Tony Scott Confirms Carl Rinsch and 'A L I E N' Prequel
Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, 20th Century Fox, Remakes and Sequels
So, do you want the good news or the bad news first? Well, let's start with the bad news: Its official, the A L I E N reboot has gone beyond rumor and straight into reality. But the good news is that at least it won't be a remake. Just last week, Peter broke the story that Fox was looking to revive the franchise, but at the time, none of the principals involved (original creator Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, or rumored director, Carl Rinsch) had officially commented on the status of the project. Now, though, Collider brings us news that they got the chance to speak with Tony Scott during a press event for The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and he confirmed that Rinsch has indeed been given the nod to direct a prequel to the 1979 sci-fi horror. Once you get over the fact that a prequel is a particularly goofy idea, it probably wouldn't be that hard to come up with a plausible story. In the original film, the story of the derelict ship that the crew of the Nostromo encountered was never really explained. That element of the unknown was always an integral part of the original film's scare factor, but you have to admit, it wouldn't be all that difficult to fill in the blanks. Scott is looking to get the film into production by the end of the year, but there is still a small matter of a script and a cast before they can think about sticking to a tentative release date of summer, 2011.
After the jump: how do you make an A L I E N prequel? And does it automatically have to star Christina Bale?
Normally I'm all for a reboot when the previous incarnation was lacking -- but when it comes to a film that was done right the first time around, you can't help but wonder if the only reason the Scott brothers agreed in the first place was to collect a paycheck. The A L I E N mythology is a rich one with plenty of material for prequels and sequels, though when you look at Fox's track record when it comes to franchises, it becomes a little more obvious that they might not have the 'reverence' for the material to make a quality film. That said, I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that there isn't a darn thing we can do about it -- so let's just take a deep breath, hope to God that Christian Bale isn't brought on to play the shipmate with a low, annoying growl, and take solace in the fact that at least an A L I E N prequel can't be any worse than another installment of Alien vs. Predator. Don't ya think?
Is the 'Avatar' Budget Approaching $500 Million?_thumbnail.jpg)
Exclusive: Poster Premiere for 'Extraordinary Measures'
Quick List: Five Of The Scariest Stares
Jake Gyllenhaal Joins Duncan Jones for 'Source Code'
'Ridgemont High' Inspirations Are Now Protective Parents
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-01-2009 @ 6:20PM
Nibcrom said...
Christina Bale?
Reply
6-01-2009 @ 7:23PM
OH said...
Oh, haven't you heard? Christian Bale had a sex change.
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 8:46PM
b0ring said...
Just so long as it takes on the drama and tension of Alien and not the blood-and-guts of AvP(s).
Reply
6-01-2009 @ 7:57PM
paul said...
I think it's possible they could make a flick in the spirit of Alien or Aliens but I think it's also just as likely to be a movie about pretty young men and women being chewed up.
Reply
6-01-2009 @ 7:59PM
mezzanine said...
I never realized A L I E N was supposed to be with spaces between the letters. I thought it only looked that way on the poster/title credits.
Reply
6-01-2009 @ 8:56PM
Batzarro said...
"And does it automatically have to star Christina Bale?"
AAAAAHHH! GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD!
No, seriously, they could get a great female actress(or maybe a man? Starring in Alien? No?) in there. But...I won't be holding my breath. I also look forward to a contrived name like Alien: Evolution.
Reply
6-01-2009 @ 9:37PM
jake said...
I really just want an alien movie with Sigourney weaver as the star. someone else must agree.
Reply
6-01-2009 @ 11:28PM
Thos said...
I agree. They need to make up for 3 & 4...
6-02-2009 @ 12:15AM
warbringerdoom said...
I think they are FINALLY going to the ALIEN home world!! Don't dis 3.... it was pretty sweet looking. yah the shit wasn't that great.... but the look and lighting was top notch.
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 8:48AM
rossco said...
Make it completely with Aliens. No human characters. (except for sounds of English heard over the radio at the end of the movie as the Human ship. - Before the Nostromo heard the distress beacon from the alien ship, encounters the `Aliens' for the first time.)
Then it'd also benefit by being completely alienating.
...See what I did there?
No Seriously. Wouldn't that be cool? An entirely alien cast!!
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 11:36AM
Marcus said...
I'm with rossco, it shouldn't have any humans in it - and the same should have been for AvP as well.
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 12:51PM
9th_hennepin said...
which "alien" home world would be shown? the dead extraterrestrial found in the abandoned spaceship in "ALIEN" was not one of the ALIEN parasite/monsters. it was something else non-human...
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 1:09PM
Christian M. Howell said...
Looking at what happened to that ship would be interesting. The creatures were large humanoids so the Aliens they spawned would be awesomely huge.
They could do a similar story as A L I E N with the ship encountering the eggs and struggling to defeat the result.
Or it could be about how this race of beings created the A L I E N S for war and it didn't run out right. I would say they should update Eric Red's Alien3 script to put say a lone alien soldier on a ship that comes back with some "goop" on it that turns out to be genetic material, etc. etc.
Reply
6-02-2009 @ 3:58PM
mdk said...
This will undoubtedly suck as long as Rothman is still employed by FOX... and I'm not holding my breath until he gets his just desserts and gets canned, either. As a movie studio, FOX somehow seems to thrive on failure.
Reply
6-04-2009 @ 5:16PM
Bill.W.gr said...
It really is bound to be better than the Alien vs. Predator films. Yes, they could screw it up, but maybe not.
The story they should tell is how the company knew about the aliens before the crew of the Nostromo encountered them. My theory is Dick Cheney covered up the existence of the aliens.
But really, the one thing that I think they should avoid is a drawn out chestburster scene. People are so familiar with the first two films that it is like being surprised that there are STILL dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. You can't really skip it, but it's not going to shock anyone. Also. I agree. Nix on Christian Bale.
Reply
7-09-2009 @ 11:29PM
PredXero said...
I have little hope that this movie will be as good as the first two, they haven't been able to make any of the others as either a good horror movie like the first or a good action movie like the second. They will have a hard time making a story that doesn't ruin the mystery behind the aliens, it will end up being a remake of the first movie on a different ship were no one survives. The only way to make a good AvP is to set in in the future, any true fan wants to see the Colonial Marines from Aliens, not helpless civilians in the present. All they have to do is borrow the story from one of the computer games made in the 90s.
Reply