One of the curious consequences of the Disney/Fox merger is that the House of Mouse now owns the Alien franchise. The sexually charged body horror of the Alien movies is as far from the Magic Kingdom as you can imagine, so fans have been a little nervous about what the next film will be like.
The studio has yet to officially announce anything, but according That Hashtag Show, Disney first approached Alien, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant director Ridley Scott. The iconic filmmaker apparently turned in a script that was “convoluted and incoherent,” so they ditched that and went with a team of new writers. Disney is said to be impressed by what they produced and envisages it being the seed for a rebirth of the franchise with a new entry planned to hit theaters every 1-2 years.
Reports are that this project doesn’t feature Ellen Ripley or David and isn’t directly connected to any previous movie, but also isn’t a complete reboot. According to the leak, the story centers on a group of colonists trying to find a planet on which they can establish independence from governments and companies. They chance upon one that appears hospitable and seems to be free of life, but it won’t surprise you that this isn’t strictly true.
The hero will be a “Mary Elizabeth Winstead type” named Fiona, a science officer that begins to realize there’s more to her new home than meets the eye. Cue the eggs, the Facehuggers and the running and the screaming. But there’s a twist, as Fiona manages to successfully grow an alien in her laboratory and train it not to kill her. This ‘friendly’ Xenomorph will then be sent out into battle to defend the colonists, eventually dying while killing its nemesis. The script apparently ends on a sequel hook, with eggs aboard Fiona’s ship as she leaves the planet.
If true, it’s an interesting direction and seems to take cues from various 1990s Dark Horse comics that explored the possibility of taming the Xenomorph. I have my doubts about whether a pet alien is a good idea, but it sounds like they’re taking some inspiration from the trained raptors in Jurassic World, which could be exciting.