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Alien (franchise)

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"Alien films" redirects here. For films that feature aliens, see List of films featuring extraterrestrials.

Alien
Official franchise logo
Created byDan O'Bannon
Ronald Shusett
Original workAlien (1979)
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company
(via 20th Century Fox)
Print publications
Book(s)List of books
Novel(s)List of novels
ComicsList of comics
Magazine(s)
  • Empire Classics - Alien: The Complete History of All 8 Films (2018)
Films and television
Film(s)Original series

Crossover series

Prequel series

Short film(s)List of short films
Web series
Theatrical presentations
Play(s)
Games
TraditionalList of board games
Role-playing
Video game(s)List of video games
Audio
Soundtrack(s)
Miscellaneous
Toy(s)List of action figures

Alien is a science-fiction horror/action media franchise centered on the film series depicting warrant officer Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her battles with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien". Produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the series began with Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott, and was followed by three sequels, Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997), directed by James Cameron, David Fincher, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, respectively. Scott also directed a prequel series, composed of Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), which follows the exploits of the David 8 android and the creators of the eponymous creatures referred to as the "Engineers". The series has led to numerous novels, comics, and video game spin-offs such as Alien: Isolation released in 2014 to generally positive reviews. The Alien vs. Predator franchise combines the continuities of the Alien franchise with the Predator franchise and consists of two films as well as varying series of comics, books, and video games.

Setting

The fictional slogan and logo of Weyland-Yutani from Aliens

The Alien franchise depicts a series of deadly encounters between humanity and the Aliens; a hostile, endoparasitoid, extraterrestrial species.[1] Predominantly transpiring in the future, between the 21st and 24th centuries, humanity is shown to have become a space-faring race that has established an interstellar dominion following the gradual merger of the two prominent corporations Weyland Corporation and Yutani Corporation. Travel between the different sectors of space is achieved through lengthy travel that typically lasts for months or years and necessitates the extensive utilization of cryosleep for the brunt of it.[2] Throughout the series, an ensemble of characters are repeatedly manipulated by and put in harm's way by the greedy, unscrupulous, megacorporation Weyland-Yutani Corp which seeks to capture the Aliens for bio-weaponization purposes.[1][3]

The series provides a fictionalized account of the origin of the human race. Billions of years prior to the main events of the films, a member of an ancient humanoid species, called the "Engineers", sacrifices himself, allowing for his DNA to spark the genesis of mankind. The Engineers' other experiments, designed to exterminate the human race through the means of a deadly mutagen, paves the way for the Aliens to rise and populate through the traumatic implantation of larvae in hosts.[4][1] Different incidents transpiring over several generations are chronicled throughout the franchise.

A crew aboard the luxury science vessel USCSS Prometheus perishes when they discover the Engineers and the Alien mutagen.[4] The android from the mission, David 8, experiments with the mutagen on the Engineers' Earth-like world (named Planet 4), wiping out the population and subsequently luring in the colony ship USCSS Covenant to continue his work.[5] Decades later, the crew of the Weyland-Yutani space freighter USCSS Nostromo investigates a distress signal from a crashed alien spaceship on planet Acheron or LV-426 and inadvertently allows for an Alien to gestate, leading to the destruction of the ship.[6] Ellen Ripley, the lone survivor of the Nostromo and main protagonist of the original series, experiences several additional encounters with the Aliens and Weyland-Yutani as she returns to LV-426/Acheron along with the crew aboard the Colonial Marines vessel USCSS Sulaco, eventually leading to her suicide on the rugged prison planet Fiorina 161 and subsequent cloning several hundred years later on the military research vessel USM Auriga.[3][7]

Background

After completion of the film Dark Star (1974), writer Dan O'Bannon wanted to develop some of the ideas (especially "alien hunts crew through a spaceship") and create a science-fiction action film. Provisionally called Memory, screenwriter Ronald Shusett collaborated with O'Bannon on the project, adding elements from a previous O'Bannon script, Gremlins, which featured gremlins causing mayhem aboard a World War II bomber. The duo finished the script, initially titled Star Beast — it was changed to Alien after O'Bannon noticed the number of times the word "alien" occurred in the script.[8][9] Their script was sold to Brandywine Productions, a company formed by producers Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill which had a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox. The writers expected it to be a low-budget film, but the success of Star Wars inclined 20th Century Fox to invest millions.[10]

In the original script, the ship had an all-male crew (though the script's "Cast of Characters" section explicitly states that "The crew is unisex and all parts are interchangeable for men or women"), including the Ripley character, who was to be played by Tom Skerritt. Later, when Fox president Alan Ladd Jr. and the producers at Brandywine heard rumors of Fox working on other titles with strong female leads, it was decided to cast a female as Ripley and Skerritt became Captain Dallas. Shortly before filming began, Veronica Cartwright was set for the Ripley role, but director Scott opted for Sigourney Weaver following screen tests.[8][11] Cartwright played Navigator Lambert in the movie, the final crew member to be killed.

Swiss painter and sculptor H. R. Giger designed the alien creature's adult form and the derelict ship, while French artist Mœbius created the look of the spacesuits and Ron Cobb provided most of the on-set designs.[12][8][13]

While the first film of the series, directed by Ridley Scott, was successful, Fox did not consider a sequel until 1983, when James Cameron expressed his interest to producer David Giler in continuing the Alien story. After Cameron's The Terminator became a box office hit, Cameron and partner Gale Anne Hurd were given approval to direct and produce the sequel to Alien, scheduled for a 1986 release.[14] Cameron wrote the screenplay from a story he developed with Giler and Walter Hill.

Following the second film, Weaver was not interested in returning to the series and so producers David Giler and Walter Hill commissioned a third Alien film without the Ripley character. The premise was to return Ripley in a fourth installment, but Fox's president Joe Roth did not agree with Ripley's removal and Weaver was offered a $5 million salary and a producer credit to make Alien³. Released in 1992, the film was troubled from the start, with production beginning without even a finished script. With $1 million already spent on production, music video director David Fincher, the third director considered for the film, was hired to helm the project.[15] Giler, Hill and Larry Ferguson wrote the screenplay, based on a story from an earlier script by Vincent Ward. After production was completed in late 1991, the studio reworked the film without Fincher's involvement or consent.[16] The death of Ripley was designed to bring closure to the Alien franchise by killing off the principal character.

While fans and critics initially did not receive Alien³ well, the film still did well at the box office worldwide and piqued Fox's interest in continuing the franchise. In 1996, production on the fourth Alien film, Alien Resurrection, began. Ripley was not in the script's first draft, and Weaver was not interested in reprising the role. She joined the project after being offered an $11 million salary and more creative control, including director approval. The script, set 200 years after Alien³, resurrected the Ripley character via human cloning.[17] The film, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and released in 1997, experienced an extended production and was described by screenwriter Joss Whedon as having done "everything wrong" with his script.[18]

Original series

Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Story by Producer(s)
Alien May 25, 1979 (1979-05-25) Ridley Scott Dan O'Bannon Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett Gordon Carroll, David Giler and Walter Hill
Aliens July 18, 1986 (1986-07-18) James Cameron James Cameron, David Giler & Walter Hill Gale Anne Hurd
Alien 3 May 22, 1992 (1992-05-22) David Fincher David Giler, Walter Hill & Larry Ferguson Vincent Ward Gordon Carroll, David Giler and Walter Hill
Alien Resurrection November 26, 1997 (1997-11-26) Jean-Pierre Jeunet Joss Whedon Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill and Bill Badalato

After completion of the film Dark Star (1974), writer Dan O'Bannon wanted to develop some of the ideas and create a science-fiction action film. Provisionally called Memory, screenwriter Ronald Shusett collaborated with O'Bannon on the project, adding elements from a previous O'Bannon script, Gremlins, which featured gremlins causing mayhem aboard a World War II bomber. The duo finished the script, initially titled Star Beast — it was changed to Alien after O'Bannon noticed the number of times the word "alien" occurred in the script.[8][9] Their script was sold to Brandywine Productions, which had a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox. The writers anticipated a low-budget film, but 20th Century Fox was inclined to invest millions, thanks to the success of Star Wars.[10] The original script featured an all-male crew, including Ripley character, with Tom Skerritt attached, with the caveat that the roles were interchangeable for men or women. When Fox president Alan Ladd Jr. and the producers at Brandywine were made aware of Fox working on other titles with strong female leads, Skerritt was cast as Captain Dallas and Ripley was recast with Veronica Cartwright, before director Ridley Scott opted for Sigourney Weaver shortly before filming.[8][11]

Though Alien was successful, Fox did not consider a sequel until James Cameron expressed his interest to producer David Giler in 1983. After the box office success of Cameron's The Terminator in 1984, Cameron was given approval to direct and produce Aliens.[14] The third film in the series, Alien³, faced a mired production, with extensive script difficulties, trouble securing a director, production beginning prior to the completion of a final script, as well as studio interference against the director selected to helm the film, music video filmmaker David Fincher.[19][20] Though Alien³ was not a critical success, the film was an international box office hit and piqued Fox's interest in continuing the franchise. The fourth film, Alien Resurrection, began production in 1996, with Jean-Pierre Jeunet directing and Weaver receiving more creative control and an enhanced salary.[21] The film was released in 1997, to mixed to negative reviews and modest box office returns, marking the last installment in the original series to date.[18] The story of the original series focuses on Ellen Ripley's struggle for survival against the Aliens, alongside several groups of comrades, while also preventing Weyland-Yutani from obtaining the creatures. After sacrificing herself, Ripley returns two hundred years later as a human-Alien hybrid clone called Ripley 8, retaining genetic memory, but with a different personality and superhuman abilities.

Alien (1979)

Main article: Alien (film)

On its way back to Earth, the commercial spaceship USCSS Nostromo is diverted to a desolate planetoid by a cryptic signal from a derelict alien spacecraft. While exploring the alien ship, one of the Nostromo's crewmen discovers the remains of the ship's pilot and also a large chamber that contains thousands of egg-like objects. One of the eggs releases a creature that attaches itself to his face and renders him unconscious. The others break quarantine to bring him back aboard the ship. The parasite dies and the crewman wakes up, seemingly fine. Soon afterwards, an alien organism bursts from his chest and grows extremely rapidly into a terrifying eight-foot (about 2.5 meters) tall creature that starts killing off the crew.

Aliens (1986)

Main article: Aliens (film)

After 57 years in hypersleep, the sole survivor of the USCSS Nostromo, Ellen Ripley, awakens aboard a medical space station orbiting Earth. Her story of the Alien terror she encountered is disbelieved and she learns that the planetoid from the first film (now designated as LV-426 or Acheron) is now home to a terraforming colony. When contact with the colony is lost, Ripley, against her better judgment and to regain her pilot's license, hesitantly accompanies a squad of high-tech Elite Colonial Marines aboard the spaceship USS Sulaco to investigate. Once there, they discover the colonists have been wiped out after finding the derelict alien ship (and its deadly cargo) from the first film.

Alien 3 (1992)

Main article: Alien 3 (film)

Due to a fire aboard the USS Sulaco, an escape pod carrying the survivors of the second film is automatically jettisoned. It crash-lands on the refinery/prison planet Fiorina "Fury" 161, but Ripley is the only one to survive the crash. Unbeknownst to her, an Alien Facehugger was also aboard the ship. Before long, a full-sized Alien is then loose in the prison, killing the inmates and staff. Ripley also discovers there is an Alien queen growing inside her, and must not only kill the rampaging Alien but also herself in order to save humanity.

Alien Resurrection (1997)

Main article: Alien Resurrection

Two hundred years after the events of the previous film, several clones of Ellen Ripley (including the alien queen she was carrying) are produced. The Alien Queen is surgically removed from her body as the United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study on the spaceship USM Auriga, using human hosts kidnapped and delivered to them by a group of mercenaries on board a transport starship called the Betty. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley 8 (a clone mixed with Alien DNA) and the mercenaries attempt to escape and destroy the Auriga before it reaches Earth.

Future

In the mid-1990s, screenwriter Stuart Hazeldine wrote a treatment titled Alien: Earthbound. Fox executives were impressed by the script, having read it after Alien Resurrection had entered post-production.[22] Joss Whedon had written an Earth-set script for Alien 5, but Sigourney Weaver was not interested and wanted it to be set on the original planetoid. She has remained open to a role on the condition that she likes the story.[23] Before 20th Century Fox greenlit Alien vs. Predator, James Cameron had been collaborating on the plot for a fifth Alien film with another writer, but ceased work on learning of the crossover. Cameron stated that the crossover would "kill the validity of the franchise," and that "it was Frankenstein Meets Werewolf" – like "Universal just taking their assets and starting to play them off against each other." Although he liked the final product, he ruled out any future involvement with the series.[24] In late 2008, Weaver hinted in an interview with MTV that she and Scott were working on an Alien spin-off film, which would focus on the chronicles of Ellen Ripley rather than on the Aliens, but the continuation of Ripley's story has not materialized.[25]

Sigourney Weaver has expressed her interest in returning to the role of Ripley with Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5 story (purportedly titled Alien: Awakening) which would tie into the first two Alien films.[26][27] This was cancelled in favor of Scott's own untitled third prequel (also purportedly titled Alien: Awakening),[28][29] which was later also cancelled or postponed following the disappointing box office results of Alien: Covenant.[30] In February 2019, James Cameron stated that he was working on reviving Blomkamp's project.[31]

After the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company, it was officially confirmed at the 2019 CinemaCon that future Alien films are in development.[32]

Crossover series

Main article: Alien vs. Predator (franchise)
Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Story by Producer(s)
Alien vs. Predator August 13, 2004 (2004-08-13) Paul W. S. Anderson Paul W. S. Anderson, Dan O'Bannon & Ronald Shusett John Davis, Gordon Carroll, David Giler and Walter Hill
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem December 25, 2007 (2007-12-25) Greg and Colin Strause Shane Salerno John Davis, David Giler and Walter Hill

Inspired by the Dark Horse Comics series, the filmmakers of Predator 2 (1990) incorporated an easter egg in which an Alien skull was seen in a Predator trophy case. Expansions upon this shared universe between the Alien and Predator franchises followed through comics and video games, leading up to the launch of a film franchise with the release of Alien vs. Predator in 2004, followed by Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007, with an eventual third film being a possibility. The franchise has spawned various comics, novels, video games, and other merchandise based upon or inspired by the films.

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Main article: Alien vs. Predator (film)

In 2004, a Predator mothership arrives in Earth orbit to draw humans to an ancient Predator training ground on Bouvetøya, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica. A buried pyramid giving off a "heat bloom" attracts a group of explorers led by billionaire and self-taught engineer Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen), the original founder and CEO of Weyland Industries, who unknowingly activates an Alien egg production line as a hibernating Alien Queen is awakened within the pyramid. Three Predators descend onto the planet and enters the structure, killing all humans in their way with the intention of hunting the newly formed Aliens, while the scattered explorers are captured alive by Aliens and implanted with embryos. Two Predators die in the ensuing battle with an Alien, while the third allies itself with the lone surviving human, Alexa "Lex" Woods (Sanaa Lathan), while making their way out of the pyramid as it is destroyed by the Predator's wrist bomb and eventually does battle with the escaped Alien Queen on the surface. The Queen is defeated by being dragged down by a water tower into the dark depths of the frozen sea, but not before she fatally wounds the last Predator. The orbiting Predator mothership uncloaks and the crew retrieves the fallen Predator. A Predator elder gives Lex a spear as a sign of respect, and then departs. Once in orbit it is revealed that an Alien Chestburster was present within the corpse, thus a Predalien hybrid is born.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Main article: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

Set immediately after the events of the previous film, the Predalien hybrid aboard the Predator scout ship, having just separated from the mothership shown in the previous film, has grown to full adult size and sets about killing the Predators aboard the ship, causing it to crash in the small town of Gunnison, Colorado. The last surviving Predator activates a distress beacon containing a video recording of the Predalien, which is received by a veteran Predator on the Predator homeworld, who sets off towards Earth to "clean up" the infestation. When it arrives, the Predator tracks the Aliens into a section of the sewer below the town. He removes evidence of their presence as he moves along using a corrosive blue liquid and uses a laser net to try to contain the creatures, but the Aliens still manage to escape into the town above. The Predator fashions a plasma pistol from its remaining plasma caster and hunts Aliens all across town, accidentally cutting the power to the town in the process. During a confrontation with human survivors, the Predator loses its plasma pistol. The Predator then fights the Predalien singlehandedly, and the two mortally wound one another just as the US air force drops a tactical nuclear bomb on the town, incinerating both combatants along with the Predalien's warriors and hive, as well as the few remaining humans in the town. The salvaged plasma pistol is then taken to a Ms. Yutani of the Yutani Corporation, foreshadowing an advancement in technology leading to the future events of the Alien films.

Future

Main article: Alien vs. Predator (franchise) § Future

A third film has been variously rumored since the production of Requiem.[33][34][35] In mid-2018, Shane Black, the director of The Predator, expressed his belief that a third Alien vs. Predator could still happen, indicating the studio's interest in both franchises.[36]

Prequel series

Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Story by Producer(s)
Prometheus June 8, 2012 (2012-06-08) Ridley Scott Jon Spaihts & Damon Lindelof David Giler, Walter Hill and Ridley Scott
Alien: Covenant May 19, 2017 (2017-05-19) John Logan & Dante Harper Jack Paglen & Michael Green David Giler, Walter Hill, Ridley Scott, Mark Huffam and Michael Schaefer

Development of a prequel story began in the early 2000s when both Ridley Scott and James Cameron started to develop ideas for a story that would explore the origins of the Alien. In 2002, the development of Alien vs. Predator had taken precedence and the prequel project remained dormant until 2009. Jon Spaihts wrote the first screenplay for the project, tentatively titled Alien: Engineers, but Scott then opted for a different direction and hired Damon Lindelof in 2010, to rewrite the script into a story that focused on the creators of the Aliens, rather than the Aliens themselves. The film, titled Prometheus, was released in 2012 to box office success and lukewarm critical reception.[37][38]

By 2014, development on the second prequel was underway, with Scott returning as director.[39] The film's screenplay was initially written by Jack Paglen in 2013, but was subsequently rewritten by Michael Green and Dante Harper, before Scott's collaborator from Gladiator, John Logan, wrote the final version.[40][41] The film, titled Alien: Covenant, commenced production in February 2016 and was released on May 19, 2017.[42][43] Alien: Covenant was a box office disappointment, grossing $240.9 million worldwide against a production budget of $97 million, while also receiving lukewarm critical reviews.[44][45] The story of the prequel series centers around the android David 8, and two crews he accompanies on expeditions to meet the mysterious Engineers.

Prometheus (2012)

Main article: Prometheus (2012 film)

Some 30 years before the events of Alien, scientists Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map among the remnants of several ancient Earth cultures. Accompanied by David 8 and hoping to discover the origins of humanity, they journey aboard the spaceship USCSS Prometheus and arrive on the distant planet LV-223 in the Zeta2 Reticuli system, the same region of space in which the planetoid LV-426 from Alien is found. There they discover the ancient remains of an advanced civilization, called the Engineers (the same race as the dead pilot from the derelict ship in Alien), who were developing biological weapons in the form of a pathogenic mutagen which could have driven the human race extinct. The horrors they encounter result in the loss of the crew except for David and Shaw.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Main article: Alien: Covenant

Eleven years after the events of Prometheus, the colony ship USCSS Covenant, carrying thousands of colonists and hundreds of human embryos in cryo-stasis, makes its way towards the planet Origae-6. The crew is awakened by a neutrino blast and intercepts a transmission sent from Shaw, which they decide to trace to an apparently habitable Engineer home world (referred to as Planet 4), devoid of all non-floral life. When several crew members are infected by the same mutagen encountered by the Prometheus crew and give birth to a new breed of Alien, the Neomorphs, the android David 8 rescues them. It is revealed that he brought Shaw to the planet, where he killed all non-floral life and began experimenting on Shaw's corpse to engineer his own breeds of Aliens. His motivations to replace human life with Aliens is made apparent, and with the birth of yet another new breed of Alien, Daniels and the remaining crew are forced to flee from the world. After disposing of the Aliens chasing them, the crew members return to the Covenant and are put back into cryosleep by someone they believe to be their shipboard synthetic, Walter. Only when Daniels is put in her cryopod does she realize that Walter has been replaced by the identical David. With the crew, colonists, and embryos at his mercy, David contacts Weyland-Yutani back on Earth, stating that while the majority of the crew was killed in the neutrino blast, they would be continuing on towards Origae-6.[5]

Future

Scott planned at least a third prequel film (purportedly titled Alien: Awakening),[46][47] which was later cancelled following the disappointing box office results of Alien: Covenant.[48]

Short films

Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Producer(s)
TED 2023 March 16, 2012 (2012-03-16)[49] Ridley Scott
Introducing the Next Generation David April 18, 2012 (2012-04-18)[50]
Prometheus: Quiet Eye May 17, 2012 (2012-05-17)[51]
Alien: Covenant — Prologue: Last Supper February 22, 2017 (2017-02-22)[52]
Alien: Covenant — Meet Walter March 10, 2017 (2017-03-10)[53]
Alien: Covenant — Crew Messages April 17, 2017 (2017-04-17) – April 20, 2017 (2017-04-20)[54]
Alien: Covenant — Prologue: The Crossing April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)[55]
Alien: Covenant — She Won't Go Quietly May 5, 2017 (2017-05-05)[56]
Alien: Containment March 29, 2019 (2019-03-29)[57] Chris Reading[57] Tongal Studios[57]
Alien: Specimen April 5, 2019 (2019-04-05)[57] Kelsey Taylor[57]
Alien: Night Shift April 12, 2019 (2019-04-12)[57] Aidan Breznick[57]
Alien: Ore April 19, 2019 (2019-04-19)[57] Kaley & Sam Spear[57]
Alien: Harvest April 26, 2019 (2019-04-26)[57] Benjamin Howdeshell[57]

Craig Dewey & Dan O'Bannon

Alien: Alone April 26, 2019 (2019-04-26)[57] Noah Miller[57]

In 2012 and 2017 respectively, Ridley Scott directed eight short films to tie in with the releases of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. In July 2018, it was reported that 20th Century Fox had joined forces with Tongal to produce short films, intended to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Alien franchise.[58][59][60] By March 2019, the details of the short films were released. Tongal co-founder and CEO James DeJulio stated that the joint-production is "reflective of Tongal's mission to bring creative opportunities to the next generation of talent." The shorts were released weekly on IGN, after which they were uploaded to the Alien Universe web page, as well as all Alien social media pages on May 5 of the same year. All six of the short films premiered at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle.[57] The 40th anniversary short films are available as a Movies Anywhere-exclusive bonus feature accompanying the digital release of Alien.

Television

In 1979, 20th Century Fox considered producing a television series based upon the 1979 film Alien and hoped that ABC would pick it up but its only media coverage was found in the June 1980 Fangoria issue #6 and it ended up abandoned as the 1986 sequel Aliens arrived on the scene.[61] In 1992, a now cancelled animated series inspired by the 1986 film Aliens titled Operation: Aliens was being produced along with an LCD game, board game, and action figures.[62][63][64] However the brand lived on through Kenner toylines as simply Aliens and in the comics series included with the action figures as well as in the Aliens/Predator Universe trading cards set.[65] In 2007, Ain't It Cool News reported that a now cancelled animated series inspired by the 1986 film Aliens titled Aliens: War Games was being produced.[66][67] On February 13, 2019, Bloody Disgusting reported about rumors of an Alien television series currently being developed at the hands of Ridley Scott and Hulu.[68]

Web series

Alien: Isolation – The Digital Series (2019)

Main article: Alien: Isolation – The Digital Series

In 2014, Sega published the video game Alien: Isolation. On February 20, 2019, Axis Animation reported that a seven-episode animated adaptation of Alien: Isolation was in development.[69] On February 27, 2019, IGN confirmed that the seven-part Alien: Isolation - The Digital Series would be exclusively released to IGN on February 28, 2019. The series, developed by 20th Century Fox in conjunction with Reverse Engineering Studios and DVgroup was created using a combination of brand-new scenes animated from scratch, cinematics taken directly from the original game, and digital recreations of first-person scenes from the game. Alien: Isolation is set in 2137, 15 years after the events of Alien and 42 years prior to Aliens, following Amanda Ripley, who is investigating the disappearance of her mother, Ellen Ripley, as she is transferred to the space station Sevastopol to find the flight recorder of the Nostromo only to discover an Alien has terrorized the station, killing the vast majority of the crew.[70] Andrea Deck reprises her role as Amanda Ripley.

Cast and crew

Principal cast

Main article: List of Alien characters
List indicator(s)
  • This table shows the recurring characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise.
  • A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.
  • A Y indicates an appearance as a younger version of a pre-existing character.
  • A C indicates a cameo appearance.
  • A P indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs only.
  • A D indicates an appearance in deleted scenes only.
  • A V indicates a voice role.
  • A U indicates an uncredited role.
  • A M indicates a motion-capture role.
Character Original series Prequel series Web series
Alien Aliens Alien 3 Alien Resurrection Prometheus Alien: Covenant Alien: Isolation – The Digital Series
1979 1986 1992 1997 2012 2017 2019
Arthur Dallas Tom Skerritt Tom SkerrittP
Ellen Ripley Sigourney Weaver Sigourney Weaver Andrea DeckV
Nicole FellowsY
Joan Lambert Veronica Cartwright Veronica CartwrightP
Samuel Brett Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean StantonP
Gilbert Kane John Hurt John HurtP
Ash Ian Holm Ian HolmP
Dennis Parker Yaphet Kotto Yaphet KottoP
Aliens Bolaji Badejo Carl Toop Tom Woodruff Jr. Appeared Andrew Crawford Appeared
Goran D. Kleut
MU / TH / UR 6000
"Mother / Father" 		Helen HortonV Steven GilbornV Lorelei KingV
Jones Various animal performers
Engineers Appeared Ian Whyte Appeared
John Lebar
Daniel James
Bishop
Michael Bishop Weyland
"Bishop II" 		Lance Henriksen
Rebecca "Newt" Jorden Carrie Henn Danielle Edmond
Dwayne Hicks Michael Biehn Michael BiehnP
Amanda Ripley   Elizabeth InglisPD   Andrea DeckV
Kezia BurrowsM
Elizabeth M. Shaw Noomi Rapace Noomi RapaceC
Lucy HutchinsonY
David8 Michael Fassbender
Peter Weyland Guy Pearce Guy PearceU
Charlie Holloway Logan Marshall-Green Logan Marshall-GreenP

Additional crew

Film Crew/Detail
Composer(s) Cinematographer Editor(s) Production
companies 		Distributing
company 		Running time
Alien Jerry Goldsmith Derek Vanlint Terry Rawlings & Peter Weatherley 20th Century Fox
Brandywine Productions
Brandywine-Ronald Shusett Productions 		20th Century Fox 1hr 57min
Aliens James Horner Adrian Biddle Ray Lovejoy 20th Century Fox
Brandywine Productions
SLM Production Group 		2hrs 17min
Alien 3 Elliot Goldenthal Alex Thomson Terry Rawlings 20th Century Fox
Brandywine Productions 		1hr 54min
Alien Resurrection John Frizzell Darius Khondji Hervé Schneid 1hr 49min
Prometheus Marc Streitenfeld Dariusz Wolski Pietro Scalia 20th Century Fox
Scott Free Productions
Brandywine Productions
Dune Entertainment 		20th Century Fox 2hrs 4min
Alien: Covenant Jed Kurzel 20th Century Fox
TSG Entertainment
Scott Free Productions
Brandywine Productions 		2hrs 2min

Reception

Box office performance

Film Release date Box office revenue Budget References
North America Foreign Worldwide
Alien May 25, 1979 $80,931,801 $122,698,829 $203,630,630 $11 million [71]
Aliens July 18, 1986 $85,160,248 $98,156,207 $183,316,455 $18 million [71]
Alien 3 May 22, 1992 $55,473,545 $104,340,953 $159,814,498 $50 million [71]
Alien Resurrection November 26, 1997 $47,795,658 $113,580,410 $161,376,068 $70 million [71]
Prometheus June 8, 2012 $126,477,084 $276,877,385 $403,354,469 $125 million [71]
Alien: Covenant May 19, 2017 $74,262,031 $164,600,000 $240,891,763 $97 million [71]
Total $470,100,367 $880,253,784 $1,352,383,883 (E) $371 million
List indicator(s)
  • (E) indicates figures based on available information.

Please note that the figures in this table are not inflation adjusted. Where two different figures are quoted for box office grosses, information is taken from two different sources.

Critical response

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Alien 97% (9.07/10 average rating) (118 reviews)[72] 89 (34 reviews)[73] —
Aliens 99% (9.01/10 average rating) (72 reviews)[74] 84 (22 reviews)[75] A[76]
Alien 3 42% (5.33/10 average rating) (53 reviews)[77] 59 (20 reviews)[78] C[76]
Alien Resurrection 56% (5.85/10 average rating) (78 reviews)[79] 63 (21 reviews)[80] B−[76]
Prometheus 73% (6.96/10 average rating) (300 reviews)[37] 64 (43 reviews)[81] B[76]
Alien: Covenant 66% (6.3/10 average rating) (387 reviews)[82] 65 (52 reviews)[83] B[76]

Alien was nominated for two Academy Awards, winning for Best Visual Effects. Aliens received seven nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Sigourney Weaver, and won for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects. Alien³ was nominated for Best Visual Effects. Prometheus was also nominated for Best Visual Effects. Alien was also inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for historical preservation as a film which is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[84][85]

The American Film Institute ranked Alien as the sixth most thrilling American movie and seventh-best film in the science fiction genre, and in the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains list, Ripley was ranked eighth among the heroes, and the Alien was fourteenth among the villains. IGN listed Alien as the thirteenth best film franchise of all time in 2006.[86]

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by the Alien film series

Academy Awards

Award Alien Aliens Alien 3 Alien Resurrection Prometheus Alien: Covenant
Actress Nominated
Art Direction Nominated Nominated
Film Editing Nominated
Original Score Nominated
Sound Nominated
Sound Effects Editing Won
Visual Effects Won Won Nominated Nominated

Alien Day

"Alien Day", April 26, has become the fan celebration day for the Aliens franchise. The date derives from LV-426, the "426" converting to "4/26" or 'April 26'.[87] On Alien Day 2016, Neill Blomkamp released new art for his concept of Alien 5,[88] and the Audible Original audio play adaptation of Alien: Out of the Shadows was released. On Alien Day 2017, 20th Century Fox released "The Crossing" prologue short film for Alien: Covenant,[89] and the Audible Original audio play adaptation of Alien: River of Pain was released.

Alien: The Play

From March 19 to 22, 2019, North Bergen High School (New Jersey, US) staged an adaptation of Alien entitled Alien: The Play, which was widely praised and granted seals of approval by Ridley Scott, James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver and Walter Hill. In the aftermath of the play's popularity and approval, North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco's non-profit foundation pledged funds for more performances.[90]

In academia

The Bishop character has been the subject of literary and philosophical analysis as a high-profile android character conforming to science fiction author Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics and as a model of a compliant, potentially self-aware machine.[91] The portrayal of androids in the Alien series—Ash in Alien, Bishop in Aliens and Alien³, and Call (Winona Ryder) in Alien Resurrection (1997)—has been studied for its implications relating to how humans deal with the presence of an "Other", as Ripley treats them with fear and suspicion, and a form of "hi-tech racism and android apartheid" is present throughout the series.[92][93] This is seen as part of a larger trend of technophobia in films prior to the 1990s, with Bishop's role being particularly significant as he redeems himself at the end of Aliens, thus confounding Ripley's expectations.[94]

The Ripley impact crater on Pluto's moon Charon was given its name in honor of Ellen Ripley.

Music

Soundtracks

Title U.S. release date Length Composer(s) Label
Alien: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 1979 33:37 Jerry Goldsmith TBA
Aliens: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack October 25, 1987 39:57 James Horner TBA
Alien 3: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack June 9, 1992 47:58 Elliot Goldenthal TBA
Alien Resurrection: Complete Motion Picture Score November 11, 1997 45:13 John Frizzell TBA
Prometheus: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack May 15, 2012 57:07 Marc Streitenfeld TBA
Alien: Covenant (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) May 19, 2017 58:57 Jed Kurzel TBA

Home media

There have been dozens of stand-alone releases of the individual films on various formats, including Betamax, VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, and Blu-ray. The multiple single releases on VHS were generally the original theatrical cuts of each film.

Laserdisc saw single releases of all theatrical versions, as well as two so-called "box sets" which only contained one film (there were two single releases, one each for Alien and Aliens) but had multiple discs and a large amount of supplemental material with a high retail price tag (around US$100). The Aliens set included a new "Special Edition" cut of the film completed by James Cameron just for this release, which was a significantly extended version of the film.

The films made their DVD debut in 1999, both as part of a boxed set (see Alien Legacy below) and as separate single-disc releases of each film (Aliens was only available in its "Special Edition" cut, not its original theatrical cut, which did not make it to DVD until the next boxed set). Following the Alien Quadrilogy set (see below), each film received individual two-disc releases containing the content of each film from that set. Since then, there have been multiple issues and reissues of the films, in both their theatrical or extended version, though some single releases include both.

In addition to the single releases, there have been seven complete box sets of the series at various points in its history. With the exception of the DVD version of the Aliens Triple Pack, each release contained all films that had come out at the time the sets were released. The seven box sets each had unique characteristics and features which were then sometimes reused in later sets or single releases in one form or another, most notably the Blu-ray Anthology, which includes a detailed archive of many previous releases, including the rare Laserdisc box sets.

  • Alien Triple Pack (VHS, 1992), containing the first two films in the series and a third cassette with a 23-minute preview of the then upcoming theatrical release of Alien³.[95] (Not to be confused with the 2008 DVD set of the same name below.)
  • Alien Trilogy (VHS, 1993), a three-cassette packaging of Alien, Aliens (in its LaserDisc Special Edition cut, for the first time on another format) and Alien³.[96]
  • Alien Saga (VHS, 1997), UK boxed set with the first three films plus a "Making of Alien Resurrection" cassette. It was released again in 1998 with the Alien Resurrection film included. A Japan-exclusive Laserdisc pack containing the first three films released in 1999 also had the same name.[97] (A planned U.S. version was canceled as DVDs were quickly taking over the much smaller domestic Laserdisc market in that country.)[98]
  • Alien Legacy (VHS/DVD, 1999), a four-volume set containing the 1991 Laserdisc "Special Edition" cut of Aliens, the theatrical versions of the other three films, and on DVD various supplemental materials that were either re-used from Laserdisc or newly created.[99]
  • Alien Quadrilogy (DVD, 2003), considered one of the most exhaustive box sets of the DVD era in terms of content and special features, was spread over nine discs: four discs (one disc each) for the theatrical and extended cuts of each film (new "2003" cuts of Alien, Alien³, and Alien Resurrection and the previously released 1991 "Special Edition" cut of Aliens), four discs containing special features specific to each film, and an extra disc of documentaries and other supplemental content.[100][101]
    • The films were later re-released as two-disc individual titles as part of 20th Century Fox's Collector's Series.
  • Alien Triple Pack (DVD, 2008), a three-disc package including the theatrical cuts of Alien and Alien³, as well as the "Special Edition" of Aliens. This set reused the name of the 1992 VHS set (this was an unusual release in that Alien Resurrection was not included, making this the first franchise box set it had not appeared in since its release).[102]
  • Alien Anthology (Blu-ray, 2010), an exclusive six-disc release featuring two versions of each film (theatrical, and the 2003 cuts from the Alien Quadrilogy set—except for changes to the 2003 Alien³ "Workprint" version which included having some original voice actors come back to re-record poorly captured dialogue in newly inserted extended scenes, and fixed production errors on the "special edition" of Aliens[103]) and almost all special features and supplements from the previous releases (including an archive of the special edition Laserdisc box sets with all their image galleries and other unique content). As with the Quadrilogy DVD, the two versions of each film were housed on a single disc, while the storage capacity of Blu-ray means the previous five discs of special features were included on the remaining two discs in the set, which held approximately 60 hours of bonus video content and over 12,000 still images.[104] Most subsequent releases of the films on the Blu-ray medium are repackaged versions of the Blu-ray disks contained in this box set. A discount box set without the two additional discs of bonus features was also released.
  • Alien/Aliens Dual Pack (DVD), including the theatrical cuts of both Alien and Aliens. A separate dual pack was released containing the theatrical and extended versions of Alien vs. Predator and the unrated Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
  • Prometheus to Alien: The Evolution (Blu-ray, 2012), containing all of the Alien films, Prometheus, and a bonus material disk for Prometheus.
  • All of the Alien films, including Prometheus, have been released in special Steelbook Blu-ray editions, although these do not come in a boxed set. While the Alien Steelbooks themselves contain the Blu-ray disks on their own, the Prometheus Steelbook contains both Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D versions of the film, as well as a bonus feature Blu-ray disk with seven hours of content. With the exception of Prometheus, the films had been previously released as DVD Definitive editions, which featured Steelbook casing and contained both DVD versions of the films and a bonus feature disk.[clarification needed]
  • Alien: The 35th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray, 2014), released to mark the 35th anniversary of the release of the film, containing both a Blu-ray and a Digital HD copy, a reprint of Alien: The Illustrated Story and a series of collectible art cards containing artwork by H. R. Giger related to the film. The disk itself is the same as the respective disk on the 2010 Anthology Blu-ray release, and contains MOTHER mode, despite the lack of the required bonus disk. A reprint of the novel by Alan Dean Foster was also released, along with reprints of all other novels, with the Alien Resurrection novel available as of May 2015.
  • The Alien Universe box set was released exclusively through Wal-Mart on April 18, 2017, and included four limited edition poster cards designed by the Mondo art company.[105]

Other media

There exists a great number of spin-offs in other media, including a large number of crossovers with the Predator franchise.

Novels

Main article: List of Alien (franchise) novels

Several novelizations of each of the six films and some comic books as well as original canonical novels based on the franchise have been released. The original novels include Alien: Out of the Shadows, Alien: Sea of Sorrows, Alien: River of Pain, marketed as the "Canonical Alien Trilogy" and the short story collection Aliens: Bug Hunt. Out of the Shadows and River of Pain were adapted into audio dramas in 2016 and 2017 respectively released on the Alien Day of the respective year. Alan Dean Foster published Alien: Covenant – Origins, a novel set between the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.

Comic books

Main article: List of Alien (franchise) comics

Dark Horse Comics published various lines based on the franchise. The Fire and Stone (2014-2015) and Life and Death (2016-2017) series further explored what happened in the Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator, and Prometheus universe following the events of the 2012 film Prometheus.

Books

Other books expanding this fictional universe has been released through the years, and also such that depict the background to the films, including works by special effects company Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI) which has worked with both the Alien, Predator, and Alien vs. Predator films.

  • Giger's Alien (1979)
  • The Book of Alien (1979)
  • Aliens Adventure Game (1991)
  • Cyberantics: A Little Adventure (1992)
  • Aliens: The Official Strategy Guide (unreleased; original release date 1995)
  • Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual (1995/1996/2012)
  • Alien: The Special Effects (1997)
  • The Making of Alien Resurrection (1997)
  • Alien Resurrection: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (2000)
  • Aliens/Predator: Panel to Panel (2006)
  • Alien Vault: The Definitive Story of the Making of the Film (2011)
  • Prometheus: The Art of the Film (2012)
  • Alien Saga: The Poster Collection (2013)
  • Aliens: Colonial Marines: Bradygames Official Strategy Guide (2013)
  • The Art of Alien: Isolation (2014)
  • Alien: The Archive (2014)
  • Alien Next Door (2015)
  • Aliens: 30 Years of Terror (2016)
  • Aliens: The Set Photography (2016)
  • Alien Visions (upcoming; original release date 2016)
  • Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report (2016)
  • The Book of Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual (2017)
  • Alien: Covenant: The Official Collector's Edition (2017)
  • The Art and Making of Alien: Covenant (2017)
  • Alien: Covenant - David's Drawings (2018)
  • Alien: The Blueprints (2019)
  • The Making of Alien (2019)
  • Memory: The Origins of Alien (2019)
  • Alien: 40 Years 40 Artists (2019)

Video games

Main article: List of Alien, Predator, and Alien vs. Predator games
Promotion of Aliens: Colonial Marines at E3 2012

The first game based on the franchise was Alien (1982) for the Atari 2600, heavily based on Pac-Man. Another Alien game based on the first film was released in 1984.

Aliens was adapted into four different video games: two different 1986 games titled Aliens: The Computer Game, a collection of minigames by Activision and a first-person shooter by Software Studios; as well as two different games titled Aliens, a 1987 MSX platformer by Square and a 1990 arcade shoot 'em up by Konami.

Acclaim Entertainment released three different games based on Alien³, two different run and gun platformers (one for various platforms in 1992, another for the SNES a year later) and a Game Boy adventure game in 1993; Sega also released a light gun arcade game Alien³: The Gun in 1993. Acclaim's first-person shooter Alien Trilogy was released in 1996, and their adaptation of Alien Resurrection was released in 2000 as a PlayStation first-person shooter.

Other Alien games include Mindscape's adventure game Aliens: A Comic Book Adventure (1995), the first-person shooter Aliens Online (1998), the Game Boy Color action game Aliens: Thanatos Encounter (2001), the mobile phone game Aliens: Unleashed (2003), and the arcade game Aliens: Extermination (2006).

In 2014, Play Mechanix and Raw Thrills released Aliens: Armageddon, a rail gun first person shooter that hit arcades soon after.[106] It has received praise, though it has also been criticized for only being four chapters long. These rail gun shooters came in two different cabinets: one featuring a large screen and assault rifles in place of laser rifles (although you use an assault rifle throughout the game regardless), the other featuring a slightly smaller screen and laser rifles.

In 2006, Sega struck a deal with Fox Licensing to release two new Alien video games on Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.[107] One of them, a first-person shooter by Gearbox Software, Aliens: Colonial Marines, was released in 2013 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows.[108][109] The game is set between Aliens and Alien³, following a group of marines sent to investigate the Sulaco who wound up crash-landing on LV-426.[110][111]

Sega also released a Nintendo DS game Aliens Infestation in 2011[112] as well as Alien: Isolation in 2014.

The Alien also was a downloadable character in Mortal Kombat X (2015).[113]

Pinball

Zen Studios developed and released a virtual pinball based upon the 1986 film Aliens, the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator, and the 2014 video game Alien: Isolation in the Aliens vs. Pinball collection, available as an add-on pack for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3 on April 26, 2016. The three tables features 3-D animated figures of Ellen Ripley, Alexa Woods, Amanda Ripley, the Alien, and the Predator.[114]

Board games

  • Alien Game (1979) by Kenner[115]
  • Aliens (1989)[116]
  • Aliens Expansion (1990)[117]
  • Operation: Aliens - Combat Game (1992) by Peter Pan Playthings[118]
  • Aliens/Predator (1997)[119]
  • Aliens vs. Predator: Alien Resurrection Expansion Set (1998)[120]
  • Aliens (2001)[121]
  • Aliens: This Time It's War (2010)[122]
  • Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game (2015)[123]
  • Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game Expansion (2015)[124]
  • Aliens: Hadley's Hope (2018)[125]
  • Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps (2019)[126]

Role-playing game

Leading Edge Games released the Aliens Adventure Game in 1991.

In 2019, Free League Publishing announced the pending release of Alien: The Roleplaying Game to be released in late 2019.[127][128] A preview & quickplay module entitled ALIEN Cinematic Starter Kit was released in summer of 2019 to those pre-ordering the rulebooks[129]

Action figures

In 1979, Kenner released the Kenner Alien figure based upon the "Big Chap" Alien from the original 1979 film, and was recalled shortly following its release as a result of pressure from concerned parents who considered a children's toy based upon an R-rated horror film inappropriate.

Around the 80's and 90's, Halcyon released seventeen Alien model kits since 1987 as well as a Predator 2 model kit in 1994.

In 1992, Kenner released a collection of action figures known as Aliens. This line was initially intended to promote the now cancelled animated series Operation: Aliens and in later lines also included Predator and Aliens vs. Predator. Four series were released until production ceased in 1995.

In 1996, Galoob released the Micro Machines Aliens and Predator lines of scale miniature toys with production having ceased in 1997.

In 1997, Kenner produced the Alien Resurrection line with three series produced.

In 1998, Kay Bee Toys released the Kenner produced Aliens: Hive Wars line featuring Aliens, Marines, and Predators. More figures, including a female Predator and an Alien/Predator/Smash Mason 3-pack, were designed for this series but never released as part of the line.

In 2003, Kubrick released an Alien line of block-style miniature figures based upon the first two films.

Since their foundation in 2000, Hot Toys have carried the right to produce various Alien, Predator, and Alien vs. Predator figures.

NECA has produced various lines of Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator, and Prometheus figures for several years.

In 2013, a line of ReAction Figures Alien and Predator toys were produced.

Originally having produced figures based on the 2013 video game Aliens: Colonial Marines, Hiya Toys has also released figures based on Predator, Predator 2, and Alien: Covenant.

Funko Pop! Vinyl currently produces ongoing lines of Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator, and Prometheus figures.

Minimates produces ongoing lines of Aliens, Predator, Alien vs. Predator, and Prometheus figures.

In 2016, the Super 7 Alien M.U.S.C.L.E. line based upon the original 1979 film was released, followed by figures based on the sequel 1986 film.

Loot Crate and Titans Vinyl Figures have collaborated in producing several figures and other merchandise based on characters and creatures from the Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator, and Prometheus universe.

Eaglemoss Collections currently produces the ongoing Alien & Predator line of figures based on characters and creatures from all twelve films in the Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator, and Prometheus universe.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alien (franchise) films.

References

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