The Forgotten Failures Of Alien
If there's one franchise that perfectly blends science fiction and horror, it's the "Alien" series. Beginning with Ridley Scott's groundbreaking "Alien" in 1979, this franchise has continued to take on various forms and return to the same old Xenomorphs that made it famous all those years ago. While the franchise's best installments, "Alien" and James Cameron's "Aliens," have always outshined some of the bad spin-offs and sequels, there are enough failures throughout the franchise's history that are notable enough for us to bring them to light after all these years. Some may sound familiar to you, while others you've likely never heard of.
As we patiently await the upcoming "Alien: Romulus," nestled in the timeline between the events of "Alien" and "Aliens," and FX's upcoming "Alien" prequel series, there's a lot of "what ifs" to digest after all these years. Here are the failures that the "Alien" franchise would like you to forget.
Alien almost got a TV sequel
Did you know there were once discussions about continuing the original 1979 "Alien" into a TV show? It's not uncommon practice in Hollywood for a studio to become interested in continuing the story long-form on television, a la "M*A*S*H" or "In the Heat of the Night." But with the upcoming Noah Hawley-produced FX "Alien" series in development, it's hard to imagine another, much earlier live-action television series set in the same world. Well, according to Fangoria, that's exactly what we might've got instead of the eventual James Cameron-directed sequel.
While the magazine doesn't spend much time discussing the potential "Alien" continuation series, a small section notes that the series was reportedly in development with 20th Century Fox, which hoped ABC would pick it up. No cast members or creatives are mentioned. Strangely, the news was paired with the announcement that a television adaptation of Stephen King's "'Salem's Lot" (following the success of the original CBS miniseries) was also in development with NBC. While nothing came of the potential "Alien" TV show, at least King's vampire novel returned to the small screen years later.
A battle of opposing Alien 3's
The journey to getting David Fincher's eventual "Alien3" made was a nightmare. After the success of Ridley Scott's original film and the exciting action-packed update by James Cameron, a third film would have to be just as innovative. The problem was getting the right script. Multiple attempts at a screenplay were commissioned, with William Gibson ("Neuromancer"), Eric Red ("Near Dark"), David Twohy ("Pitch Black"), and Vincent Ward's ("Vigil") stories becoming infamous. Red's script killed everyone from "Aliens" off-screen (including Ripley), Twohy's was set on a prison planet (with no returning characters), and Ward's stranded Ripley on a wooded planet filled with technology-hating monks who claim the Xenomorph is "the Devil." No wonder Ridley Scott passed.
The best of these, arguably better than the "Alien3" we got, was Gibson's "Alien III," which doubled as a "Cold War in space" story that centered on Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn) and Bishop (Lance Henriksen) following "Aliens," with Ripley in a coma for most of the film and Newt (Rebecca Jorden) faithfully by her side. The Xenomorphs return and all hell breaks loose. This one gives Ripley and Hicks a happier ending and refrains from killing the surviving "Aliens" cast. Gibson's "Alien III" was eventually released as a novel, a comic book, and even an Audible drama with Biehn and Henriksen returning as Hicks and Bishop. While Fincher's final cut is fine, and it's a miracle that any version of "Aliens 3" got made at all, Gibson's "Alien III" felt more in step with the spirit of "Aliens."
Operation: Aliens nearly made the franchise a Saturday Morning Cartoon
For years, there's been a debate among fans about whether Ridley Scott's "Alien" or James Cameron's "Aliens" is the better film. Following the 1986 sequel, the franchise was generally promoted as "Aliens," with the logo from Cameron's sequel prominently displayed on comic books, video games, etc. One potential continuation of the saga came in the form of the "Operation: Aliens" campaign, which toy mogul Kenner hoped to use to push some plastic on young minds. In the same vein as the "Rambo," "Terminator," and "Predator" action figures marketed to kids (despite the hard R ratings), Kenner hoped to do the same with "Aliens" after it proved a success at the box office.
According to Comics Alliance, Kenner teamed up with an unnamed Korean animation studio to develop "Operation: Aliens," an animated series that would coincide with the company's latest toy brand. While action figures, board games, handheld video games, trading cards, school supplies, and comic books were all created for "Operation: Aliens," the animated series never saw the light of day. Not a single episode made it to American airwaves — and it's unclear why. What we can tell from the toys and the accompanying Dark Horse comics, the show would've centered on Hicks, Bishop (who looked more RoboCop-ish), and Ripley, now a lieutenant in the Colonial Marines, as they joined a new team in tackling the Xenomorph threat. It sounds like this show would've been a blast.
Aliens: War Games tried again, but quickly flatlined
While "Operation: Aliens" sounds like it would've been sort of like "G.I. Joe" in space, about a decade later, Bluefields Creative tried again with "Aliens: War Games," this time taking cues from the original "Star Wars: Clone Wars" series. "War Games" would've started with minisodes centered on newcomer "Newbie" as he and his fellow Marines battled an army of warrior Xenomorphs (via Ain't It Cool). You just can't keep a good alien down.
While it doesn't sound like the idea was ever fully approved by Fox (the released concept art isn't even the final design), "Aliens: War Games" sounds like it could've been successful in the early 2000s era of Cartoon Network. The series of minisodes would eventually have led to a larger series, not unlike what modern superhero shows like "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" did when first establishing their main characters before connecting them into a larger narrative. Sadly, this was the final attempt at bringing the world of James Cameron's "Aliens" to animation, and from there, the greater franchise largely rebranded itself again as "Alien," minus the "s."
Alien Resurrection did everything wrong
Most people hate "Alien Resurrection." Sigourney Weaver insisted she would only return for the third film if they killed Ellen Ripley off, but "Resurrection" brought the character back from the dead via cloning, making the whole thing more complicated. Not only was it the least successful of the Weaver-led quadrilogy, but it was hated by audiences and critics alike. But screenwriter Joss Whedon believed there was another reason for the film's failure — and claimed prolifically that it just wasn't his fault.
"It wasn't a question of doing everything differently, although they changed the ending, it was mostly a matter of doing everything wrong," the screenwriter told Bullz-Eye in 2005. "They said the lines ... mostly ... but they said them all wrong. And they cast it wrong. And they designed it wrong. And they scored it wrong. They did everything wrong that they could possibly do." Despite Whedon's protests, the film has plenty of issues in its story alone, and it's not surprising that "Alien Resurrection" ironically put the franchise six feet under. Whether they adapted his script wrong or not, "Resurrection" wasn't the "Alien" adventure we were hoping for, and it was Whedon's ideas that got us there.
Resurrection could have been Earthbound
While Joss Whedon was busy working on the script for "Alien Resurrection," a young, budding filmmaker began working on an alternative story that he was dead-set on sending to 20th Century Fox. British filmmaker Stuart Hazeldine ("The Shack") read that Whedon had been working on "Resurrection," which would bring Ellen Ripley back from the dead after the last picture. "I personally wanted to see what happened when the Aliens reached Earth, and I knew the audience would too," Hazeldine revealed in 2017 (via Scified). So, he brought back Ripley via cloning, sans the alien DNA — it's not even the most confusing thing about the "Alien" franchise — and teamed her up with a band of marines to keep the Xenomorphs from reaching Earth.
After completing his 14-page treatment, titled "Alien: Earthbound," Hazeldine sent it to Fox. He said, "24 hours later [a Fox executive] calls back, having obviously been spoken to by business affairs, and he apologizes, said he couldn't legally read it. ... I had a promising 'Alien' spec, but no one would read it." After the release of "Resurrection," Hazeldine encountered the Fox executive again, who admitted that he later read the treatment and wished he had done so earlier. If he had, he would've used the best elements of Whedon and Hazeldine's scripts to make a better movie.
Fox canceled Joss Whedon's Resurrection sequel
After the bust that was "Alien Resurrection," Fox let the franchise, and Ellen Ripley in particular, out of its grip. Though a fifth "Alien" was considered, the poor response to "Resurrection" kept anything from resurfacing. "You know, Fox was going to do another one," Sigourney Weaver told MTV in 2009. "They had it written. Joss Whedon wrote it." Unfortunately for Weaver, the script didn't interest her much. "It took place on Earth," she continued. "And I just felt that every time we went out there, we needed to have a really original piece." Sounds like Fox learned from letting "Alien: Earthbound" slip through their fingers, after all.
Instead of continuing with Ripley, Fox pivoted to the crossover "Alien vs. Predator" franchise instead ... and wound up making the worst movies in the franchise. "I was all for going back to the original planet; I thought that would be interesting," Weaver noted, wishing that they could have made a fifth film. "But I was alone in that; we couldn't really agree on what would be interesting." Eventually, Ridley Scott would revisit the franchise again in his two prequel films, but Weaver wouldn't be invited back to the party. Either way, we missed out on a fifth Ripley adventure, something that maybe could've redeemed the worst elements of "Alien3" and "Alien Resurrection."
AVP killed James Cameron's Alien 5
Speaking of a fifth "Alien" film, after "Alien Resurrection," James Cameron almost returned for an "Aliens" follow-up that would've likely made fans excited. While we all would've rather seen him helm a third "Terminator," the prospect of either Ridley Scott or James Cameron returning to "Alien" was still ideal. "Ridley and I talked about doing another 'Alien' film and I said to 20th Century Fox that I would develop a 5th 'Alien' film," Cameron revealed in 2006 (via Ain't It Cool News). "I started working on a story, I was working with another writer and Fox came back to me and said, 'We've got this really good script for 'Alien vs. Predator',' and I got pretty upset."
Cameron explained that making "AVP" was the modern-day equivalent to Universal Picture's "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man," noting that it didn't sit right with him. "You do that you're going to kill the validity of the franchise in my mind," he explained. But Fox wouldn't budge, and instead of pressing forward with a fifth "Alien" adventure, Cameron abandoned ship. "Then I saw 'Alien vs. Predator' and it was actually pretty good," Cameron admitted. "I think of the 5 'Alien' films, I'd rate it 3rd." Of course, Ridley Scott's prequels had yet to hit theaters, but that's still pretty high praise. Still, any hopes of a Cameron-helmed sequel went out the window forever.
Aliens vs. Predator died on Christmas Day
While 2004's "Alien vs. Predator" (which brought back Lance Henriksen as a young Charles Bishop Weyland) wasn't terribly well-received, it was a box office success story that got Fox anxious for more. Both the Xenomorph and the Yautja were big enough "movie monsters" for Fox to exploit, and exploit them they did. It was no wonder then that the sequel, "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem," hit theaters Christmas Day 2007. Unfortunately, it was a complete and utter failure. The film was panned by audiences and critics alike, leaving any plans for a sequel in the dust — and for good reason.
While the "AVP" franchise continued in comic books and video games, it too fizzled out in favor of 2010's "Predators" and Ridley Scott's 2012 return, "Prometheus." But even then, the filmmakers involved attempted to cross these two over again. Reportedly, the canceled sequel to "Predators" would have tied into the world of "AVP." "At the end of the day, we win, we get back to Earth, we land and we realize it's the future," screenwriter Alex Litvak revealed years later (via AVPGalaxy). "That was how we merge the two worlds – the Alien and Predator world finally merge and bring the Space Marines into the story." If only it were that simple.
The Predator failed to revive AVP
Connections between the "Alien" and "Predator" franchises continued to show up in other "Predator" productions. Of course, there's that Xenomorph skull seen in "Predator 2," but beyond that, director Shane Black hoped to further connect these universes with his 2018 installment, "The Predator." Black shot multiple alternate versions of the ending to the film that revolved around the return of fan-favorite characters, which would have been either a time-displaced Ellen Ripley or Newt.
"This unused ending was Predator Killer Ripley wearing the breather mask we created for the film," explained SFX artist Yuri Everson (via IGN). "[Stuntwoman] Breanna Watkins played Ripley under the mask instead of Sigourney Weaver." Undoubtedly, this ending would've made the place of "The Predator" within the "AVP" mythology even more confusing, so it makes sense that this was cut. Still, it might have prompted Fox to get serious about a traditional "Alien 5" sequel. Black has noted multiple times that he believes there's still hope for "AVP" going forward, but despite that, Fox has yet to greenlight a third crossover.
We almost got an AVP anime
To make the whole "AVP" thing even more complicated, an unreleased anime continuation exists in a vault somewhere. Titled "Aliens vs. Predator: Annihilation," director Shinji Aramaki confirmed its existence on social media in 2023. "It was completed almost 7 years ago.and unfortunately I don't know why they didn't release," Aramaki explained on X (formerly Twitter). The series would have adapted a three-part "Aliens vs. Predator" comic book released by Dark Horse throughout the 1990s (which predated the original "AVP" film) and was set in the far future beyond even "Alien Resurrection."
Producer Josh Izzo revealed that the series consisted of 10 episodes and was supposedly set to be released on Alien Day 2016; sadly, Ridley Scott and Shane Black's films got in the way. "At this time ['Alien: Covenant'] was still nascent and 'The Predator' had not happened yet so the brands weren't doing anything at the moment," Izzo noted (via AVPGalaxy). "Now what happened was, as we were going forward Ridley came back to Fox and said 'I want to make another 'Alien' movie.' This was going to be 'Covenant.'" The producer noted that Black's "The Predator" likewise got in the way. Since then, Disney has acquired Fox and all its assets, making it even more unlikely we'll ever see "AVP: Annihilation" released.
Ridley Scott's prequels didn't live up to the original
We've learned in recent years that just because an original creator returns to his creation doesn't mean it will be automatically better. George Lucas has re-edited his original "Star Wars" trilogy into oblivion, James Cameron helped retconned his best movie with "Terminator: Dark Fate," and even Ridley Scott couldn't save the "Alien" franchise with his two prequel films, "Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant." "The fans, in a funny kind of way — they're not the final word — but they are the reflection of your doubts about something," Scott admitted in 2017 (via Yahoo! Movies). "And then you [realize] 'I was wrong' or 'I was right.' I think that's where it comes in."
"Prometheus" split fans, so Scott pivoted with "Covenant," bringing back the Xenomorphs and revisiting the original "Alien" idea. The director even considered multiple sequels to continue the saga. Despite generally positive critical scores, the second prequel wasn't exactly beloved by fans either, and after such a mixed reaction, it doesn't look like we'll be getting any more "Alien" prequels anytime soon. "We went down a route to try and reinvent the wheel with 'Prometheus' and 'Covenant,'" Scott told Forbes in 2020. "Whether or not we go directly back to that is doubtful."
Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5 collapsed after years of hype
Perhaps the biggest misstep by Fox was not moving forward with Neill Blomkamp's ideas for "Alien 5." Tentatively titled "Alien: Xeno," Blomkamp developed his idea for a fifth "Alien" while working with Sigourney Weaver on "Chappie." From there, he began developing the project, which would have seen an older Ellen Ripley return alongside a scarred but very much alive Corporal Hicks. "Fox was blindsided by it, which wasn't my intention," Blomkamp told Coming Soon in 2015, revealing that he developed his "Alien" film completely independently of the studio. The following summer, Weaver noted at a 30th-anniversary panel for "Aliens" that the project was underway.
"We have a great script," she told fans (via Entertainment Weekly) "Fox asked us to delay so Ridley Scott could shoot his [second] 'Prometheus' movie. That was too bad because we would have already done it by now." But things were worse than Weaver thought. The film, which would have followed the events of "Aliens" while ignoring the other sequels, was eventually canceled by the studio. "There was never a script," Ridley Scott explained the following summer (via The Guardian). "Fox decided that they didn't want to do it and that was it." Despite that, there's plenty of concept art out there that makes us wish we'd seen Blomkamp's vision rather than Scott's prequels.