Skip to main content

The Alien movie franchise will soon be resurrected with a new director. News broke in early March that Fede Álvarez, the director behind horror films Don’t Breathe and the 2013 Evil Dead remake, has signed on to lead an original and standalone installment for the Alien series. According to production company 20th Century Studios, the movie will take a unique approach to the franchise and honor its sci-fi roots.

Fede Álvarez, who will direct the new Alien movie.
Fede Álvarez | Samuel de Roman/WireImage

A brief history of the ‘Alien’ franchise

Director Ridley Scott kicked off the Alien franchise in 1979 with writer Dan O’Bannon. Starring Sigourney Weaver, the film followed warrant officer Ellen Ripley and the crew aboard the spaceship Nostromo as they fought against a dangerous extraterrestrial being known as the Xenomorph, or the eponymous Alien.

Alien’s popularity led the film to receive a sequel, Aliens, with Ellen Ripley as the new face of the franchise. However, James Cameron took over as director, followed by David Ficher with Alien 3. Later, Jean-Pierre Jeunet directed another sequel, Alien Resurrection. Scott eventually returned to the franchise in 2012 to direct a prequel series, which included Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.

The Alien films became classics in the sci-fi genre and heavily influenced other space-centric alien stories. In addition to movies, the franchise expanded to video games, comic books, and novels. There have also been several Alien spinoffs, including the Alien vs. Predator series, which crosses over with the similar Predator franchise.

Fede Álvarez’s new ‘Alien’ movie will reportedly recall the genre’s roots

On March 4, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Álvarez would create a new Alien movie, with Scott set to produce. Very few details about the project have been revealed. However, the report stated that Hulu would house the film as part of 20th Century’s plan for several Hulu films in each of the next few years.

According to THR’s sources, the new Alien movie will not connect with any prior installments. The idea reportedly came from Álvarez years ago, but Scott only recently decided to move forward with the director’s pitch. 20th Century’s president, Steve Asbell, said the studio agreed to the project because of “the strength of Fede’s pitch.”

“It was just a really good story with a bunch of characters you haven’t seen before,” Asbell said.

Additionally, Asbell revealed why he thought Hulu would be the perfect home for Alien.

“It’s not a film that has to be all things to all people with those gargantuan budgets,” Asbell continued. “They get to be authentically what they are. And this is closer to its genre roots.”

The new ‘Alien’ movie stands alone from the upcoming ‘Alien’ TV series

Related

Three Sequels That Almost Happened: ‘Alien 5’, ‘Catwoman’, and ‘Escape From Earth’

Alien fans will receive plenty of new content in the next few years, as a separate television series is also in the works. Initially announced in 2020, the series will be created for FX, with Fargo and Legion’s Noah Hawley leading the project.

Again, few details have come from the project so far. However, another THR report from February revealed that none of the original Alien characters will appear in the series, not even Ellen Ripley.

“It’s the first story in the Alien franchise that takes place on Earth. It takes place on our planet, near the end of this century we’re currently in — 70-odd years from now,” said FX head John Landgraf. “All I can tell you is Ripley won’t be a part of it, and neither will any other characters — other than the alien itself.”

Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for more updates on the new Alien movie, as well as the TV series.

Best in Entertainment