Lots of Alien prequel tittle-tattle: it might be just one film now, and we've got casting, plot and title rumours, too...
PLEASE NOTE: Scroll to the bottom for the latest update.
Alien Paradise. If the latest rumours coming in from the US are true, that's the full name for Ridley Scott's previously untitled Alien prequel.
We've soaked up much of the news and hearsay regarding Scott's franchise revisit so far, but this one in particular fills us with horror of entirely the wrong sort, and we sincerely hope that the rumours, which arrive courtesy of Vulture, aren't true.
Alien Paradise. Say it out loud a couple of times, as we already have. What's next? Alien Rainbows? Alien Love Bubble? It has all the wrong connotations. That is, unless Scott intends to set the movie on a gorgeous tropical island, with Giger's hideous beasts leaping out of palm trees at a heroine in a skimpy bikini. While that scenario has its own dubious allure, it's even less in keeping with the spirit of the franchise than Alien Resurrection, with its cheesy script and twitchy-nosed pink alien.
Ranting aside, there are other rumours still to relate. Shooting is thought to be set to commence far sooner than originally suggested, early February, in fact (the rumoured year-long delay we reported on has turned out to be false). Furthermore, Paradise has been described as a "reboot" of the Alien franchise, reprising the same basic stalk and kill structure of the 1979 original.
Noomi Rapace is said to be the frontrunner for the lead role of Elizabeth Shaw, the film's Ripley analogue. Inglourious Basterds' Michael Fassbender was sought to play a prototype android, but could be out of the running due to the amount of money his representatives had demanded.
Leonardo DiCaprio, a big name that has apparently long been attached to the Alien project, is apparently out of the picture, and there's been no mention of Natalie Portman, who was also rumoured for a starring role.
Instead, there's talk of an appearance from Hong Kong movie legend Michelle Yeoh, set to play a tough character by the name of Vickers.
Then there's Engineer 1, a character who, like the pioneering irritation that was Jar Jar Binks, or pretty much the entire cast of Avatar, will be very tall, and rendered entirely via the magic of computers. Could this character be the living, breathing space jockey of the original film, whose story Scott is so interested in exploring?
Also, one rumour is now suggesting that there won't be two prequels. We've got nothing concrete on that at this stage, however.
Finally, there are suggestions that Alien Paradise will, indeed, be the R-rated picture Scott originally wanted, as opposed to a PG-13, and that it will be released exclusively in 3D.
Is it just us that's starting to get a rather bad feeling about the whole project? And what's with that title, Alien Paradise? On the Internet, no one can hear you scream.
UPDATE: The latest Tweet from a Fox rep suggests that the film will not be called Alien: Paradise. We're chasing further confirmation at the moment.
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