With both Alien and Predator franchises resurgent, 20th Century Studios appears to be considering a new meet-up for their title creatures.
It’s been a long time since the Alien and Predator franchises in the ascendancy. That’s where we are right now though, with Fede Alverez and Dan Trachtenberg respectively restoring each series to some modicum of its former glory. Alverez made this year’s well-received Alien: Romulus, while in 2022 Trachtenberg retooled the Predator series with Prey.
Both films have confirmed follow-ups on the way and in the case of Trachtenberg, he’s also helmed a ‘secret’ Predator film that will debut before Predator: Badlands arrives. Along with Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth TV show that’s also in the pipeline, there’s plenty of franchise potential bubbling away, right there.
So rewind to a few months back when Alverez was on the press tour for Alien: Romulus then, when the director was asked about a possible Alien Vs. Predator film. Despite the two existing Alien Vs. Predator films generally being viewed as the low point of both franchises, Alverez seemed pretty open to the idea, saying, “maybe it’s something I’ll have to co-direct with my buddy Dan,” Alvarez told Deadline. That friend Dan of course being Tratchenberg.
While some simply dismissed that as a joke, it looks like there could be more to it. 20th Century studio boss, Steve Absell has been talking up the possibility, telling The Hollywood Reporter last week:
“It wouldn’t be in the way you think. That’s the thing. Not in the way that it will just be called Alien vs. Predator or anything like the original movies. If we do this, they’ll be organically created out of these two franchises that we’ve continued with characters that we fall in love with and those characters will combine…perhaps. But we haven’t gotten to that point. And we’re not just going to bang it out.”
From what we’re gleaning from that statement, Asbell seems to be talking up the idea of the iconic movie monsters meeting up, through the clear combining of each respective universe, rather than removing them into something more self-contained in a way that would ‘protect’ the canonical stories in each series.
What is clear however, is that the idea is definitely being discussed. If you remove entirely the existence of the existing (and unloved) Alien Vs Predator films from this thought experiment, it becomes an enticing idea, but can audiences look past the existence of those films? Plus, the possibility of damaging two franchises which are once again on the rise would make this a bold move indeed.
Still, if 20th Century are planning to make a run at it, they’ve got the right filmmakers in the form of Alvarez and Trachtenberg. Time will tell. When we hear more, we’ll let you know.
