Daszkowski
MemberFacehuggerJul-21-2017 7:35 AMThe Playlist:
It’s been a summer of franchises that might have made okay money (largely thanks to international ticket sales) but left audiences disappointed. “Transformers: The Last Knight,” “The Mummy,” and “Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” all fall into that category, but “Alien: Covenant” is its own special thing. Not only was the sequel to “Prometheus“/long lead prequel to “Alien” a box office disappointment (it earned nearly $200 million less than its predecessor worldwide), but it arguably severely damaged the brand. Ridley Scott spent the press tour promising at least two more followups, and boldly stated the next film would be in front of cameras within 14 months. However, that may not be happening.
THR reveals that Fox is going to “reassess” what they’re doing with Scott’s two planned “Alien” movies. At the moment, the director is shooting “All The Money In The World” which he is racing to complete in time for the awards season, and after that he’s apparently expected to film the adaptation of Don Winslow‘s drug drama “The Cartel.” If that’s the case, it certainly means the “Alien” franchise is going to be on ice for a while, and by the sounds of it, Fox is considering whether or not they want to proceed with the rest of the narrative Scott has planned out.
Certainly, the “Alien” franchise isn’t going to hibernate. It’s far too valuable for them to leave to the side, but I bet Neill Blomkamp‘s scrapped “Alien” movie is looking more enticing with each passing day. It would certainly be a way to revive the franchise and bring Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley back to the big screen. That alone would restore the excitement to the series that seems to have faded.
http://theplaylist.net/fox-reassessing-ridley-scotts-planned-alien-movies-20170721/
joylitt
MemberNeomorphJul-22-2017 10:18 PMI imagine the studio executives must be reflecting on the following issues: 1- Misleading advertising does not work 2- An intensive fan-base advertising campaign does not guarantee returns at the box office 3- Fassbender is not precisely an audience magnet 4- Ridley Scott is probably not the sci-fi guru they believed he was 5- Too many writers is probably not a good idea 6- Budget could have been used more wisely. And the big question is: How are they going to manage to have the audience excited again about a new Alien movie? This time the misleading advertising won't work. Now I want to ask all those who really want to see more of David's exploits in a sequel: How much do you think a film directed by Ridley Scott, with Michael Fassbender as a top billed star would make at the box office?... Not much I am sure. So probably the fate of a movie along those lines is cable television. The only thing that might work now is REINVENTION.
dk
MemberTrilobiteJul-22-2017 10:38 PMThose are valid points. I would be ok with it if they closed the franchise out. That or find a new direction.
Nathan Adler
MemberFacehuggerJul-23-2017 1:16 AM@afrolito: You can't blame RS for Alien: Covenant. Fox forced his hand on that one because of the small, but vocal, group of fans who complained about Prometheus. If fans had not complained about Prometheus, we would not have ended up with the Fox-mandated, lesser, Covenant, and would have ended up with a beautiful, RS- directed sequel to Prometheus as he originally intended. To those fans who complained about Prometheus, be careful what you wish for.
@MU/TH/UR 9000: I’m all for signing a Change.org petition for Fox if you want to get it started.
Thoughts_Dreams
MemberNeomorphJul-23-2017 3:34 AMHopefully we will get a sequel to Alien Covenant, I am not too interested in another Alien movie with Ripley in it. We already have four Ripley movies so that is enough for me. No thanks to Alien 5, at least that is what it is to me. I totally agree with Starlogger on this one.
I am not sure if it is a huge disappointment because as far as I know there were some movies that it had to compete against that were more family friendly as far as I remember it, at least here. Given this and that Prometheus was a disappointment I think that it went alright if you look at the international box office statistics but it sure could have been better.
Alien Covenant was an improvement compared to Prometheus but it was far from perfect. I am glad that they decided to turn it around compared to where they would probably had taken it originally with the original Prometheus sequel.
The android route was sort of disappointing. Hopefully they will do it different in the next movie.
My hope is that we will get a story that:
- Makes sense
- Makes the SJ be some life form connected to the Engineers
- Has better characters than both Prometheus and AC (although AC was a step in the right direction)
- Is faster than AC
- Has more focus on the monsters, and the humans
- Less focus on the AI’s (Alien isn’t Blade Runner!)
Lawrence of Arabia
MemberChestbursterJul-23-2017 11:52 AMI really hope THR is pulling shit out their ass. Fox hasn't made an official statement and Covenant did relatively well all things considered. I want to see Awakening and whatever Ridley has planned. David is a fantastic antagonist and I'm not getting the hate for this film. Every film thus far has had fallible characters make unlucky decisions, that's just humanity and part of what makes the film great. If the humans were smart they wouldn't be killed by Xenos. The Xenomorphs prey on our weaknesses and it's cool to watch them tear people to shreds. I digress, Rebooting or retconing Scott's films at this point is unwise and rude, the man created this franchise. Yes, Dan O' Bannon and Ron Shussett wrote the original screenplay but if they did things their way we would have a B-Movie by the name of StarBeast with a totally different monster. Scott got Fox to raise the budget, he got Giger on board, he dealt with the companies hounding, built the sets, and still pulled off a classic. Some are right, Alien isn't Blade Runner but to say the AIs don't play in integral role in the franchise is wrong. Scotts just looking for something fresh for the franchise and the route he's chosen is an interesting one. Most I know are disappointed with the lack of answers or Engineers from Prometheus which Scott said will play a vital role in the next film. Let's wait and see and enjoy the ride.
"The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts."
