It kind of sounds as though the writers at ScreenGeek are getting a bit frustrated with famed director Ridley Scott when it comes to the idea that he’s thinking of another Alien prequel, only to focus more on AI than on the actual xenomorphs. Does that make sense to anyone? It’s interesting of course to think that David might be doing the advanced work of the Engineers that never really panned out from the start, but it’s also a big desire for those that are fully in love with the franchise to see more of the face-hugging, chest-bursting aliens that have made the franchise so popular. This is a big part of why Prometheus really didn’t resonate with a lot of people, as it did feel like a movie that was trying to explain just how the xenomorphs had come into being, but at the same time was doing so in a slow, methodical manner that could have encompassed a trilogy on its own had things been allowed to continue as they were going. One of the only problems with that is the whole pace of it, as it’s true, things didn’t just spring into being as we recognize them today on a whim, the engineering that went into the creatures took some time and quite a bit of experimentation no doubt. When bio-engineering something it’s usually a long and drawn out process whether in fiction or in reality, with plenty of different stages and mistakes along the way.
But having an Aliens movie with less emphasis on the actual creatures that made the franchise as horrifying as it became would be like focusing on a Predator movie and gathering the former cast members while placing more emphasis on their shared details than on the actual creatures that hunted them. Oh wait, that happened with Predators, and while there was plenty of action, we weren’t given that much detail about the Predators, which is par for the course it would feel. But focusing instead on AI as Scott appears to want might actually begin to kill off the whole idea of this movie franchise. David is obviously a devious and deranged AI that would eventually give rise to a new race and a new story that would hopefully still be able to connect to the original Alien at one point or another, since retconning the whole story at this time doesn’t sound that appealing, especially since it would mean that Ellen Ripley’s part might be changed in a big way. How much of an outcry would that cause do you think? After all, Sigourney Weaver’s tale with the xenomorphs has been seen as one of the greatest parts of the entire franchise, and without her the Alien movies have been kind of ‘meh’, if only because she was the one person that had a serious conflict with the xenomorphs and entered into a personal vendetta with the creatures.
The AI in the Aliens franchise have been interesting enough, but it might be best to turn this idea into a TV series at best, since otherwise it feels like a waste to give a whole movie over to the idea of the AI that has made it his mission to engineer the rise of the xenomorph race. It would be interesting to see evolution take its course with David’s help to be certain, since it would be kind of intriguing to see a queen born, and to see just how things would go from that point. Trying to think in the same manner as Ridley Scott is possible, but then attempting to follow the though process of why a movie focusing on AI when the xenomorph’s are the money-makers is a bit difficult. Obviously Alien: Covenant included the xenomorphs in a big way, but there are still plenty of directions that the story could be allowed to progress when it comes to the vicious creatures, as their potential has been grasped before and never fully utilized, while at other times it’s been held onto and used in a manner that made little to no sense. Without as much emphasis on the creatures however another movie might suffer the same fate as Prometheus if only because it might be thought to be nothing more than a tease considering that people want the horror and pulp that the creatures offer with their simple story and apparently equally simple goal in life, which is to reproduce and increase the size of the hive. In the books this was about all it was, survival and the need to spread, as well as protect the hive at all costs.
Hopefully Scott will think about this a little further before taking any actions to begin cutting out any mention of the xenomorphs from the story. But then again, he’s been able to deliver some killer stories in the past, maybe we can show just a little bit of faith as NME appears to be doing.
Follow Us
