An “Alien” Origin Movie In The Works?

John Campea 82 Comments

The original “Alien” movie is just classic. A lot of these older horror films just make you laugh now (the original Halloween for instance), but I just watched Alien again last year and holy crap that movie still freaks the hell out of me!

A little while ago there were some rumblings about another possible Alien film… then came word about a possible Alien remake. Now the word on the street seems to be that Fox Studios is looking at doing an Alien prequel… an origin story if you will.

The folks over at MovieWeb give us this:

Michael Costigan, Tony Scott and his brother Ridley Scott, who directed the 1979 film, are all attached to produce, with Carl Rinsch set to direct. It was said that Rinsch is a commercial and music video director who also does producing work for Tony and Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free Productions, who are producing the remake.

I personally don’t like the idea of an Alien remake… but an Alien origin story with Ridley Scott attached in some capacity has promise and I’ll admit has my attention. Could be very cool if done right. What do you think?

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82 thoughts on “An “Alien” Origin Movie In The Works?”

  1. I grew up watching the Alien movies (at like 9 yrs. old), and two Christmases ago I bought all four of them (Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection). Every time I watch Alien I am always wondering questions like, How long and where did that huge ship come from? How did the Aliens came to be the perfect parasitic predator? and I have always wondered from one of the scenes what that big organic weapon like structure is when they are exploring the ship. Look close enough and it looks like there is some twisted human-like creature molded into it. Perhaps in a sequel that could be explained. I think I heard that the original guys who made the first Alien movie will make an Alien prequel. If they are really going to make a prequel then I think they are the best people for it because they pretty much started the franchise. There are some horrible prequels out there, but good prequels take the longest because the producers and directors think things through carefully so that nothing seems too dumb or lame. If there can be good sequels to an awesome movie, then there can be sequels. Who knows, perhaps it will be interesting to know the history of Aliens.

  3. I know i am going to catch hell for this, but i dont give a shit.
    i love the aliens and the predators. i started reading comics in high school and Aliens vs Predator was a BIG series with my classmates. I understand you guys and gals have opinions, but I thought the AVP movies were great. I am glad that they are making an alien only movie and a predator only movie. I think they ought to make a AvPvT(erminator) movie. think of the action sequences! far fetched , i know. anyway. An origin story, i dont know. a prequel, that’d be cool. any movie with the alien in it would kick ass.
    Some of you guys had mentioned Wolverine….
    Hell, why not a Wolverine Vs Predator movie?
    Couldnt do a Wolverine vs Alien.
    It would be funny seeing a chestburster try to pop out through the adamantium. lol. (Bump…Bump. Hisssssssssssssssss. Bump. Bump.)

  4. What a superb idea. The origin of the Space Jockeys and who they are is there to be explored. However, it would be better if they were an essentially decent race and they had not any knowledge of humanity, no more than humankind had knowledge of their existence. Keep space vast and virtually empty because that is what separates these films from Startrek where aliens and spaceships galore are flitting around all over the shop. Remember the original catchphrase,’In space no one can here you scream’.

  6. Will watch with interest.

    Loved Predator, cheesy as it was, I adore the original Alien, love/hate Aliens depending if I’m in the mood for a Reagan-tastic ‘Americans are great and police the universe’ war film or not, I rate the work print of Alien3 very highly… I could happily never see Alien Resurrection or Predator 2 ever again. I enjoyed AVP2 for what it was but loathe AVP.

    This could be good, it could be bad. Essentially, with all the sequels, there is nothing to shock with an Alien now, just the idea that they can be relentless… essentially making one Alien intop a Terminator or Michael Myers.

    A potential way to open up the options would be to have numerous Alien types (hinted at with the dog form in Alien3)… but if it’s done wrong it just ruins them (see the Alien/Skull thing in Resurrection).

  7. I think a REBOOT is out of the question. An ORIGIN STORY is more like it. “Where did these bastards come from?” is a question I’d like answered. The Alien series is not about the Xenomorphs(technical term), it’s about Ripley or whatever human is trying to survive. So the Xenomorphs don’t have a story all their own. Where did they come from? The depths of space born of pure evil? In a Predator lab? In a human lab from the future? Evolve from a planets primitive muck like we did? Who knows (I would prefer to do it without Predator, though). I agree that the mystery has something to do with the horror and suspense, but just because we explain where they come from, doesn’t mean we know EVERYTHING. For me horror is not in the origin, it’s in the potential. Okay, we know they started on planet Xyloflout 7, but they could just as easily be right behind you…

    1. Your “technical term” is wrong, they are not called Xenomorphs. You’re referring to Lt. Gormon’s mention of the word when describing the creature to the marines in Aliens. He was just trying to act like he knew what he was talking about and threw the word out to sound interesting. The word caught on and now people throw it around, the word alien is what they are “technically” called.

      As far as you wanting an origin story, um…hasn’t both AVP movies and the most recent Aliens movie (AR) and the most recent Predator movie (Predator2) given you perfect reason to have no faith in Fox pulling it off correctly. It will just turn into a poorly written, poorly cast movie. The reason there hasn’t been an origin movie is becuase there will never be one to give justice to everyone’s imagination about the creature. The fact that we don’t know is one of the most important things to the franchise.

      Oh and the series is about the aliens, Ripley is just along for the ride.

  8. I think a prequal would be cool – telling you about how that ship crashed – prior to the original alien movie that launced the franchise in 79. We really never knew where they came from and who it was that had all those eggs and why, could this be a tie into a Predator storyline?? We shall see?!

    1. Mixing the terrible Predator franchise (one good movie and one horrible movie) with the Alien franchise (One amazing classic, One of the best sequels in most people’s opinions, and a great 3rd movie butchered during production) is one of the worst ideas ever imagined and put into effect. Both AVP movies did nothing but piss on the Alien franchise and turned what was once a great creature into nothing more than a violent pet controlled and bred by the Predators.

    2. Having one bad entry into a two-movie franchise makes it a terrible franchise? The original Predator’s awesomeness is more than enough to shine over the sequel.

    3. Predator is an enjoyable movie, that is true. However it is a bad franchise since you have to throw in Predator2. Predator is a great movie but a terrible franchise. Add a few more good Predator movies and it will be a good franchise imo.

  10. WOAH! Blashphemy! The origianl Halloween is laughable??
    Dude, you are trippen. Your geek cred (which is shaky at best already) took another hit.
    I still watch Halloween every year during October. It still holds up with the test of time.

    2. Laughable, boring, and cheesy. It didn’t age well at all as a movie.

      I know it was “the shit” back in the day.

      It could be because so many movies have copied devices Halloween used and so we’re completely numb to them now… but for whatever reason, when i watch it NOW, I don’t get one real “shiver”. In Alien I still completely do.

    3. While I don’t think Gio loses any credit, one of these days I would still like to debate him on this matter. However, regardless or not if that day comes to pass, one thing is true.

      Film is subjective.

      I (and apparently you, Tvo) think John Carpenter’s film holds up in its own way. A few beg to differ. By the way, if I told you that I liked Carpenter’s The Fog more than Halloween, do I lose any points?

      What if I thought H20 was the perfect sequel?

    4. When watching Halloween and Alien I was more bored than scared. I think Halloween especially has not stood the test of time, it’s simply not scary anymore. Alien is far more enjoyable though.

  11. I always thought that the company knew about the aliens on LV426 because they had already received and translated the sos tranmission from the wrecked ship. The Nostromo’s computer was programed to go by LV426 on its way back, hence the last minute sciece officer replacement with Ash.

    There hasn’t been a good Alien film since 1986 (Aliens). While I don’t know if a prequel is necessary, Fox needs to do summat. AVP was terrible. I passed on AVP2. Alien 3 & 4 were both train wrecks.

    1. I suggest you check out the Assembly cut of Alien3, IMO it’s better than Aliens. As far as your belief that the company knew about the aliens before they ever landed I beg to differ. The company knew there was some sort of signal and felt it to be important so for an added bit of insurance they put Ash on the ship but there was no knowledge about who sent the signal or what it involved. Ash’s reactions and mannerisms give evidence to this.

    1. Actually Alien tops it and Alien3 is a better movie. Aliens is a great movie to put on in the background and remember what the 80s used to be like but at least Alien3 captured the intense dread the original had.

    2. Alien 3 was just copying the formula of the original unlike Aliens which dared to go in different directions. To me, Aliens is the best in the franchise and expaned the Alien mythos far beyond anything any of the other films did.

    3. AndyS,

      I realize where you are going with your opinion of Alien 3. Yes, from a suspense horror aspect the movie is closer to Alien in it’s concept, plot, etc…

      I also agree that the director’s cut is not only a major improvement on the movie it’s actually a decent movie on it’s own.

      But, that doesn’t make Alien 3 better than Aliens by any stretch of the imagination. Aliens is a different movie than Alien and Alien 3, true. But Aliens has enough going for it that makes it an overall excellent movie.

      Things I do not like about Alien 3:

      1) It nullifies all of the efforts, heroicism, and point of Aliens. Killing off newt is just plain horrible, especially after all Ripley had been through to save her. Same for Hicks but to lesser extent.

      2) Ripley dies. Ok, look, I don’t mind a main character dying. But it’s just unfair, again after all Ripley had been through and lost due to the Alien to have her go out that way. Sure it was dramatic. Sure Sygorney wanted it. Sure I didn’t care to see Ripley in EVERY SINGLE ALIEN story they made. But it basically pissed on all the efforts Ripley made to be a strong surviving woman.

      3) The setting was dull and boring. Come on, with all the things fans wanted to see, they give us a corridor movie on an inhospitable prison planet? It was a step backwards. No homeworld, no more insight into other colonies, other planets, other technology, etc…

      4) It was implausible. Their was no alien egg planted by the queen.

      5) The supporting characters, while good actors, wheren’t sympathetic. You wanted them to die. Even the ones that you might have some sympathy for weren’t good enough to care that much about.

      Just about the only good thing from Alien 3 regarding the mythos was that it confirmed that other species could be impregnated and that would create a different type of alien. That was cool.

      Again, the director’s cut is good, but it’s not anywhere near the level of Aliens for developing the mythos and having a deep involving plot with twists and surprises.

    4. ::Fritz::

      Aliens IMO wears off quick. It’s campy 80’s action overkill. JC turned the aliens into bugs and the introduction of the queen was idiotic. The original method shown in the directors cut of Alien (Ripley finding Dallas and Brett cocooned) is far more scary and interesting than simply deciding a mother is to blame for the eggs. JC always wants to up the anti and he did with Aliens however under repeat viewing I find myself picking apart all the errors and getting pissed at the direction he chose for the series. I prefer the slow build up and personal settings found in Alien and Alien3. Aliens reminds me of Predator too much.

      Ripley dying in Alien3 was a perfect end to the Alien saga. She was tired and worn out, she said herself that a majority of her life was invested in battling the species. She won, she destroyed what was thought to be the last alien known to exist (until AR came around and ruined what was a perfect ending to the series. Her sacrifice was a perfect ending to the character we had grew love, I myself believe she found peace.

      Both Newt and Hicks being killed set the tone for the movie immediately. This was not going to be another Aliens where the guy gets the girl and the strong willed woman finds a daughter. Alien is about survival and death, getting rid of everyone but Ripley allowed it to introduce new characters (I agree some were paper thin however the Assembly Cut fleshes out a few of them).

      I’ve had countless debates about the Egg supposedly laid on the Sulaco. It isn’t implausible, it is a stretch however. It is never fully explained, especially the creation of the SuperFace Hugger which has the ability to impregnate more than one host. This confusion does not take away from the movie though. What pisses me off about it to this day is all the other scripts I’ve read that Fox turned down in favor of three but then when they got what they wanted they pissed on Fincher’s parade.

    5. Were led to believe a colony had been living on the planet for years but were unable to notice the large crashed Space Jockey ship only a few miles away?

      Instead of the incredibly scary and fascinating method of reproduction shown in the directors cut of Alien, JC decides to turn the alien species into bugs with a Queen that lays countless number of eggs.

      Newt would never have lived alone as long as she did, complete bullshit. Thank god she died in Alien3.

      Evidently space marines are nothing more than wanna be cops with no regard for direct orders or tactical strategy.

    7. Of course anyone that praises Aliens will find Alien3 dull. Aliens is nothing like the 1st one, it might as well be a stand alone movie with Arnie or Stalone in it. It is typical 80’s action. JC’s attempts at explaining several things about the alien species only hurts the franchise.

      1-7 I find it quite ironic that people like you blast Alien3 for being similar to Alien yet then follow that complaint up with bitching about its abandoning of Aliens setup formula.

    8. “Of course anyone that praises Aliens will find Alien3 dull”

      I praise “Aliens” and found “Alien 3” to be entertaining and even the AVP films as well.

    11. Where was I bitching that Alien 3 didn’t follow the Aliens formula? Alien 3 didn’t establish it’s own identity unlike the first two movies. There’s a reason so few people even care for its existance. The most it added to the Alien myhtos was that the aliens took no different forms depending on their host. It’s utterly forgettable unlike the first two.

    12. What were you expecting from Alien3? AR tried to not be Alien or Aliens and look what it gave us. Alien3 is a fitting end to the series. Ripley finds peace and it’s believed that the alien species could very well be eliminated due to Ripley’s sacrifice. I’m sorry if I implied you don’t like Alien3 because it isn’t like Aliens. I’ve often found that to be the main reason people don’t like it.

      Alien3 to me demands more repeat viewing than Aliens. Aliens is typical 80’s action overkill, Alien3 IMO is full of subjective and deep meanings. It was the first Alien movie I was able to see in theaters (I’m 27) so maybe I’m biased when it comes to 3.

    14. I don’t mind if you liked Alien 3, I don’t think it’s terrible, just not up to par with the first two films. Besides, I think the action in Aliens is what made it more memorable, again, it had it’s own unique identity and expanded the alien mythos farther than any film in the series.

  13. What? Really, John, the original Halloween makes you laugh? That’s one of the only slasher films that isn’t laughably bad in my opinion. I honestly think it’s still the best slasher ever made (that’s not saying a whole lot, but I think it’s a genially great movie), doesn’t scare me anymore, neither does Alien though.

    Anyway, I’m nuetral to this idea, I’m not a big fan of the Alien series. The first two are good, the AvP movies are terrible in my opinion, so yeah, we’ll see. My gut feeling is it won’t be great, but who knows?

    2. Where was I bitching that Alien 3 didn’t follow the Aliens formula? Alien 3 didn’t establish it’s own identity unlike the first two movies. There’s a reason so few people even care for its existance. The most it added to the Alien myhtos was that the aliens took no different forms depending on their host. It’s utterly forgettable unlike the first two.

  14. I remember when ‘Alien’ came out, and the ‘space jockey’ story was looked at as a possible ‘other’ tale to tell. I thought it was a great idea then, and I still do, three decades later.

    1. I felt the same way when I first saw alien, but then when dark horse did the first two alien mini’s, I was like that’s what they are for? used to clear planets by big fat elephants in techno suits? Would they be using any of this in the movie, I wonder?

    2. To all those originally involved with the movie Alien, none of them ever wanted to or felt the need to pursue a more in depth storyline involving the SpaceJockey. This is because it was nothing more than a plot device and the mystery only added to the mood and imagination they wanted to give off to the viewer.

    3. It’s true what you say of the original intention of the Space Jockey.

      however, after 5 sequels/spinoffs, I think they have come up with plenty of stupid storylines that revisiting the origin of the Space Jockey seems not only interesting but right.

      What I don’t want is more humans discovering Aliens in a terestrial setting or space ship corridor setting, all hell breaks loose, and all they can do is blow up the ship. Ah, been there done that.

  15. Hmmm. A commercial director, who’s never done a film but has extensive background in special effects takes the helm of a multi million dollar franchise.
    Sounds familiar yet less hateful this time around.

    1. I felt the same way about fincher too, oh wait who are we talking about here? 300 hundered and watchmen were okay. …wait,wait. Chralies Angels was entertaining…

  16. However, Ridley Scott like NEVER messes up, though I don’t think they should make an origins movie, they all suck, all origin movies usually do

  17. The origin story has been tossed around for years, and I think Alien left the best opening for an origin story, and an interesting one at that in terms of the “space jockey”. In my mind there should be two more anlien movies, one being the origin story and the other bringing ripleys characther story to a logical conclusion (involving the alien homeworld). I think those two movies would wrap the series up quite well.

    In terms of direction, I would really like to see david fincher come back (but after alien 3, pretty impossible). If you watch the full version of Alien 3, it’s much more coherent which is fucking amazing considering fincher was brought in last minute and the producers were making script changes every minute it seems. Even on the bonus disk, everyone applauds david fincher for being able to pull something viable out of the mess Fox and the producers created. It ranks as the second best in my opinion.

    In terms of a remake, I say god no, it’s perfect. This is not personal subjectivity but fact. There are no flaws in this movie, give me one real reason why they should remake it and I’ll eat my hat and put it on youtube. It’s timeless, just as good now as then. But aliens as good as it is has not aged well, the abunadance of creatures make them seem more fake and in essence not scary. I would like to see alien 3 remade with fincher given FULL creative control.

    3. “This is not personal subjectivity but fact. There are no flaws in this movie… It’s timeless, just as good now as then. “

      While I am in agreement that Alien should not be remade, this is not a reason why. After all, I could make up a good case why Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” should not be remade. Sadly, Hollywood already did and failed at it.

      And no film is 100% flawless.

  18. Okay, all that said, here is the only one way to have an Alien prequel.

    * A slightly different looking Xenomorph(s).

    * A different planet than Acheron/LV 246.

    * The Company (Weyand-Yutani) has its first contact (by random chance) with the Alien, and why they need the research for bio-weapons division.

    And that’s where I stop, because if we bring in a “new crew” those characters would have to be clueless as to what threat they are dealing with. We, the audience already get it, and thus are one or more step(s) ahead of them.

    I suppose a remake , although unnecessary, could be considered, and some things could be changed up (for example, Ripley DIES. Lambert LIVES, or Dallas dies FIRST and so on) to be different and keep the audience guessing. Maybe. That’s a longshot, but maybe.

    Or we can just bite the bullet, which I would prefer, and truck ahead post Alien Resurrection. Or maybe having a film between Alien3 and Alien Resurrection.

    The sad bit is that Alien Res, and the AvP films have all but neutered the Aliens. They no longer creep up or hide in stealth; they are video game characters. But the end of Res held out some hope: what is Ripley’s life like on Earth, being part human/part alien clone hybrid? Is she a threat to humanity? Is she the “alien”?

    See, at least we can still have character…

    1. The series is dead, I’m happy with Alien, Aliens, and Alien3. Anything else just pisses on the franchise. Anyone that wants another Alien movie needs to watch AR, AVP, and AVPR to remind themselves how far Fox has sunk when it comes to portraying the creature in a movie.

  19. This idea is right up there with the AVP films for worst idea of the century. What made Alien so scary and entertaining was the mystery and unknown surrounding the alien, as well as the SpaceJockey (which was nothing more than a plot device). I wouldn’t doubt fox trying to dip into what has become a laughable franchise. Alien IMO is easily in the top10 movies of all time, it’s too bad it can’t be left alone.

  20. I hate origin films. I can’t think of a single prequel that has ever enhanced the enjoyment of the original. All they ever seem to do is take away all of the mystery and the intrigue surrounding characters and make them seem far less cool than they were in the first place.

    Thanks to prequels we found out Darth Vader was not so much an evil man who conquered the galaxy, as much as he was just a whiny little bitch his whole life, who had his ass handed to him by Kenobi.

    We found out that the Weapon X program was not the horrific years of torture, experimentation and ungodly, agonizing pain done against Wolverine’s will. It actually took about 30 seconds and he volunteered to do it anyway.

    And all that fear about keeping this Alien in question from making it’s way to Earth? Turns out hundreds of them have been coming to Earth for centuries thanks to Predators. So it totally kills the entire suspense in the original film.

    And the worst part is that every prequel has virtually no suspense to it, since everyone already knows the eventual ending. They can’t change the story for pre-existing characters, and new characters ultimately become redundant, since they play no role in the future anyway.

    No, I’m sure this prequel would be just as bad, and kill the bad-ass mysterious element of the Aliens. I wish they’d just make another sequel or spin-off. Keep moving forward with the story. Just throw in a few flashback scenes. Those (as in X-Men 2) always do a much better job of telling any essential back story, whilst keeping the mysterious past better in tact.

    2. While Predators have nothing to do with it (the first film is getting remade/rebooted/restarted/repeated/re-something or other; the AvP flicks were supposed to ‘stand alone’ ) I will 100% agree that the entire idea of alien was that we never knew exactly where they came from, hence, ‘Alien’, the unknown.

      “every prequel has virtually no suspense to it”
      not entirely true. Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom still had its rollercoaster. Yes, Indy would not have bought the farm, but we all feared for Short Round in ’84!

    3. For me, the mysterious/unknown background added no level of fear to them, it was there actions and what they could that would be the scary part.

      Imagine if they maintained the unknown background but when the bleed rather than acid they bleed rose pedals. Instead of piercing the skull with that weird ass mouth within the mouth thing, they kiss you on the forehead with it. Rather than chasing you down to kill your or save your body for breeding, they stop you and play patty cake. Are they still scary because their background is unknown?

      What makes the aliens scary is the fact they are relentless. You injure them they bleed acid, making them just as dangerous dead as when they are alive. They will come at you from any nook and cranny they can fit. They may not kill you right off the bat, they may lay an egg in you and give you a nice unexpected death some time down the line.

      I don’t think the scariness of them would be lost at all in a prequel, origins or not. They are what they are and do what they do. And if they could talk Giger into doing some new set designs along with Ridley Scott having a hand in production, I could see this being pretty cool.

    4. With that said. You do risk a big problem with a prequel. It seemed like Alien was the first encounter the human race had with these aliens. Typically studios want human characters in a movie regardless of if they should be there as they want somebody the audience can relate too. This means they would probably have to write the script in such a way that another group of humans have first contact, but get wiped out so Alien still makes sense. God forbid they make a movie with no human characters in it, after all.

    5. wasn’t it hinted at during the movie that the company had an idea of what was there? wasn’t Ash supposed try and bring one back? They knew alright, they knew. anyways, prequel is fine, but no origin story, but I would rather see, not another sequel, but just a new movie with new characters and then a semi-decent AvP movie that fits into it all, along with a predator movie that does not have the name rodriguez tied to it, though who knows it might be aight.

    6. The company simply knew there was a signal that for some reason they felt was important. They added some insurance by adding Ash to the crew. But they had no idea what sent the signal or that the alien creature would be found. The actions and mannerisms by Ash give evidence to this.

    9. Red Dragon was a remake of ManHunter therefore it wasn’t a prequel. Also there have been far more prequels made that failed the original movie than those that were worthy of being made. Regardless Alien does not need a prequel or any more forms of the creature put on screen for Fox to mess with. They’ve shown time and again that they have no idea what they’re doing. Let a good series rest in peace, we were given 3 great movies and a terrible 4th. Anything else just shits on the original, especially a prequel

  21. Hmmm… I dunno if I like the idea of an origin story. I feel like what makes these films half as good/scary as they are is because we don’t really know all that much about the aliens. The mystery adds to it in my opinion.

  22. OMFG…i seriously one of the biggest fanboys alive so this is just fucking pure awesomeness….not the story of the space jockey would have to be involved to do the fact that there bread as planet enders basically etc……man such carnage….but how would they incorporate humanity…my guess would be the first meeting between them and the company yietlan or w/e its called ( sorry om drunk)

    VUT AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!

    1. If you are a TRUE fan of the original you would NEVER EVER want an origin film. It’s bad enough they tried to tarnish the original by making the aliens bugs in Aliens.

    2. apparently AndyS is the end-all voice of Aliens fanboys, didn’t know that.

      I think an origin story would be a cool way to continue a franchise that can literally go anywhere since we’ve only followed Ripley’s story so for (unless you want to include Aliens fighting Predators in Aztec ruins in Antarctica :P) – this is of course assuming they do a good job with the reboot

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