Alien TV Series In Development At Hulu

This sounds good on the surface but the sources seem sketchy. I would like to see this happen- even an animated Isolation series could be good.

I just finished reading the official Alien Isolation novel. 

I can't decide whether it was just poorly written/executed, or that for this particular narrative a video game format was the best experience. 

Either way the novel was not enjoyable. Except the first ~20% the rest of the novel read like a walkthrough. Dull, with a total lack of suspense. Or perhaps it was the disconnect from being the player, to being the reader that made it feel so empty.

This has given me some reservations about Alien Isolation being adapted as a movie, or other format. In terms of a video game experience Isolation is near perfection and because of that, I think it should be left as is.

By all means, continue the story though :)     

I think they have to be CAREFUL because there is just as much of a Chance that this could be a MESS!

Unless they are Careful and do something that does-not contradict or mention much about the Prequels.  I think they should NOT mention nothing much about the Space Jockey or Xenomorph Origins, just leave this as a Mystery at Present, because going the route to Confirm the Xenomorphs are Ancient and Space Jockey is NOT a Engineer could also potentially be BAD...

But then carry on with the Prequels route would also be something that could PISS the Fans off...

Maybe a Anthology Series that takes on Different Aspects of the Franchise could work, but i think Fans would EXPECT them to be about Xenomorphs and its a case of HOW MANY times must we go this route before the BEAST becomes ASHES.

But say having 3 Short TV Series of say 6-10 Episodes that Total say 360-440 Minutes and that Each Series is NOT connected to each other could be Interesting.

"The anthology idea has been considered for a while now and bears out the information we received from earlier this year. It’s unclear if it’ll play into the rebooted movies that Disney’s planning, but the format certainly provides freedom to explore new characters and time periods in the history of the franchise. Given that the new films will reportedly take place in the same continuity as earlier entries, albeit with all new characters, storylines and settings, we’d imagine there will be some crossover through prequels and sequels as well."

If Ridley Scott has a role in it then i think it would maybe do the Franchise Justice...... but then maybe it would also be about things that some Fans are NOT interested in, such as the Emphasis being taken away from the Xenomorph.

"It’s unclear if it’ll play into the rebooted movies that Disney’s planning"

GOSH NO! On Plus side maybe i wont be around in time to be Subjected to what could be TRIPE ;)

A TV series would be a great way to expand the Alien universe, heck maybe even introduce some more offshoots to the xenomorphs or add completely new alien threats alongside the beloved xenomorphs

Fingers Crossed...

Hopefully it wont be about a RIPLEY ;) 

No Need Really...

The Engineers Plot had opened up a lot of Avenues.

1) Is LV-223 the only Place they Conducted and Stored Horrific Experiments?

2) What was the Origin to those Experiments.

3) Had the Engineers Successfully Unleashed such Horrors (Black Goo or Eggs) on other Worlds?

4) What becomes of LV-223 in the Alien Time-Line post Prometheus?

5) What becomes of Planet 4 and Origae-6 after the Prequel Time-Line?

All are Avenues to give us Xenomorphs or Similar, rather than the LETS GO BACK TO THE DERELICT Plot.

Hope it's true.

MCU, Star Wars, DC all have TV-series...Fans seem to accept them..even if they aren't directly related to the big screen stuff.

Please count me in as very excited to hear this news.

I Raptus

"Or perhaps it was the disconnect from being the player, to being the reader that made it feel so empty."

I am not sure whether your realise it but you have hit on a fundamentally important point about participation in art. To explain. 

When we went to the cinema 40 years ago (A L I E N) we had a visceral experience and either did or did not connect with the characters and the story. That was it. 

There is I understand a whole generation, maybe two, of what I believe are called "Gamers." The crucial issue is they are watching related material as participants.

As result when they watch a film now there principle reaction, after years of interacting, is quasi participative. Rather than working out that a character is flawed and enjoying the observation, when the character does something that they would not in a game they say he is stupid.

I believe Isolation is a tropped game that you play. If you then read the novelisation the principle connection, participation, is removed. If the novel is going to work it will be through generating character atmosphere etc etc it is not the same medium. 

I think audiences are going through a very confusing time where they do not understand what each medium means and how to approach. I wonder how many gamers realise they are watching movies in a quasi participation mode?

This is not about the ALIEN horror movie franchise its clear from all of the franchises that started off before just as movies that the new generation of audiences are analysing action as participants rather than seeking to understand the actions of those involved. You can make the distinction but I wonder given the way people offer feedback if they do. 

This point is now well understood by those providing the entertainment and there is talk of multiple ending choices so you can have the scenario which you want. For me this fundamentally undermines storytelling but if people buy it then the companies will provide it.  

I will just finish this by broadening the argument. We are now reaching a point where many of the last two generations and even some of mine are no longer making connection directly with the real world but living through media.

I was on an Island off Lombok this summer and after snorkelling and a wonderful lunch I did a circuit of this idyllic  Island. 80% of the people I walked past were staring at their phones. When I post here I use a MacBook Air spend say 20 minutes and then close it off. I never consider my phone when I am connecting with the real world other than to respond to calls in an emergency.      

As for a TV series I think as people binge watch episodic television, they have the opportunity to develop a completely new set of characters and develop them slow burn and then let them hear "the noise in the antic." The challenge is to make the horror truly frightening for those who want that emotion. If they keep the story internalised with no attempt at referenced world building they can simply show the things fans want without explanation. If they are on a space station somewhere or a planet somewhere (even some of them we know) provided they keep to the edge and do not try and offer a grand explanation which will lead to a million and one armchair interventions it could work.    

If Isolation would continue, it should start where the game left off with Amanda adrift in space and a light shining on her at the last second. No need to re hash the game.

For those who didn't play the game or know the story, the first episode could maybe dedicate 30 minutes at the front to fly through the game's story with an Amanda narrative and call it good.

Michelle Johnston  there is talk of multiple ending choices so you can have the scenario which you want.

This is not a new concept and can be a mixed bag. I remember books doing it before video games. The most recent example I saw was Black Mirror Bandersnatch that had the viewers choose what the main character did throughout an episode. It required using a smart phone and linking up with the TV etc... I got through some of it and really didn't care for it. As a gamer, it felt like watching cut scenes and clicking on a choice but not really having any skin in the game like playing Isolation. As a viewer, it felt gimmicky. It seems like this style is like 3D movies in that it comes and goes as a novelty. It is hard to imagine this style catching on for a series for the long haul even with a younger audience. 

Michelle Johnston that is a great insight and articulated perfectly about participation to art. 

Its an interesting topic in the multi-media world we now exist. We are always connected, always participating nowadays.

Usually if we're spectating, its to cast judgement on others  à la "Reality TV" lol.

Im sitting at home right now in my leisure time, and yet Im still connected to my work networks - I half-absently filter emails, and coordinate and respond where needed. And Im of borderline GenX-GenY age! This is an adapted behavior, from the necessity of the environment we now live in. I feel for the managers & leaders of tomorrow, they may well just live at work. 

You hear of children suffering from Fear-Of-Missing-Out social anxiety if they are not connected for 5 minutes!! Its intense.

Of the participation in art, would you agree that music is at the other end of the spectrum - 100% participation? As A songwriter I know personally that I want to totally participate in the emotional journey of any song I listen to. 

Whereas for a film, visual art etc. Im happy to spectate. 

Personally my preferred art medium is writing though. Third Person perspective.

dk ah the old Choose-Your-Own-Adventures!

I agree, they could be a mixed bag. Some executed the idea better than others. I remember some enjoyable ones that incorporated some basic RPG / Dungeon & Dragons tabletop-type gameplay to them too. More participation of art. 

Damned if I could remember what they were called though!

I have started seeing interactive kids shows on Netflix where viewers can choose actions that affect the story in some way. Typically it is an illusion of choice, and the plot is still entirely linear....but you can see they are developing the capacity to push that concept further 

I Raptus

 To your question about music and I can only answer for me. 

Its three elements head heart and hips. 

Head

As a chorister I have an intellectual interest in a piece of music.  I now hear harmony counter point et etc and admire it. If I hear a piece of music I do not like I can explain very clearly at an intellectual level why I do not like it. In fandom that goes down like a lead balloon.   

Heart 

All of the art I connect to whether cinema or book or whatever is about fulfilling the emotional junkie in me. Its not about being sentimental its about experience and learning something. So story telling is vital. Action sequences have to have a story telling value and move the characters and story on. In music I want a narrative I can relate to but most of the music I listen to is on average 250 years old with no lyrics and I love Jazz a lot of which is instrumental and the latter feed a mood. Excitement, journeying, discovery, serenity, joy  etc etc. So thats quite similar to reading a book or watching a movie. 

Hips. 

This is where music is different its entirely participatory. 

Thanks by the way for responding in kind I was taken by your perceptive comment. 

First of all i would say Regarding Technology, that the Current Generation does rely on such things and we do spend too much Time on our Devices than Appreciate Nature, those who where Born before the 90's would have a idea of Times before we relied heavy on such things.

Regarding Alien Isolation i can understand the Points being raised, the Game is Truly Engaging  and it adds that element of Suspense and Fear because you are Responsible for what happens as you Control the Character...  But when you are the Spectator then the Effect is much Less... by that if you was to for the First Time of ever seeing the Game, and you sat and WATCHED someone who has Completed the Game Many Times and so can do just a Quick Walk Through, then as such a Spectator you are NOT going to have the same Suspense and Fear that you would if you had Played the Game from Scratch.

So then it comes down to the Character Interactions and Scenes and as a Spectator they lack Depth, that you get from a Well Written Book or Movie.

I think looking at a Continuation as a TV Series could work, provided it does-not try and tackle the Space Jockey or Xenomorph Origins.   And so as DK had mentioned the Viewer of such a TV Series Continuation could get some Dialog, Narration etc to what happened prior, but then its best to NOT go into too much Detail, where it leaves the Viewer the Option to go and PLAY the Game to get more DETAIL of what Transpired prior, or to go and READ the Novel.

I think the Problem with the Franchise is finding the Balance between Drama, Suspense, Thriller and Horror and also Action.   The Fanbase has different Wants and Expectations.

Maybe One Series of 8 Episodes thats more like a Alien or Alien 3, with another Unconnected one thats more like a Aliens and Alien Resurrection for the Action Fans..

For me its also a Question of HOW-FAR can you take the Xenomorph before its been done to Death? Especially if we get a TV Series thats more a Alien Resurrection or Aliens... or like the Comics..

Its then a case of WHATS NEXT? 

And without exploring the Origins and the Space Jockey, then it really is Limited, and exploring them is just a MESS at the Moment due to the Mess Left by Alien Covenant.

I think FOX/Disney would be better off with a TV Series that is like a Spiritual Sister to the ALIEN Franchise, rather than having it SET in the ALIEN Universe.  

  Prometheus would have had that Spiritual Sister look/feel if say the Company was not Weyland, and the Engineers Suits and Ships looked different to the Derelict/Space Jockey..

"will be an anthology series on Hulu, with each season taking place in a different part of the Alien universe."

This could be very great news.  In the comics, a team sets down on LV-223 a century after David 8's severed cadmium head bounced off Peter Weyland's conventional skull.  

On the Planet Zagreus, in Alien: Echo, a xenomorph hoard devours everything cosmopolitan in the city and on the space station bought on the cheap to expand the colony (a real party), Alien: The Cold Forge provides tangible agony to those that read it and now wait for the contents to make it to screen in any form...   

Any of the above scenarios could bring a great season on Hulu in my opinion...and I haven't mentioned the Alien: River of Pain (LV-426) story because I suspect that may be related to what James Cameron is working on (source).

I think it would be Great to Explore something Different.

And so the Traditional Looking Egg, Face Huger and Adult etc that we have seen in Alien, Aliens especially and the AVP Movies and also Alien Covenant are something i HOPE that each Anthology Series is NOT about.

Because all we are doing then like the Comics/Games and Novels is just coming up with different ways that the Unfortunate Humans Discover... a EGG, a Face Hugger, a Infected Host or Queen.

Because if its about THEM... then every Movie, Game, Comic and Novel has basically covered ALL the Avenues on Multiple Occasions.

Not saying we cant have Xenomorphs... but HOW do they get Introduced in a way that has NOT been covered before?

Then if you did this... i think each other Season has to have a Different Horror, or Experiment, Mutation that is Different....  because if the only DIFFERENCE is

WHERE, WHEN and HOW the Humans come into Contact with a EGG, FACE HUGER or Infected HOST then it would just get Repetitive...  and we are just going to Re-Hash things from Games, Comics and Novels into a TV Format.

Does Disney have any BALLS to try something Different? I will say Ridley Scott did... but then seems Powers to Be had attempted to Castrate his Balls ;)