott described it... War of the worlds-scenario with engineers on a new planet, thousands of colonists and the juggernaut crashing consequentially? Sounds interesting!”

It could work but then the characters got to work but the idea seems interesting. I am afraid that David will have a big part in it so I do not want that. Having it as a survival horror thing seems interesting to me but they got to reduce the role of the androids.

He (Scott) could be a producer but he should stay away from the story. Maybe Scott will not be involved at all but I can not say that it would be a disaster to me if that would be the case. I agree with Hypernova that they should try new writers and see what they can do. The mini series if that becomes a reality, short-films or what ever could be interesting, I would rather have that than another movie about David.

There are other things than androids, Xenos, and that so why not. Maybe a bit about WY could work as long as they do not reveal everything because there should be some mystery left but they need good writers and keep Scott away from the story. As long as they get the characters right I am interested in something new but don’t lay all the focus on the androids.

As far as to tie it to alien you just have to call it X – an Alien-spin-off, and there you have it.

Hi and welcome to the board, it is always nice to see new members because we all have our history in our own ways with the franchise. I hope that you will like it here

The prequels have a lot of problems but there are also some interesting things about them. My main complaint are the characters, they have been lacking since AR but I like the first three Alien 3 being my favorite. I can see why people dislike 3 but I enjoy it, there is no problem for me that they killed Newt and Hicks because it was never about them anyways. Aliens was probably my favorite when I was younger (hey it is an action movie) but as I have gotten older that has changed so now it is

1. Alien 3
2. Alien
3. Aliens

This is how I look at it

Alien 3 had some things in common with the first one but in no way is it a repetition I think. You had new characters (prisoners instead of working people), a new place (prison instead of a ship), it was more about religion compared to the rest which I like (not a religious person though), the monster was born from an animal and it also took traits from the host. Ripley was at the end of her life which developed the character. The way it was shot was very good, I can go on and on. Tonally (is that the word?) it is closer to 1 than 2 and I like that but 2 is still OK.

I like the poster that you made, well done there.

I agree with you about David, I think that he was interesting in Prometheus but he was a psychopath in AC. I like it when they are more ambiguous as characters because it makes me think more.

“And that stuff about him "creating" the xeno's that we know and love practically out of boredom... Man, that was painful for me. But i digress.”

Yes, that is totally effed up, that is probably the part that disappoints me the most about Covenant after the characters or lack of as far as the quality is concerned.

Thanks for the short fan story (short should not be seen as criticism), I enjoy it. I like it when people come up with ideas of their own as long as they are not here for self-promotion.

Don’t worry about Big Dave, he is smart but he can never write short replies. ;) (Sorry Big Dave, I just had to say that even though I enjoy reading many of your replies.)

DK: I think that he has money but he probably wants control of the franchise that is what I think. Unfortunately it has not turned out well this far so we have what we have. His habit of affecting the story-writing is just bad and makes things worse so he is one of those to blame IMO.

It has Alien 3 stuff in it, wohoo!!!

Actually I have never seen that stuff before so thanks for posting it. I really like to read historical things like that especially since Alien 3 is my favorite Alien movie and one of the movies that I watch the most (the Assembly Cut).

“they do seem to be a Distraction to what many fans would expect the Franchise to be about which is usually Xenomorphs!”

Sorry BD but if you look at the core thing in the movies it was never about the Xeno, which your reply makes it sound like (this is not to say that it is what you mean but to me your answer sounds like that).

“The AI element was likely to be about Artificially Created/Engineered Humanoids.”

Likely is the main word here, I am not sure if that is where it would be going and David would still have too much of a role in it. Nowhere does it say that it would be about that, I would guess that it would mainly be about David creating monsters. Remember that he said something like “I will not let them start again” or something like that. What I don’t like is that Scott seldom or never explains what he means about AI, if he is stubborn that it should be about it then at least explain more in detail what it is. To say that those in Blade Runner is AI isn’t enough, you got to be more specific. It is difficult when you have someone that is talking in riddles or at least talks in a way that makes it possible to have different interpretations. Either say what you mean or don’t say anything, otherwise it is just confusing. You shouldn’t need a dictionary when listening to an interview. Morse-code anyone? ;)

To paraphrase this page:

For learning the Ridley-code it is recommended that…

https://morsecode.scphillips.com/morse2.html

I get some hilarious mental images. :D

“... but some Fans may-not like this as it may put some Emphasis on David again.”

He could be used in some flashbacks, but I don’t think that he should be given this emphasis that he is given now. Sure it doesn’t need to be about David but they have built it like it is about him so how likely is it that they will totally change that? The problem is that it is set up in the way that it will be all about David, that is what I hear when I hear Scott talking.

“While Interesting to some, i think a point of concern would be IF our viewers can have any connection to a Genetically Engineered Species, as opposed to one with Weaknesses and Flaws.”

Genetically enhanced doesn’t have to mean perfect, so it depends. We all face struggles so would they probably. It depends on how they are written.

About Engineering humans, maybe it would be better if we leave that to the Engineers or maybe they have decided that it will be a failure from the start

“Then latter we could reveal a Sinister Motive to these Engineered Humans.”

That could work but no android-centric movie thank you very much.

“These are just how interesting a sequel could have been, that does-not have to be about Xenomorphs...”

I don’t think that it has ever been about the Xenos, it has always to me at least been about humans that get into situations that they are not equipped to handle. It has never been about how the Xeno eats, how it builds a home, and so on.

Prometheus should have had better links to the Xeno but the characters were the main problem.

“I am led to think those LV-223 Engineers are just the Replicants of the Engineer Society, maybe the LV-223 Engineers Rebelled and this caused some Ancient Conflict?”

Maybe, the Prometheus one looked like a steroid-version of those in Alien Covenant.

“Theme was one of the Big Ones that Ridley Scott wanted to explore...”

Well they decided to have it about David at the expense of human characters so that is what went wrong IMO. No matter of the themes, it is what we see on screen that counts. Sorry but I disagree, I don’t think that the prequels lack because of no Xeno or Ripley, most of the complaints have been about weak characters as far as I know. Not sure where you get this idea that the main complaint was about the lack of Ripley and/or Xenos, that is not my problem at least.

“But Fans wanted Xenomorphs, Queens and maybe Ripley's!”

I disagree, my understanding of it is that it was about poorly written and executed humans. Search the www for criticism of Prometheus + human characters and compare that to the complaint about lack of Xenos and you will see that the human characters was a bigger problem. For me at least it was not because it did not have the traditional monster. Some people are in it for the creatures I am in it for the human journey.

It is a good thing that the answer is a bit open, it is like what came first the chicken or the egg. I am not sure if the Xeno should be the ultimate weapon or a copy that the engineers (not David!) did.

“The Plot had been U-Turned with Alien Covenant, so now its David who has Re-Engineered the Deacon/Black Goo into the Xenomorph... which i think is ONE aspect that MOST fans can agree was a MISTAKE..”

Yeah that was really effing bad.

It is nice to see that the franchise can make people interested enough so they make their own things. It is also interesting when you see people make things like that because it makes you in a way see what they possibly associate the franchise with. The picture that makes me the most interested is the one with the SJ but they failed to make it big enough. ;)

I don’t know but I would rather have a TV-thing rather than a David movie. Another David movie would be shit. As far as a general thing I am not sure if enough people would be interested in another prequel since the first two were poorly executed.

The prequels tried something new which I am kind of happy for but the characters were mostly weak and the emphasis on David was lame. I do not think that they need to spell everything out because having something to think about is interesting. Having the Xeno Fifield would have been enough for me because it looked awesome and it would also have had some better connections to the goo and the Xeno thing. Sure some would not think that it was enough but it would have been enough for me to make us see that there was a connection between the goo and the Xeno. Engineers + goo + life-forms = Xeno, that is how I would like it to be but things got worse with Covenant.

Having it about David is one of the things in the prequels that annoys me. They should never have gone that route, another thing that I do not like with Covenant.

The Engineers looked like they were connected to the SJ so having them as a big part in it would have been alright to me. They just needed to explain them a bit more. We have the SJ as a start that we can use to develop the Engineers. Not having the Queen was a good thing, I think that it is too early in the evolution of the Xeno to be at that stage.

Ridley should not affect the story, he is a good director but when he is trying to influence it then things get effed up. Let him throw out ideas and then people can accept or reject them but he should not have as much of a say as it seems now to be now. I agree that we have had enough of Ripley, let her be.

"This is how I interpret now Advent.

Can anyone help explain this: There was so much potential on this world. Wasted by Gods that feared their own might.

What was the potential wasted?"

I believe David was trying to say that the Engineers got soft daliens.

And...no one has addressed that I'm trying to make my point citing the notes of a mad robot who could operate Engineer technology but blow it when asked who penned Ozymandias. Just saying.

"'So, to me, the black goo pathogen is where fragmented technology evolved into synthesized single product.'

How does this even make sense?"

Ok, fine ignorantGuy. That sentence/paragraph could have been written a lot better.

I wrote "fragmented technology" to describe our current state in technology in regards to:

a. the majority of our technology is built away from from the central assembly line, area by component producers,

b. who communicate in different languages with each other, and

c. measure resources in different currencies under different types of governments, etc...

My point was that I believe this will all evolve into technology that is "grown" opposed to being "assembled" in the above manner.

"Through the virus/Xenomorph as glorious synthesis and poetic culmination of the species."

I thought that David's notes could be interpreted in a way that explained the Engineer technology development and genetic engineering was the foundation for all of it. And then the Engineers set the Xenomorph aside to be timid.

I love it LiquidSinister...instead of the beast being cooked its Ridley who's done.

Great stuff and I'd be happy to read news on either producer/director committing at this point but more so on Blomkamp.

I thought the maintenance area of Elysium was amazing and something of that scale is needed in the Alien films and the concept art for his project was a great example of where he could take it, below. 

I agree (strongly) with NTFS on both points above. I dare to dream of Christopher Nolan directing a film in the Alien franchise....with Ridley Scott producing it.

Wonderful news Chris, thank you.

Thank you dk.

I might have been a little dramatic in order to call more attention to Alien: The Play.

Ridley Scott is the right person to complete Alien-Prometheus prequels. If he is too busy to direct the film, Christopher Nolan would be a very good choice to do the job.

Christopher Nolan on Directing

Ridley is done. It'll be James Cameron and Neill Blomkamp taking over at this point. Direct sequel to "ALIENS".

HYPERNOVA

I think - yes! LV-223 has an atmosphere (with CO2), but in the past - with clean air.

And what's more - LV-223 Engineers themselves can be a humans who have been modified by David. BD's Star Childrens.

And they want destroy humans because David gave them an order. And good explained for DNA-match.

BigDave

What do you think?

Good points Gavin, and exactly why I inserted "reportedly" in the headline. Deadline usually is privy to information the rest of us aren't and in many cases provide accurate information on Studio dealings. For this reason I suspect their information might carry some weight but of course only time will tell.

I wonder, if a time displacement event did occur with that neutrino burst (possibly) setting the Covenant mission back I don't know how many years in the past or put it years into the future perhaps, but lets say it's the past... Could ORIGAE 6 actually be a "Pre-Historic/Ancient" LV-223 in its prime developing civilization phase or even LV-426 during its  developing times of the past. 

That's GREAT!

@Lone,

Agreed, reading the Deadline article it does read as though the author, Mike Fleming Jr., is assuming that Ridley Scott will remain to produce Merlin for Disney, while throwing in the long-held assumption that Scott is also working on Alien: Awakening (the believed title of Alien: Covenant's sequel), despite citing no sources for either of these two assumptions, and that the last concrete news we had on Scott's Alien: Awakening was from the Stacey Snider interview with Variety in September 2017, when she said in regards to the future of the Alien franchise, and Alien: Covenant's performance at the box office...

It was a disappointment, but I trust Ridley [Scott] and Emma [Watts] to know the right story when they find it. When universes are as rich as “Alien,” they can stay in a too familiar groove — in which case you’re in trouble — but they can also find a planet or a storyline or a villain that also lives in that universe that can be groundbreaking.

Kudo's to Chris for adding "Reportedly" to the article's title, because the aforementioned author of the Deadline article should have phrased his presumptions as such, rather than stating them as assumed facts. Such poor journalism only serves to confuse.

I would add, because the Deadline article is highly presumptive into Scott's future with Fox now that it is owned by Disney, that such information is treated like any other speculation and rumor - with a high dose of salt, until we here crystal clear confirmation from Fox, should it even be forthcoming.

Excellent!

To clarify I meant that the Deadline author lists no sources!

Whilst I would love to believe it, there are no sources sited. Is this merely assumption on the part of the author?

We do need at least one other prequel-sequel, so that there is closure. I hope it happens!

What happened to the tail of the xeno in the picture?

Is this Disney's new alien?

Not the first time a news item was posted by more than one member. What is important is that the word is out and I appreciate it since I would have had no idea unless I checked in here. 

If a Forum member knows anyone in that school area, maybe the word could get out to do another show and record it. It would be great if anyone there is a Forum member. 

Oh my god I wish I could see the whole thing!

"My fault, Ingeniero. I never manage to put the right title to my threads."

You're too kind daliens. 

I was trying to steal the thunder from you and a group of very talented high school students and teachers.

Look away, I am hideous.

Good point Big Dave... If Fox were already planning and willing to get behind a concept that would give an alternate sequel to Aliens with Blomkamp's Alien 5... then it's not totally out of the realm of possibility to assume Covenant and Prometheus introduced time travel or alternate timelines.

"The props & the costumes look great, wish we could view the whole play!

Fantastic to see such interest & enthusiasm from a younger generation for my favourite film!"

The costume design is amazing Lone, below.

Excellent facehugger attack!

The set, props & costumes look great, wish we could view the whole play!

Fantastic to see such interest & enthusiasm from a younger generation for my favourite film!

As dk said, the "sequel" brings more exposure and this is the most important.

You put more creativity in your topic and the proper title, anyway, I appreciate your mentioning, Ingeniero.

My fault, Ingeniero. I never manage to put the right title to my threads.

This topic is the sequel to daliens topic on the same thing, here. 

The sequel may not be as good as the original.

I was in a rush to post the story on the Alien play daliens and somehow missed your topic on the same thing. 

Great post, I would have added to it instead of starting mine.

Thank you.

And Disney, let Ridley Scott finish his prequels before turning Alien into a Marvel franchise.

Oh- and Disney- If you are wondering if there is an audience for the franchise, look no further. You have teens, old geezers and everything in between waiting to buy tickets for something good.

Thanks for the Hollywood style presentation, Ingeniero.

These kids deserve the front page.