Traits of the franchise

The black goo may evolve into other more or less scary life forms.

They harm less. 

These creatures should not be underestimated.

Certainly there are some Organisms that have been discovered that can consume/degrade NONE Organic Material...  some of these could be useful for taking care of the VAST Plastic Waste we have....  especially if these Organisms are Experimented on to provide more Efficient Results..

There is a potential Problem with this, should these Organisms if Engineered, get out of control and spread around the World and Infect/Consume other Plastic like Materials as that would cause CHAOS to a lot of our Technology and Construction Industries.

Imagine a Outbreak/Plague of Organisms Engineered, that do exactly that and Consume a Selection of Synthetic Materials, it could take us back to the Dark Ages, and RIGHT there you have a Plot for a Potential Movie ;)

Regarding the Black Goo, indeed if the Substance Mutates to be able to Infect Synthetic Molecules then that could be  MASSIVE Problem for David.

I am more drawn to the Synthetic Hybrid route of Part Organic/Synthetic that would be infected with the Black Goo or Xenomorph... so DAVID would be SAFE!

However these NEW models would have a Advancement over Davids Construction and will he really be FINE with just ONE HAND?

And so Transcend his Soul into a Improved Synthetic Body is VERY likely... and IF this body is a Synthetic Construct (Part Organic/Synthetic) then this could prove a HUBRIS for David.

Thousands of colonists headed for origae 6. Thousands of eggs found on juggernaut. I think the whole ship ends up eggmorphed.

Possible... The prequels picked up unused concepts from the films so why not? It could look like in the picture of this forum above.

@winterphoenix

Its easy to assume this could be a likely PATH forwards, if we consider how David was in the Movie, and his Message to the Company in the Advent Viral Video.  Especially when considering that Alien Covenant appeared to be showing us that David had Created the Xenomorph, and by Coincidence the Covenant has Thousands of Colonist.

We have the Cliff Hanger where David is in CONTROL of the Ship and it and its Colonist are Totally at the Mercy of what ever Agenda/Plan that David has.

However this is NOT quite what it appeared Ridley Scott may have had planned, because he wanted the Next Movie to NOT be about the Xenomorph, but about AI and what "Kind of a World" would David Create.  Bare in mind we are NOT one movie from Alien, so a Simple Plot of the Covenant Ship becomes a Flying Xenomorph Hive is unlikely to have been what was NEXT.

However the kind of Plot it appears RS is hinting at, would appear to not have MANY of the Usual Traits of the Franchise, were as a Plot regarding David going on to experiment and Create Thousands of Eggs from those Colonist would fit the Traits a bit more.

Nothing is set in Stone, the Franchise is on HOLD... and so by the time and IF we do get any sequel or connecting movie to ALIEN, then what RS may have intended could be very different to what we could eventually get.

I feel Disney would want to pursue movies that are VERY connected with the Alien/Aliens Traits and Tropes as opposed to what Ridley Scott may have wanted to explore when he had Finished with Prometheus.

That is totally fine, I like when different people start threads. Having some variation here is good I think.

“The Alien franchise is marked with this year an anniversary. 40 years ago, the first film in the series was released.”

One thing that is interesting for me is to see how much in quality the movies have fallen since Alien, with the exception of Alien 3. For me it is because after the original three they forgot how to make characters so the movies suffer from that.

“With a potential TV series in production and other releases such as comic and book releases this year, I want to discuss with you the traits of the film franchise.”

After Alien 3 most of the characters have become secondary since they do not have the same quality of the first three. Not even Ripley lived up to the first three in Alien resurrection. AR is worse than Covenant and Prometheus so that should tell you something.

Having new monsters is totally fine by me. It is interesting to see what kind of things that they can come up with. New characters (mainly) for every movie bothers me because that means that there is less reasons to get interested in the characters if we know that most of them will die (except for the fucking robot).

Androids do not interest me in the context of the franchise, the human adventure do. Still I think that it is interesting how far technology can take us and what advantages and disadvantages that might come from that but I am not interested in that in an alien movie since they are about other things to me. They can have the same, or the old, I don’t think too much about that.

The motifs can get a bit repetitive at times so hopefully they will introduce something new. Maybe instead of strong female characters they can make them less strong, at least so they are not like Ripley and make men and women more equally strong. I do not say that the women should be like Snow white (yuck!) but they do not need to be absurdly strong otherwise we will end up with characters like Rey that are not relatable, the same goes for the males too. All characters have flaws so make them more like that, that is my point.

“I think we can expect a sequel to Covenant.”

I am already worried, Scott only cares about David. I want relatable and well written human characters that I can support and care about, the rest comes after that but if Scott insists to still have it about David then we will have another disappointment (like Covenant in quality).

I agree with that Alien 4 is the weakest part in the series. Some months ago I watched Alien 3 but it wasn‘t so much fun anymore like the first time I watched it. Its always the same haunted-house scenario. Prometheus was fresh as it felt more like an adventure film. I like your aspect that new motifs should be introduced for example a variation of characters strenght. If there is an variation of the motifs, then the franchise could break up from its usual traits and become fresh and new. Secondary characters that appear in more than one film could be a start. So for the next one, I‘d like to see Daniels and Tenesse again. Because introducing new characters takes always time...

I read that Ridley Scott is currently working on a tv series called ‚Raised by Wolves‘ which is about androids raising human children on a mysterious planet. I thought about how it would be, if this is part of the Alien universe? Could the androids be from Weyland-Yutani and the children from a lost and forgotten colony? And the androids protecting them from monsters? Aliens? 

Bringing other types of plot in would be worth a try, sure the haunted-house scenario still could be a basis. I was also disappointed when I watched Covenant, but I still enjoyed a lot of it. I think its all about the viewers expectations. If we would see a whole new crew and a different storyline, then we would be disappointed, but if it follows how we were left behind at the end of it, then I wouldn‘t be like Covenant. 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!

Thoughts_Dreams As a fan of the Quadrilogy, I can understand and agree in some ways with why there is hate for everything after the first movie- and I am not calling you a hater. 

I need to defend AR though. First, it helps me to think of the Quadrilogy as something different people were involved in over a long period of time. The basic way to look at the franchise is that A1 was horror; A2 was action; A3 was tragedy and A4 was comedy. I respectfully disagree about the characters of AR. I agree there were some forgettables, but the main cast was pretty solid and Ripley got to stretch out a bit by being a hybrid. I loved that dynamic of Ellen and a Xeno occupying the same body and mind. I also liked some of the comedic relief from Ryder and Pearlman. It should be remembered that AR had some of the most brutal scenes too- the Xenos killing their own to escape and Ripley's horrific discovery of the room with failed clones 1-7- killing herself in a strange kind of way. We should also remember these movies were all made at different times when certain things were in vogue. I can understand your points, but I am fine with the Quadrilogy warts and all. 

I agree that the protagonist should start out not necessarily weak, but just not too confident and maybe a bit green. Gender doesn't matter much, but I would like to see a female be the one just to be consistent with tradition- that formula just works imo. Fortunately, we have Amanda at the ready!

Ash informed Ripley, Lambert & Parker that the Alien was a Survivor. That’s an important point as the Alien/Alien variant always appears to survive, in one form or another. (Note I’m omitting AVP & it’s sequel from this scenario, nuff said!)

ALIEN: Ripley jettisoned Big Chap out into space. It remained alive, not even appearing to be damaged, despite the harpoon & the thrust from the engines. Tumbled out into space.

Excuse me as I digress for a moment, notice how the Alien doesn't appear to be weightless in space? Probably the constraints of Special Effects at the time, but The Queen acted similarly in the vacuum of space.

ALIENS: Ditto, Queen jettisoned out the airlock, tumbles off screaming & screeching into outer space. Still alive.

ALIEN 3: Ah yes, this hypothesis now appears to fall flat. The baby Queen births as Ripley falls into the furnace, presumably dies. But here’s something to ponder, the Runner Alien survived the hot metal dump & rose from the furnace, it was only the rapid cooling of the water from the sprinklers which caused it to shatter into pieces. However unlikely, the baby Queen could theoretically have survived.

ALIEN RESURRECTION: Newborn sucked out the airlock in highly dramatic & excruciating way. Then all other Aliens presumably blown up when the Auriga explodes? However, we have the hybrid-clone in the form of Ripley remaining alive.

PROMETHEUS: Baby Deacon flexes his fine dental lineage over the body of the chestbusted Engineer. Presumably still kicking around LV-223, or is he? Did he hop a Juggernaut following David & Shaw, fly a Juggernaut full of eggs to LV-426, or perhaps he fancied a longer trip out to Origae 6? Whatever, Baby D was a survivor too.

ALIEN: COVENANT: One Proto-morph gets taken out of the airlock impaled by the giant truck, damaged but alive. Whilst the one who was hell bent on smashing Tennesse's sunroof appears to be destroyed by Daniels, falls out the cranes claw in acid dripping pieces, surely has to be dead? Right? Naw, Ridley tells us that it can regenerate, so it’s basically indestructible! It makes sense when you apply it to all of the above.

"Could the androids be from Weyland-Yutani and the children from a lost and forgotten colony?"

I do wonder if Raised by Wolves borrows ideas that RS had intended for Alien Covenants sequel, that he has NOW taken to explore in his TV Series, knowing that his kind of Alien Covenant sequel may NEVER see the light of day, in light of the Backlash to Alien Covenant.

I speculate that the sequel would have been about David creating a Colony that has Engineered Human Embryos... that are likely raised by David and Fed some BS story about Creation and Religion, that when another Human Ship arrives, those Humans Interaction with Davids Engineered Humans, causes things to GO TO POT!

You can bet the Final Act would also see another Human Ship and Engineers come into play, to set up another sequel that would become a War of the Worlds or set up such a Plot.

@LONE

You certainly can see the Xenomorph can take some Punishment,  well apart from the Action Run/Shoot Movies.   I would SAFELY assume the Furnace had Destroyed the Queen in Alien 3 and had the Runner been tossed into the same Furnace it would be Curtains Instantly.

Regenerating Xenomorphs would raise the Question of WHY do they pursue Ripley in Alien 3, and resort to Clone her 100 years after?

But certainly Ridley Scott suggested the Xenomorph would Regenerate... i think YEAH... to a degree that would work..

But i would much prefer the Cabbage Patch Regeneration/Clone route.... when a Xenomorph Dies, from its Dead Body, it Breaks Down and then Eggs Form from the Broken Down Mass of Xenomorph Body Parts.

In effect giving us a bit of a Egg Morph like Twist.

This could kind of Explain the Egg Cargo if we assume the Space Jockey Chest Buster, died... it then Broke Down, Dissolved through to the Cargo Hold, it then somehow infected the Urns, to then end up producing Eggs.

Lol, I know Dave, I was just trying to have the baby Queen fit into the survival scenario.

Yeah, I wonder where Ridley would have gone with the regeneration idea or was he going to simply avoid any explanation?

Regarding why pursue Ripley & clone her as an alternative? Perhaps something happened during the process of evolving the Biological Alien into the Bio-Mechanical version, (how that happened, we have yet to discover) which affected its ability to regenerate? Or even that in evolving it was so well protected & adaptable that it no longer needed that ability?

I'm just throwing things out there off the top of my head. I'd really have to take some time to think of a suitable reason.

All attempts to harness & breed the Alien have ended in disaster, as even the events of Resurrection have shown. Of course the Ripley-Alien clones became an unexpected by-product of that process. 

God forbid, we might have a future movie with a Ripley clone army! Jim Cameron is waiting in the wings to make his entrance, so who knows. For those of us who complain about resurrecting Ripley yet again, just imagine that! Hahaha

I like your cabbage patch regeneration-clone scenario too. I think we discussed that a while back? It does sit nicely with the human Egg Morph, which we are both supporters of. It provides a satisfactory explanation for the derelicts cargo being eggs rather than urns.

"Lol, I know Dave, I was just trying to have the baby Queen fit into the survival scenario."

Well the Queen is a Pivotal Part of the Franchise, and the Xenomorph History, where it came down to the Chicken or the Egg.  That was a BIG Question that maybe has No Answer just as the real Chicken or Eggs Question.

The Prequels and Especially Alien Covenant, now seem to steer us in a certain direction, because it indicates there was NO Queen at the time of Davids Current Xenomorph's by the year 2105.

The Pathogen, does look like something that can adapt to different situations, and we saw the Xenomorph appeared to have that Trait in the Franchise.  Many have tried take sides on the Egg Morph or Queen Route since even before the Franchise... i was always lead to the Egg Morph leads to a Queen being the best Explanation.

There are some who still only take the Alien DC version of the Egg Morph and prefer our ALIEN Big Chap compared to Camerons Queen and Semi-Clear Carapace/Dome  missing Bug Xenomorphs.  But when we look at the Alien Engineers Draft, it indicates and RS had confirmed the Derelict had 8 Different Cargo Holds... Each One having a Variant of the Xenomorph.

This opened up the 1979 Style Xenomorph that Egg Morphed as one Variant to Try, and Cameron's Egg Laying Queen and slightly different looking Xenomorphs as another Variant the Engineers could have been Testing.

Quite how much Alien Covenant may have Muddied the Waters to explain either of those, is left for debate and maybe something that would have been answered?

But indeed the Xenomorph Organism is a Survivor, its not hard to imagine it would have a number of ways to adapt and survive.  I think the Cabbage Regeneration Scenario would be VERY fitting, especially as a Purposely Designed Bio-Weapon that can be used to Clean-Up Worlds.

If the Xenomorphs and maybe Black Goo Monsters, have a Limited Life-Span and then when they Die, they Dissolve into a Pile of Matter that then Sprouts Small Eggs/Spores that are left behind, then this is VERY useful as a Bio-Weapon.  Would fit in with RS and the Regeneration Aspect, and maybe used to explain the ACID Hole on the Derelict.

Regarding my Rant on Fanboys and Tropes...

I did not intend it to come over harsh, we are all Fanboys, thats not a Bad Thing... what i was referring to was that their is a selection of Fans who prefer or do-not see the scope of the Franchise beyond the Xenomorph and Queens.  

But when looking back at ALIEN, then the Space Jockey was the Bigger Picture... it was surely NO Coincidence that the Derelict and Xenomorph had a similar Atheistic and so there was a Connection... it was not like the Ship/Space Jockey appeared to be a Unconnected Race that just came across the Xenomorphs and tried to exploit them like the USM company did in Alien Resurrection.

There appeared to be a Connection between the Derelict and Xenomorphs.... Ultimately the Idea was that the Ships Technology and Xenomorph were Designed/Engineered Weapons that were either Created by the Space Jockey Race, or Stolen/Reverse Engineered by them from something else.

Getting to the Bottom of this Connection was something NEW to explore that potentially could EXPAND beyond the Limitations of a Alien Organism that Procreates via a Queen then goes around to Invade/Infect a World to Procreate its own kind.

There is ONLY so much you can do with this Formula (Queen and Eggs), before we explore its Reason/Origin.

Ridley Scott had intended to show the Space Jockey Race had Created these things (Derelict/Xenomorph) to be used as purely a BIO-WEAPON and in effect once you have revealed this Reason, then the Xenomorph is just like GUNPOWDER is to Mankind... you can explore many uses for Gunpowder and Variants but there is something BIGGER about Mankind than we Discovered Gunpowder and then the Game Changer as far as Warfare goes with this...

The History of our species, WHY would we need to USE the Gunpowder and Various Weapons that employ it... so its the WHY that becomes the Bigger Question, for what reason, and what CONFLICTS.

I feel this is something RS was more interested in, the WHY rather than the HOW/WHEN the Engineers as Creators and would be GODS.. Chariots of the Gods Plot also opens up massive Scope, Many Worlds, Races and Conflicts.

Back to the Alien Tropes....

If we ignore the WHY and Origins of the Xenomorph, then what we have is a Organism that Procreates via Eggs (laid by Queens) , that Require a Host, that we see are either came across by Mankind who become in Peril, or these Helpless Victims are Set-Up by the Company Military who wish to Obtain the Xenomorph as a Weapon.

It comes down to Company wants said Organism for Military Division and a Ripley Comes along and Puts a Stop to that!

After Alien 3, Miss Weaver wanted to be KILLED off... when she returned in the Alien Resurrection Plot... we see a Company has Finally Obtained their Xenomorph and then it was a case to WHAT END would they attempt to use it, we also saw there was Hybrids.

But it still came down to a Ripely putting a Stop to THAT!

The same applies with Amanda Ripley... it would likely take a similar route if we had Alien Isolation Sequels and Movies. Company Want Xenomorph, people killed by Xenomorphs while trying to Run/Hide, and a RIPLEY comes along to Put a Stop to the Companies Plans.

The Xenomorph had been done over and over, in Movies, Comics and Games... to the point that apart from ALIEN and ALIEN 3 it was a Organism that could get its ASS handed to it by Ripley, Marines or Mercenaries.

The AVP movies reveal the Predators USE the Xenomorph to give them the Ultimate Prey to HUNT as a Right of Passage.  While it does-not give us the Origins of the Xenomorph....  i feel the Xenomorph was not too Damaged by the Movie... apart from the Queen!

The Sequel However... well enough said about that!

Alien Covenants Xenomorph, was shown to be aggressive but also it was not used well enough and DID NOTHING to regain the Threat it was in ALIEN.... but it was not FAR OFF... the whole David Created it ARC is what Damaged the Xenomorph however.

so my point about the FANBOYS... is they seem to be disappointed in Movies that are not as much Action Based, they want Queens, Eggs, Multiple Xenomorphs and seeing Humans Run, Hide and Shoot... which is all very good.. but these things have been done OVER and OVER in Comics, and Games and the Movies.

The Big Problem with this, is its always usually the same Plot... Company Secretly or not so Secretly want the Xenomorph and a Ripley comes along to Save the Day!

If this Formula is Repeated, its a case of HOW long can we have this GO ON and especially with a Ripley Savior Connection before it gets Repetitive?  Even if we have Amanda Ripley, or other Ripleys or a Newt... if the Female Protagonist is Molded to much in the same Fashion as Ellen Ripley, and especially with a Family Connection.. it would get repetitive and Predictable.

This is what RS was trying to Change!

A Cameron i feel would just bring back those usual Plot and Tropes and Ripley....    Then we start to become just a TERMINATOR wanting to be a Star-Wars like Franchise.

The Terminator Franchise does-not have to be about Sarah/John Connor or Arnold Schwarzenegger but it seems to be STUCK in only having these connections..

There are many other Variants of Terminator and other Threats that a Skynet  and Cyberdyne could introduce,and it does not have to be about Schwarzenegger Doppelgangers or Connor Family.

Likewise the ALIEN Franchise should not be limited to Queens, Eggs that the Company Want and a Ripley Family Member comes and Saves the Day!

I think the Problem comes from what constitutes a ALIEN movie?

I think the KEY themes was about the Xenomorph and the Peril of trying to Obtain and Exploit this Organism, but it does-not always have to stick with this Trope.. it does-not have to always be about some Company/Person wanting to exploit the Xenomorph and they use Humans to be sent into places where these Xenomorphs are found.

The second Trope seems to be around a Female Protagonist, usually a Ripley who battles against the Agenda of Said Company wishing to Obtain the Xenomorph.  I dont think its Necessary that we have to have a Ripley involved or any relation to her, as far as the Main or indeed any Protagonist.  The same reason i feel the Terminator Franchise should not be expected to be about John/Sarah Connor, and Star Wars does-not have to about the Skywalkers... 

You can expand on the Terminator without having to have any of the Connors or our T-800 Arnie!   You can expand on the Star Wars without it having to be about Skywalkers...    But you will get some Fans (i will tr refrain from using Fanboys as that seems Single Out people and can come across bad) but some Fans will still Want/Expect those Franchises to have Connors and Skywalkers, to have Arnie and a Vader etc.

We have the same within the ALIEN Franchise, and i have to say that YES... Ripley and Corrupt Companies are parts of the Franchise and a PART of what made those movies Great, but i feel the more you connect those Characters, it could become a bit repetitive.

The XENOMORPH is a different Kettle of Fish... the ALIEN Franchise was about the Xenomorph and rightfully so, but i think you have to be careful how you execute this and over do it... if its kept to pretty much very similar execution then it can kind of get repetitive, if Executed Well then you can go a FEW rounds before i think you have to come up with something a bit different.   Some Fans would be excited to see the same things repeated over and over.... some fans may want something different...   I think those Fans who would be happy with movies that would be like repeats of Aliens and Alien Resurrection have a right to feel passionate and enjoy the Fun Side of seeing these Beasts Hunting down and Killing Folk....  i just think you have to add another Layer or Icing onto the Cake!

Blomkamps Alien 5 ideas are interesting, they are taking Alien Resurrection ideas and expanding it.. its kind of like what would happen had they KILLED Ripley 8 once they got their Queen. So the Company could then Experiment with those Xenomorphs!

I am just not a Fan of bringing the Band Back together for the sakes of Nostalgia it concerns me when Blomkamp, Cameron and Miss Weaver feel that it was a bit In-just to how Alien 3 ended...  Miss Weaver even thinking they should have all had a Happy Ending (inc Bishop), i just dont think its Necessary...

In Hindsight it may have been interesting to see what would happen IF they had all survived... and certainly it would have allowed for Newt to be the one who has the Torch Passed too... But $£"% happens... and they DIED, like Dr Shaw, and while it may not have been the best way to deal with the Characters, it happened and we have to MOVE-ON

I enjoy the Alien Franchise, i think its been over-saturated with the Games/Comics and AVP movies.. but thats not to say the Xenomorph could not be given a FEW more movies, if they can Evolve/Change them a little... which Blomkamps Alien 5 seemed to do....   we have seen the Xenomorph Chest Bust all over the place, Snarl all over the Place, i think some movies made it less of a threat.. but it can be used again and i feel having the Xenomorph pitted against Humans who are not equipped to deal with it makes the Xenomorph more Scary....  i feel too many Military with Guns running and shooting them can make them look a bit like Fodder.   I think you need a Balance or Introduce/Evolve the Xenomorph to become a Threat..

The Terminator Franchise had other Terminator Models that were more of a Threat and i feel the Xenomorph needs some changes a little too..

I am up for a ALIEN movie... even if we have Ripley back, i feel she could do another 1 movie, maybe two if they make a continuation of ALIEN Resurrection and NOT to Reboot Alien 3

I even have TWO ideas how to do it, and cover the OLD AGE Miss Weaver Problem!

My Problem, well something i maybe are a bit Harsh with, is the Frustration that some Fans Disappointment for Prometheus which to be fair, is FOX fault as the movie should have catered a bit for them...  and Blomkamps Alien 5 information released and Miss Weaver championing the Project.... had caused Prometheus which should have gone on to expand on more than the Xenomorph...  AS the Space Jockey was that ELEMENT that had never been covered before.  The Xenomorph just ONE element of their Story (Space Jockey)  just as the Synthetics were ONE element of the ALIEN Franchise, and the Emphasis was the Xenomorph, followed by the Company Agenda and Ripley..

I feel the Space Jockeys are a WHOLE New World to explore, that the Emphasis has to be on them and LESS the Xenomorph... it was a MISTAKE to tone down the Xenomorph connections in Prometheus too much!

The disappointment by some Fans for NOT having Xenomorph Origins explained, even to some degree and NOT having any Xenomorphs or similar to a Degree... and Blomkamps Alien 5, had Derailed what Prometheus could have expanded upon.

But by Virtue of what has happened... we are now in a ALIEN Franchise Prequel... when the Plan was a Spin-Off Franchise and so i think that the Prequels are  NOW a Distraction from ALIEN unless they NOW cover some of the ALIEN Franchise Traits.

So yes we need Xenomorphs to be at least a 3rd of the Process/Plot to any Future Movies but that does not mean we cant Change them a little.

Excellent examples NTFS. The technology examples are spot on and are the trait that came to mind in regards to the topic.

The Weyland Corp tech has its own industrial look and is somewhat consistent throughout the films. The sail repair in Alien: Covenant was a nice showcase of this tech.

Genetic engineering also seems to be a trait blooming in the films and novels and I welcome the attention to that.

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.

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.

The key traits of the franchise:

1. Exploration (expeditions to remote locations)

2. Colonization (terra-forming of planets, construction of infrastructure in space)

3. Conquest (collision with other life-forms or cultures)

@Thoughts_Dreams

"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."

I agree with you in this point. I don't know how everyone else thinks about the idea that there should be a familial connection to the prequel series or to a reboot. 

It feels like the destiny of the characters is predestined and nothing unpredictable might happen. The franchise is always somehow unpredictable, but telling the story of the ancestors and the descendants of Ripley makes it a family saga like Star Wars. The Star Wars original films are about the Skywalker family. That makes sense because it has such an impact on the universe. Applying that to the Alien franchise makes it foreseeable and it feels like the center is of it is the Ripley family. But we'll see how things get connected. Maybe the Covenant 2 could handle things so that there is just a slight hint or a minor appearance of a ancestor of Ripley.