Alien (franchise)

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

The current logo of the franchise
Creator Dan O'Bannon
Ronald Shusett
Original work Alien (1979)
Print publications
Novels List of novels
Films and television
Films

Main series

Prequel series

Games
Role-playing Aliens Adventure Game (1990)
Video games List of video games

Alien is a science-fiction action horror franchise centered on a film series that depicts Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her battles with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien" or "Xenomorph".

Produced by 20th Century Fox, the series began with Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott. It was followed by three sequels, released in 1986, 1992 and 1997. A prequel series directed by Scott is in development, beginning with the 2012 release of Prometheus.

The series has led to numerous books, comics and video game spin-offs. Related to the franchise is the Alien vs. Predator franchise, which combines the continuities of the Alien franchise with the Predator franchise, consisting of two films, and varying series of comics, books, and video games.

Background

After completion of the film Dark Star (1974), writer Dan O'Bannon thought to develop some of the ideas (especially the theme of "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 and wreaking havoc with the crew. The duo finished the script, initially entitled Star Beast, which was later changed to Alien after O'Bannon noticed the number of times the word "alien" occurred in the script.[1][2] Their script was sold to Brandywine Productions, a company formed by producers Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill that had a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox. The writers imagined a low-budget film, but the success of Star Wars inclined 20th Century Fox to invest millions on the production.[3]

In the original script, the ship has 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 would be played by actor 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,[1] Sigourney Weaver was cast as Ripley[4] and Skerritt became Captain Dallas. Shortly before filming began, Veronica Cartwright was set for the Ripley role, but Ridley Scott opted for Weaver following screentests. 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,[5] while French artist Mœbius created the look of the spacesuits[1] and Ron Cobb provided most of the on-set design.[6]

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.[7] Cameron wrote the screenplay from a story he developed with Giler and Walter Hill.

Following the second film, Aliens, 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 Alien 3. Released in 1992, the film was troubled from the start, with production beginning without even a finished script. Having already spent $1 million, music video director David Fincher, the third director considered for the film, was hired to helm the project.[8] 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.[9] 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 Alien 3 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, although she later joined the project after being given a reported $11 million salary and more creative control, including being able to approve director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The script, set 200 years after Alien 3, resurrected the Ripley character via human cloning.[10] The film, released in 1997, experienced an extended production and was described by screenwriter Joss Whedon as having done "everything wrong" with his script.[11]

Main series

Alien (1979)

Main article: Alien (film)

On its return to Earth, the U.S. commercial starship Nostromo is diverted to a desolate planetoid after receiving 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 (equivalent 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 Nostromo, LT 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) is now home to a terraforming colony. When contact with the colony is lost, Ripley accompanies a squad of high-tech Elite Colonial Marines aboard the spaceship Sulaco to investigate. Once there, they discover the colonists have been wiped out after they had found the derelict alien ship (and its deadly cargo) from the first film.

Alien 3 (1992)

Main article: Alien 3

Due to a fire aboard the 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, some alien facehuggers were 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, Ellen Ripley (and the Alien queen she was carrying) are cloned. 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. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley 8 (a clone who contains some Alien DNA herself) and the mercenaries attempt to escape and destroy the Auriga before it reaches its destination, Earth.

Development of the fifth film

Joss Whedon had written an Earth-set script for Alien 5, but Sigourney Weaver was not interested in this setting, and sought to return the story to the planetoid from the first film. Weaver has remained open to a role in a fifth installment on the condition that she likes the story.[12] Before 20th Century Fox greenlit Alien vs. Predator, James Cameron had been collaborating on the plot for a fifth Alien film with another writer. Learning of Fox's plans for a crossover, he ceased work on his concept. Before he saw the film, Cameron had stated that it 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 Alien vs. Predator, Cameron ruled out any future involvement with the series.[13]

In a 2002 interview, Ridley Scott stated that a new Alien project "would be a lot of fun", but that "the most important thing was to get the story right". Scott's concept for the plot was "to go back to where the alien creatures were first found and explain how they were created".[14] In late 2008, Weaver hinted in an interview with MTV that she and Scott were working on an Alien spinoff 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.[15] Instead, Scott worked on a prequel that explained the "Space Jockey" found on the derelict spacecraft from Alien, titled Prometheus and released in 2012.[16]

In 2014, Sigourney Weaver hinted that she was interested in returning to the role of Ripley, considering that the ending to Resurrection "feels incomplete to me. I wish it didn't, but it does. We left it hanging. And there's a way to finish this story that I think would be satisfying to me and the many fans."[17] The actress also stated regarding the hybrid character that "had we done a fifth one, I don't doubt that her humanity would have prevailed."[18]

In February 2015, director Neill Blomkamp posted concept art on his Instagram feed, saying in an interview that he had been "wanting to make an Alien film for like years and years" and had developed the story and artwork after working on Chappie with Sigourney Weaver.[19] In response, Weaver stated that she would be willing to reprise her role as Ripley in a new Alien film if Blomkamp was directing.[20] It was confirmed on February 18, 2015, that a new Alien film would be made, with Blomkamp directing, with Weaver soon confirmed as well.[21] Although no official statement had been made, the film was believed to disregard the events of Alien 3 and Resurrection, and to be a direct sequel to Aliens.[22][23] Blomkamp denied his intention to undo the third and fourth films, saying instead that he simply favored the first two and wanted his film to tie into their stories.[24] Sigourney has specified “It’s just as if, you know, the path forks and one direction goes off to [Alien 3] and [Alien: Resurrection] and another direction goes off to Neill’s movie,” [25] In March 2015, Blomkamp reported that the title of the film would not be Alien 5[26] and further confirmed plans for more than one Alien sequel/prequel.[27]

A fan at Pensacon in March 2015 reported that actor Michael Biehn, who played Corporal Dwayne Hicks in Aliens, had confirmed in a private conversation that he had been contacted regarding the film.[28] On March 24, 2015, Sharlto Copley revealed his interest in portraying a xenomorph.[29] On May 20, 2015, Bill Paxton expressed interest in reprising his role as Pvt. Hudson from Aliens.[30] On June 29, 2015, Blomkamp stated filming is set to begin in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[31] However, it was reported in August 2015 that the project was on hold until at least 2017.[32] In September 2015, Ridley Scott confirmed that he would produce the film, and that it would be made after the sequel to Prometheus.[33] Blomkamp revealed in October 2015 that the Alien project would be shelved, pending the outcome of the second prequel film, thus he would be moving on to other projects.[34] During a VMare event in April 2016, Sigourney Weaver stated she thought that the proposed fifth Alien film would still go into production, following the completion of Alien: Covenant, due to Ridley Scott's insistence on the production order.[35] Late that month, Blomkamp shared concept art via Instagram, featuring an adult Newt.[36] Weaver told Variety that both her and Blomkamp will hope to finishing Ripley's story in the film.[37]

Prequel series

Prometheus (2012)

Some thirty years before the events of Alien, scientists Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map among the remnants of several ancient Earth cultures. Seeking the origins of humanity, they journey aboard the spaceship Prometheus and arrive on a distant world in the Zeta2 Reticuli system, the same region of space in which the planetoid from Alien is found. There they discover the remains of an advanced civilization (the same race as the dead pilot from the derelict ship in Alien) who were developing horrific biological weapons which could cause the extinction of the human race.

Development of a fifth film in the series began in the early 2000s when both Ridley Scott and James Cameron began developing ideas for a story that would explore the origins of the Alien. By 2003, the development of Alien vs. Predator took precedence, and the fifth Alien film project remained dormant until 2009 when Scott again showed interest. Jon Spaihts wrote a script for an Alien prequel, but Scott then opted for a slightly different direction. In late 2010, Damon Lindelof joined the project to rewrite Spaihts's script, and he and Scott developed a story that precedes the events of Alien but is less of a direct prequel to it, concentrating more on discovering the advanced race that created the titular Aliens rather than the Aliens themselves (though variants of the Alien in its facehugger and full-sized form are seen in the film). According to Scott, although the film shares "strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak", and takes place in the same universe, Prometheus explores its own mythology and ideas. Prometheus was released in 2012 and stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron. The film grossed over $400 million worldwide and garnered mostly positive reviews, securing a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Main article: Alien: Covenant

Ten years after the events of Prometheus, a colony ship, Covenant, travels to a dark world previously thought to be a paradise, where they encounter the sole inhabitant, the synthetic David.[38][39]

By March 2014, a Prometheus sequel was in development,[40] with Scott set to return as the director.[41] Michael Green wrote a script based on a first draft from Jake Paglan, which reportedly places the new film more into the horror genre than the original.[42] Shooting of the movie is scheduled to begin in February 2016,[43] with a release date of October 6, 2017. A new release date of August 4, 2017 was announced.[44]

Rumored to be titled Paradise, but originally revealed as Alien: Paradise Lost,[45] the film was later retitled as Alien: Covenant.[39] Actors Michael Fassbender[46] and Katherine Waterston are expected to appear, with Waterston in the lead role of Daniels.[47] Though Scott claimed that the Noomi Rapace's character would be returning for Alien: Covenant in November 2015,[46] he confirmed in an interview in January 2016 that Rapace would not be reprising her role and that the casting process for the lead roles were ongoing.[48] However, it was later confirmed that Noomi Rapace is finally reprising her role and that the cast would also include Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride and Demian Bichir.[49]

In development

Future

Ridley Scott originally stated that he was planning three sequels to Prometheus, eventually leading into the original film, Alien, as Scott stated: "maybe [there will] even [be] a fourth film before we get back into the Alien [storyline]".[50] Later on, Ridley Scott confirmed that Alien: Covenant would be the first of three films before linking up with original Alien[39][51] and stated that Prometheus sequels will reveal who created the xenomorph Aliens.[52]

Cast and crew

Recurring 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 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 only role.
  • A M indicates a motion-capture only role.
Character Main Series Prequel Series
Alien
(1979)
Aliens
(1986)
Alien 3
(1992)
Alien:
Resurrection

(1997)
Prometheus
(2012)
Alien:
Covenant

(2017)
Ellen Louise Ripley
Ripley Clone 8
Sigourney Weaver  
Xenomorphs Bolaji Badejo Carl Toop Tom Woodruff, Jr. Appeared TBA
Arthur Dallas Tom Skerritt Tom SkerrittP  
Joan Lambert Veronica Cartwright Veronica CartwrightP  
Samuel Brett Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean StantonP  
Ash Ian Holm Ian HolmP  
Dennis Parker Yaphet Kotto Yaphet KottoP  
Gilbert Kane John Hurt John HurtP  
Bishop
Michael Bishop / Bishop II
  Lance Henriksen  
Rebecca "Newt" Jorden   Carrie Henn Danielle Edmond  
Dwayne Hicks   Michael Biehn Michael BiehnP  
Elizabeth Shaw   Noomi Rapace
David 8
Walter[53]
  Michael Fassbender
Engineers Appeared   Ian Whyte
John Lebar
Daniel James
TBA

Crew

Year Film Director Writer(s) Producer(s)
1979 Alien Ridley Scott Story:
Ronald Shusett & Dan O'Bannon
Screenplay:
Dan O'Bannon
Gordon Carroll, David Giler & Walter Hill
1986 Aliens James Cameron Story:
Walter Hill, David Giler & James Cameron
Screenplay:
James Cameron
Gale Anne Hurd
1992 Alien 3 David Fincher Story:
Vincent Ward
Screenplay:
David Giler, Walter Hill & Larry Ferguson
Gordon Carroll, David Giler & Walter Hill
1997 Alien: Resurrection Jean-Pierre Jeunet Joss Whedon Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill & Bill Badalato
2012 Prometheus Ridley Scott Jon Spaihts & Damon Lindelof Ridley Scott, David Giler, Walter Hill
2017 Alien: Covenant Michael Green, John Logan & Jack Paglen Ridley Scott, David Giler, Walter Hill, Mark Huffam, Michael Schaefer

Reception

Box office

Film Release date Box office revenue Budget References
Domestic (US/Canada) Foreign Worldwide
Alien May 25, 1979 $80,931,801 $122,698,829 $203,630,630 $11,000,000 [54]
Aliens July 18, 1986 $85,160,248 $98,156,207 $183,316,455 $18,000,000 [54]
Alien 3 May 22, 1992 $55,473,545 $104,340,953 $159,814,498 $50,000,000 [54]
Alien: Resurrection November 26, 1997 $47,795,658 $113,580,410 $161,376,068 $70,000,000 [54]
Prometheus May 30, 2012 $126,477,084 $276,877,385 $403,354,469 $125,000,000 [54]
Totals $395,838,336 $715,653,784 $1,111,492,120 (E) $274,000,000
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 and public reaction

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Alien 97% (102 reviews)[55] 83 (22 reviews)[56] N/A
Aliens 98% (63 reviews)[57] 87 (9 reviews)[58] A[59]
Alien 3 44% (45 reviews)[60] 59 (20 reviews)[61] C[59]
Alien: Resurrection 54% (71 reviews)[62] 63 (21 reviews)[63] B−[59]
Prometheus 73% (273 reviews)[64] 65 (42 reviews)[65] B[59]

IGN listed Alien as the thirteenth best film franchise of all time.[66] 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. Alien 3 was 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".[67][68] 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.

Accolades

Academy Awards

Award Alien Aliens Alien 3 Alien: Resurrection Prometheus
Actress Nominated (Sigourney Weaver)
Art Direction Nominated Nominated
Film Editing Nominated
Original Score Nominated
Sound Nominated
Sound Effects Editing Won
Visual Effects Won Won Nominated Nominated

Home video releases

Alien Anthology Region B Blu-ray box set (2012) with the first four films.

There have been dozens of stand-alone releases of the individual films on various formats, including Betamax, VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD, though so far the Blu-ray format has only seen a boxed set of the complete series which houses all the various versions of each film (a total of eight, see Alien Anthology below). The multiple single releases on VHS were generally the original theatrical cuts of each film, though at the very end of the format there was a sole release of the Aliens: Special Edition (see below).

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 $100USD). 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.

On DVD initially the films were only available as a boxed set (see Alien Legacy below) but were then released separately (and 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). The same pattern was followed when the two-disc special editions of the films came out after the Alien Quadrilogy set (see below), as each film got individual two-disc releases which contained 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 set which includes a detailed archive of many previous releases, including the rare Laserdisc box sets.

Spin-off franchise

Following an easter egg in the film Predator 2 (1990) in which an Alien skull was seen in a Predator trophy case, attempts to create a shared universe between the Alien and Predator franchises followed, initially through comics and video games, until a film franchise was launched with the release of AVP: Alien vs. Predator in 2004, and a sequel in 2007. The future of the franchise remains uncertain due to a largely negative critical response. A 2014 Dark Horse comics series called Fire and Stone merged the Aliens vs. Predator series with the continuity introduced in Prometheus.

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

In 2004, a Predator ship arrives in Earth's orbit to draw humans to an ancient Predator training ground on Bouvetøya, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica. A buried pyramid which gives off a "heat bloom" attracts humans led by Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen), who unknowingly activates an alien egg production line. Three Predator hunter initiates enter the structure, killing all humans in their way with the intention of hunting the newly formed alien warriors. Two Predators die in the ensuing battle, while the third allies itself with the lone surviving human, Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan) in order to battle the escaped Queen Alien. The Queen is defeated, but not before she fatally wounds the last Predator. The orbiting Predator ship uncloaks and the crew retrieve the fallen Predator. A Predator elder gives Alexa a spear as a sign of respect, and then departs. Once in orbit it is revealed that a chestburster was in the corpse, though this specimen has Predator mandibles.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Set immediately after the previous film, the Predalien hybrid on board the Predator scout ship, which just separated from the mothership from the previous film, has grown to full adult size and sets about killing the Predators on board the ship, causing it to crash in Gunnison, Colorado. The last survivor activates a distress beacon with a video of the Predalien, which is received by a veteran Predator, 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 town. It removes evidence of their presence as it goes by using a corrosive blue liquid. It 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 single-handedly, and the two mortally wound one another just as the US military drops a tactical nuclear bomb on the town, incinerating both combatants and the few remaining humans in the city. The salvaged plasma pistol is then taken to Ms. Yutani.

Other media

There have been numerous products released in various media including several video games and print publications. These include:

Novels

Main article: Aliens (novel series)

A novel series has been released alongside novelizations of all five films in the series.

Comics

The comic book addition to the franchise:

Canonical comics

Non-canonical comics

There have also been numerous comic book crossovers with other franchises:

Video games

The first game based on the franchise was Alien (1982) for the Atari 2600, a game 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 released three different games based on Alien 3, 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 Alien 3: The Gun in 1993.

Acclaim's first-person shooter Alien Trilogy was released in 1996. More recently, a video game adaptation of the Alien film was 2000's Alien Resurrection, 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.[79] A rail gun first person shooter that hit arcades soon after. It has received praise, though it has been criticized for only being four chapters long. These rail gun shooters come in two cabinets for arcades, one featuring a larger screen and assault rifles in place of laser rifles (Although you use an assault rifle throughout the game regardless), and the other featuring a slightly smaller screen and laser rifles.

Aliens: Colonial Marines

In 2006, Sega struck a deal with Fox Licensing to release two new Alien video games on Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.[80] One of them, a first-person shooter by Gearbox Software, Aliens: Colonial Marines, was released on February 12, 2013, in the United States of America on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows.[81][82] The game is set between Aliens and Alien 3, following a group of marines sent to investigate the Sulaco who wound up crash-landing on LV-426.[83][84] Sega also released a Nintendo DS game Aliens Infestation in 2011.[85]

Alien: Isolation

Main article: Alien: Isolation

In 2014, Sega published Alien: Isolation. Developed by The Creative Assembly the game launched on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms on 7 October 2014. It was directed by Alistair Hope and produced by Jonathan Court and Oli Smith. Part of the Alien series, the game is set in 2137, 15 years after the events of Alien and 42 years prior to Aliens. The game follows Amanda Ripley, who is investigating the disappearance of her mother Ellen Ripley. Amanda is transferred to the space station Sevastopol to find the flight recorder of the Nostromo only to discover an Alien has terrorized the station and killed the vast majority of the crew.[86]

Role-playing game

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.[87] The portrayal of androids in the Alien series — Ash in Alien, Bishop in Aliens and Alien 3, 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",[88] as Ripley treats them with fear and suspicion, and a form of "hi-tech racism and android apartheid" is present throughout the series.[89] 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.[90]

See also

References

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  2. Scanlon, Paul; Michael Cross (1979). The Book of Alien. London: Titan Books. ISBN 1-85286-483-4.
  3. "Star Beast: Developing the Story", The Beast Within: The Making of Alien.
  4. "Truckers in Space: Casting", The Beast Within: The Making of Alien
  5. Lina Badley, Film, and the Body Fantastic: Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture, Greenwood Press 1995
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  7. Schickel, Richard (1986-07-28). "Help! They're Back!". TIME. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
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  11. "Joss for a minute: A brief chat with Joss Whedon". 2005-12-16. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
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  13. Vespe, Eric "Quint" (February 7, 2006). "Holy Crap! Quint interviews James Cameron!!!". Ain't It Cool News. Archived from the original on February 19, 2006.
  14. Davidson, Paul (2002-01-23). "Alien vs. Predator: Battle of the Sequels". IGN. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  15. "Sigourney Weaver And Ridley Scott To Team Up For Alien-Less 'Alien' Sequel?". Moviesblog.mtv.com. 2008-12-05. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  16. "PROMETHEUS 2 (2016): Ridley Scott drops Sequel Hints". FilmBook.com. 2014-09-28. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
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