Prepare for a divisive little bit of movie news, Chewers. According to Neill Blomkamp, his proposed Aliens sequel has been put on hold pending Ridley Scott’s Prometheus 2. If I were a betting man, I’d say this means that Blomkamp’s film is going to end up in Alternate Movie Heaven.
There’s plenty to dig into about this. A lot of folks were jazzed on the idea of Blomkamp getting to make a movie that followed James Cameron’s excellent sequel, mostly because it meant that they could erase the not-so-beloved Alien³ and Alien Resurrection from their head-canon. I was excited for it for a much different reason: What would a studio-backed fan film look, sound, and act like? Because for all the arguments for its existence, Blomkamp’s Aliens 2 (what else is there to call it?) would have been a glorified fan film.
It seems obvious that Ridley Scott is using his current fervor from The Martian to his advantage. He’s even retroactively stated that the film will be closer to his original film, going so far as to announce the title as Alien: Paradise Lost. Whether this reflects a change in the film’s narrative focus or is more marketing driven in order to distance itself from the mixed reception of Prometheus (likely a combination of both), it’s clear that Ridley is taking control of the franchise in a big way.
But, you know what? That’s how it should be. Ridley Scott’s Alien is one of the best American horror/sci-fi films ever made, and as shaky as I am about a sequel to Prometheus (story-wise. I’m sure I’ll be drooling over the production design once again), it’s Scott’s universe to fuck up more than it is Blomkamp’s to fix. If Ridley Scott has to Star Wars prequelify the Alien universe (not saying he will, but the possibility exists), then so be it. He’s earned that. And hey, if Alien: Paradise Lost does well, it might mean Fox is more open to Blomkamp’s sequel down the road. But for now, feel free to rejoice or decry this news in the comments below.
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