It’s been announced that a new Alien franchise movie is currently in development from Evil Dead remake director Fede Alvarez. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will be a standalone project, meaning it will not be directly connected to the events or timeline of the existing films. The new movie is being produced for Hulu, and is part of a plan by 20th Century to produce 10 or more films for the streaming service owned by Disney.
Alien first opened in wide-release in the United States on June 22, 1979. It stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto as the crew of a doomed crew of a commercial space tug who come face-to-face with a vicious creature after responding to the distress beacon from a nearby spaceship. The film’s budget has been estimated at around $11 million, with a box office revenue of close to $200 million. Alien was written by Dan O’Bannon (Total Recall) and directed by Ridley Scott, who at the time had only directed one other feature film.
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Scott would go on to be one of the most well-respected directors in cinema, helming films such as Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, American Gangster, and The Martian. Alien spawned a handful of sequels, with 1986’s Aliens being written and directed by James Cameron. The film was made on a budget of about $18 million and earned up to $181 million at the box office. Cameron would later go on to make movies like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Titanic, and Avatar.
In 1992, Alien 3 was released, but received more mixed reviews than it’s predecessors. The David Fincher-directed film has since go on to be somewhat of a cult classic. Fincher would also go on to be a high profile director, bringing to life films such as Seven, Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and The Social Network. In recent years, horror fans have found a new appreciation for the film.
The fourth Alien film, Alien Resurrection, opened on Nov. 26, 1997, and was written by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Avengers). The movie was directed by French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet. In the 2000s, the xenomorphs returned in two crossover films with the Predator franchise: Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
Finally, in 2012, Scoot came back to the Alien world with Prometheus, which told an origin story for the face-huggers. That film was followed up by 2017s Alien: Covenant. Fans will also be excited to learn that Scott is set to produce the new film, via his Scott Free production company.
