10 Things We Want to See in the NEW ‘Alien’ Movie

A new Alien movie has finally been confirmed to be in the works, with established horror director Fede Álvarez, who is best known for Evil Dead (2013) and Don’t Breathe (2016), at the helm. While it will be the seventh movie in the series (or ninth if you include the two Alien vs. Predator spin-offs), it will apparently be “unconnected” to the other movies.

It has also been confirmed that original Alien (1979) director Ridley Scott will serve as producer. Along with the original film, Scott also directed the two prequels, Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017). A new movie was confirmed after Disney purchased Fox, and Ridley Scott has been attached to the project ever since, but nothing concrete has been announced until now.

However, in terms of plot and premise, nothing is known about the new Alien movie just yet. It’s also unknown whether the film will be tied into the upcoming Alien TV series from Noah Hawley. There’s no word on a release date, either, but that hasn’t stopped us from compiling all the things we want from the upcoming project, whether it’s a sequel, prequel, spin-off, or even a reboot!

10. No More Prequels

There was a time when the idea of a prequel to a beloved movie carried such novelty. After George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999 — 2005), anything seemed possible, even if Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) did it long before Star Wars. Unfortunately, Star Wars opened the doors for many other franchises to follow suit, a trend that continues to this day.

Prometheus Alien Prequel — Credit: 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company)

One of those franchises was Alien, with Ridley Scott returning to helm Prometheus, a prequel to one of the most beloved sci-fi horror classics of all time. It’s not that Prometheus or its sequel, Alien: Covenant, are terrible, but their existence totally devalues the original 1979 film. So here’s to hoping the new Alien movie is a sequel, or at the very least, an “in-between-quel”!

9. Suspense-Fuelled Horror

The original Alien relies heavily on suspense-fuelled horror, while using the less-is-more approach also seen in movies such as Jaws (1975) and Halloween (1978). Combined with great acting, seemingly inescapable environments, and sparingly-used special effects, this can make for a terrifying horror movie that doesn’t need to rely on buckets of gore to flex its muscles.

Alien 3 — Credit: 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company)

As is the case with such franchises, horror is something that gets lost along the way, usually in exchange for more accessible movies. You only need to look at the likes of the Jurassic Park and Terminator franchises to know this. But now that we have a new Alien movie in the works, there’s really no excuse for the filmmakers not to take the series back to its white-knuckled roots.

8. World-Building

James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) gets so many things right (in fact, it doesn’t get anything wrong), but ultimately, the sci-fi masterpiece truly expands on the world created in Ridley Scott’s 1979 original (Cameron also applied the same approach to 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day). In other words, the world seen in Aliens feels much bigger and much more exciting.

Prometheus, on the other hand, offers up a world that feels so out of touch with that of Alien, although it certainly wasn’t the first — here’s looking at you, Alien: Resurrection (1997). Regardless of where it’s going to take place along the franchise’s timeline, the new Alien movie will need to flesh out the Alien universe in new and exciting ways.

7. No Cloning

If we were talking about a Jurassic Park movie, we’d be all for cloning, as it’s the bedrock of the franchise and the reason the dinosaurs exist in the first place. But as this is about the new Alien movie, we think cloning is best left for the likes of InGen and not Weyland-Yutani (strangely, though, their taglines, “We Make The Future” and “Building Better Worlds”, aren’t dissimilar).

Alien: Resurrection was the first movie to introduce the concept of cloning into the franchise, as the evil Weyland-Yutani has resurrected the xenomorphs, and with them, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)! It isn’t necessarily the worst thing about this movie, but seeing as the xenomorphs are capable of creating hybrids themselves, why do we need humans to help them?!

6. No CGI Xenomorphs

When used correctly, CGI can be effective. In Jurassic Park (1993), it’s used sparingly (typically, animatronics are used for close-up shots, while the CGI dinosaurs are in the wider, more distant shots). Alien 3 (1992) introduced the first CGI xenomorph, and while it doesn’t look great, a tight budget meant that it’s mostly kept in the dark, thus creating a relatively scary villain.

Alien Covenant — Credit: 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company)

It’s really the subsequent sequels, prequels, and spin-offs that put the xenomorph in a poor light. That’s not to suggest they look bad — they just don’t look real or at all convincing. The new Alien movie has the perfect opportunity to make the xenomorph truly terrifying again. But it’s not all about animatronics, as it’s more about keeping the alien where it belongs — in the dark.

5. The Retconning of Alien: Resurrection

There are all sorts of trends taking place in the world of film these days, but one that’s becoming increasingly popular is the wiping of certain entries in a franchise (a trend that really speaks to the fact that most sequels are pretty bad!). Halloween (2018) did this, wiping every single film since the 1978 original from canon, while Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) did the same.

The Alien series is no stranger to this topic, either, as director Neill Blomkamp once penned a script that would see the return of Ripley, Hicks (Michael Biehn), and Newt (Carrie Henn), which would involve wiping away every sequel since Aliens. Sadly, this never came to be, but here’s to hoping that the new Alien movie will, at the very least, wipe Alien: Resurrection from canon.

4. One Xenomorph

While Aliens is one of the greatest sequels of all time, there’s no denying that less is more when it comes to the xenomorphs (though it’s thrilling all the same to see an entire hive in the 1986 sequel). Alien 3 is the only movie in the series that follows the original when it comes to having a single alien antagonist, but there’s also a video game that also utilizes this effective formula.

Alien Xenomorph — Credit: 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company)

The survival horror game Alien Isolation (2014) follows Amanda Ripley (Andrea Deck) as she tries to find out what happened to her mother, Ellen Ripley, all the while exploring a ravaged space station. While other xenomorphs eventually pour in, for the most part, there’s only one stalking you in the game, which is something the new Alien movie must take note of.

3. A Unique Setting

Say what you will about the underwhelming Alien vs. Predator (2oo4), but one can’t deny that the film’s unique setting is one of its better traits. When a team of scientists discover a pyramid beneath the Antarctic ice, they soon find themselves in the middle of a hunt between xenomorphs and Predators, while trapped inside an ancient structure that’s designed to keep them in.

These creative set pieces really lend to the film’s atmosphere, of which there would be very little without. We’re not suggesting that the new Alien movie should be set inside a pyramid, but rather something new to the franchise. The chances are that it will be set on a spaceship, or perhaps even on Earth, but a new planet and a never-before-seen environment would be most welcome.

2. Evil Droids

Even if you’ve only seen the original Alien, then you’ll know that droids are part of the universe (but definitely not your average C-3PO and R-2D2). Science officer Ash (the late Ian Holm), turns out to be pretty terrifying when he attacks Ripley in an attempt to protect the newly-discovered xenomorph for the “company” (which is known as Weyland-Yutani, as revealed in Aliens).

Corrupt droids are also used in Prometheus and Alien Covenant, as well as in the video game Alien: Isolation, in which there are plenty. While Ridley Scott’s two prequels deal with themes of artificial intelligence somewhat pretentiously (Michael Fassbender is brilliant as David, nonetheless), we’d love to see a droid in the new Alien move that’s as terrifying as the xenomorph.

1. A Relatable Crew

One of the best things about Ridley Scott’s Alien is the crew itself. The first genius move is the fact that not a single crew member is the lead character — it only happens to be Ellen Ripley when her fellow shipmates are killed by the xenomorph. The second one is the fact that each and every person aboard the Nostromo feels very much like a lived-in human being.

Sigourney Weaver in Alien (1979) — Credit: 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company)

Alien takes place in space and in the future — two things we couldn’t possibly relate to. But filling the Nostromo with disgruntled blue-collar workers as opposed to one-dimensional scientists is what makes Alien believable. Above all else, the new Alien movie must include well-written characters that we care about. Otherwise, why would we care that no one can hear them scream?

What do you want to see in the new Alien movie?

10 Things We Want to See in the NEW ‘Alien’ Movie - Inside the Magic