So it would appear that Alien vs. Predator is truly the movie franchise that will not die. No matter how many bad reviews the films get, or the overwhelming cries of 'blasphemy!' from fans of the original series, it seems like nothing is going to stop Fox from churning out another sequel in the sci-fi series. According to sources for Shock till You Drop, talk of another film in the AVP franchise has already begun to surface at 20th Century Fox -- and Shock's sources say that it is a "certainty."

After AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem was released last Christmas, Fox hadn't made any promises about the franchise. According to the film's directors, the studio was going to take a 'wait and see' approach. Cut to three months later, and Fox seems to be a little surer that another installment is a sure thing. There is no word on whether Colin and Greg Strause would return to direct again, or whether Fox is going to run with the Strause's idea of taking the story back into space. Considering their installment managed to pull in $128.8 million internationally, I think Fox might want to take their advice. Nothing is official yet, so stay tuned to Cinematical for any news that comes our way.

So what do you think? Is the AVP franchise worth keeping alive? Or more importantly, will the fans keep coming back no matter how bad the movies are?

One of the only cool things about the first AVP: Alien vs. Predator was that Lance Henriksen co-starred. Of course, he didn't play "Bishop", his beloved android character from Aliens (or even Bishop II), but it was still a nice touch to have him in there. That is why it's disappointing to hear that none of the past Alien or Predator actors will be appearing in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. In an interview with the MTV Movies Blog, AVP2 co-directors Colin and Greg Strause revealed that they attempted to cast some surprise guests, but were unfortunately unable to do so. The brothers wouldn't name names, but said that one person sought after was too expensive -- even for a cameo? -- and another "shockingly" blew them off. Funny, because aside from Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Bill Paxton and Ian Holm, I can't imagine many of the Alien series players being too high profile that they couldn't do a fun little throwback appearance. Maybe the Strause Brothers were aiming too high, but surely they could have even made attempts for Charles S. Dutton, Ron Perlman, Veronica Cartwright, Tom Skerritt or even Paul Reiser, not to mention tons of others. And what about Carl Weathers, for the Predator way around? After seeing his recurring role in Arrested Development, I believe he would have been up for such an idea.

The Strause Brothers also discussed with MTV the title, although they didn't even mention the lame "Requiem" part. They only said that Fox is currently not into numbering their sequels and that the pluralization of "Alien" is directly referencing James Cameron's Aliens. Other highlights from the interview (as pointed out by Movieweb) include an acknowledgment that the studio -- not just the Strauses -- thought the first AVP was a disappointment for fans and that the R rating is a response to that (Colin: "I mean, we chest-burst a little kid!"), a discussion of the Alien/Predator hybrid (aka "The Predalien") and a hint that the duo want to do another sequel set in space. MTV Movies Blog has also been sharing some exclusive fight-scene photos from the upcoming sequel (out this Christmas) that are pretty neat.

For those of us hoping that AVP2 is better than AVP1, our prayers seem to have been answered. IGN has the new red band trailer for the spin-off sequel, and it looks pretty damn good. It begins with an appropriate tagline: "In space, no one can hear you scream. On Earth, it won't matter." Then, it's pretty much everything we'd hoped the first Alien vs. Predator movie would be. Well, to be honest, I had wanted a human free, dialogue free movie featuring only the Aliens and the Predators, but this is definitely my second choice.

It isn't even just that the sequel is Rated R, unlike its PG-13 predecessor, and that this uncensored trailer gives us more gore and violence than the anything in the first movie. It's that the Strause Brothers (sibling effects-wizards-turned-directors Colin and Greg) and screenwriter Shane Salerno seem to have the right story for us fans of the original franchises. From the Alien series we have a government/military that doesn't care about civilian life (this is also popular in other horror films of late). From the Predator series we have the thick brush of a forest (almost jungle-like) for more thermal-vision stuff -- which just wasn't as interesting in the cold, arctic setting of the last effort.

Of course, the R-rated stuff is pretty sick, too. As is the seemingly Spielbergian touches: the flashlights in the woods searching for an alien, but it isn't E.T.; a very Jurassic Park-esque scene with Alien young substituted for Velociraptors. Hey, I know it won't possibly be as good as any Spielberg movie nor will it likely be as excellent as the real installments in either franchise. But it still looks awesome. I just hope the trailer hasn't spoiled the best killings -- that Predator knife thrown at the blonde, the double head-shots, the eyes poked out -- or the ending with that final shot with the F-bomb and the Alien kill, which looks climactic. Anyway, one thing is clear: Fox is really going with that Requiem subtitle, and I now realize that I made a mistake with my last AVP2 post; the official title is Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem (not Alien vs. Predator -- Requiem), as if it really matters.

It seems like lately, every time you turn around, another person working on Alien Vs. Predator 2 is promising that it's going to be better this time around. Having missed the first film, it's probably not likely that I will be lining up opening day for this one either -- plus enough fans of the original comic book series telling me the film was blasphemous isn't helping. AVP2 star Steve Pasquale, who plays Dallas in the film, recently spoke with MTV movie blog and says that‚ "We are trying to get back to the basics [with] the suspense and the gore," and confirmed that the film was going to be "considerably scarier than its predecessor." The sequel has our two villains descending on a small town for another Battle Royale. and Pasquale plays an ex-convict and a part of the band of townsfolk trying to avoid the cross-fire.

According to Pasquale, The Strause Brothers, who are new to the franchise, seem to be ready to bring on the blood. "Directors] Colin and Greg Strause really know what they're doing in terms of a sort of true-blue monster movie," he said. Pasquale also confirms that this time around, there is going to no shortage of screen time for the two aliens, saying‚ "Aliens and predators will be fighting to the death, there's a little secret surprise that I can't tell you about that the sci-fi fans are going to go bananas over. It's going to be awesome." AVP2 is set to open on Christmas Day -- until then I'm sure this won't be the last proclamation from the production that this time they've "gotten it right."

Considering I kind of thought of the first AVP film as the equivalent to Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, you could see how maybe I couldn't quite work up much enthusiasm for Alien vs. Predator 2: AVP2 -- an it looks like I wasn't alone in that particular sentiment. Erik had reported on a first look at some images from the film back in January, and now Design Press has posted a sneak peek at an upcoming book from ADI on creature effects from film. Titled Alien vs. Predator: Survival of the Fittest, the book contains over 300 illustrations from he film and is being released in December, to presumably coincide with the Christmas Day release. This time, the story is set in a small Midwestern town, believe it or not, as the two warring species apparently land for another one of those "epic battles" they seem to enjoy so much. John Ortiz stars as a local sheriff leading a small group of townsfolk who band together to survive the invasion.

The sequel was directed by Greg and Colin Strause, brothers who both have had extensive visual effects resumes (including 300 and X-Men: The Last Stand), but relatively few directing credits -- talk of lackluster script reviews didn't exactly inspire confidence in the hearts of the few remaining fans of the series. Considering the reception the first film received I don't think anyone really was demanding a sequel, but the first one did pull in over $80 million at the U.S. box office, so I guess there were still a few dollars to squeeze out of the franchise.