Age of The Nerd
A little over a week ago, it was announced that FOX had officially signed Neill Blomkamp to direct the next film in the Alien franchise based on an original idea by Blomkamp himself. Now that the director is doing press rounds for his latest film, Chappie, details about the still untitled Alien movie are beginning to emerge, although the film is likely still years away. Here are Blomkamp’s thoughts from yesterday on the upcoming sequel:
“I want this film to feel like it is literally the genetic sibling of Aliens, so it’s Alien, Aliens and then this film. It’s a Freudian nightmare. That element to me is what is so appealing; to put the audience on the edge of their seat the whole time in a traditional, monster-stalking-you, dark-corridor-way. I love that. And then when you mix in all of the deign elements and the life cycle of the alien, it’s a powder keg of creativity for me. I would love to take Ripley out of sort of orbiting around in space and give a proper finish to what was such an excellent story. So when someone like Neill Blomkamp said, ‘Well, I’m interested in finishing the story,’ my little ears perked up… I think it’s a great series. It deserves a proper ending—I know the fans would love that.”
After this news broke, I found many throughout the fanboy community (suprisingly) complaining that completely disregarding nearly half of Ripley’s journey throughout the franchise. In speaking with AlloCine today, Blomkamp backtracked a bit, commenting that
“My favorites are the first two movies. So I want to make a film that’s connected to Alien and Aliens. That’s my goal. I’m not trying to undo Alien 3 or Alien: Resurrection, I just want it to be connected to Alien and Aliens.”
While I think that it is a smart idea continuity wise to disregard Ripley’s journey entirely, there are certainly elements in that journey that aren’t necessary to finish her story properly. Weaver is slated to return, obviously, but there has still been no word as to wether Michael Biehn will return to the role of Hicks. Stay tuned for more info, but in the meantime here is more of the concept art that got Blomkamp the job to begin with:
The visionary sci-fi writer/director is finally getting a chance to take the reigns of a major blockbuster franchise. Most critics will agree that Blomkamp provides a unique and original vision, but sometimes gets bogged down in his own writing. As much as we appreciate having someone like Neil Blomkamp out there creating original work such as District 9, Elysium and Chappie, we also would like to see there interpretations on properties we know and love.Let us know what you think in the comments below!
