For decades, the Xenomorph (and its various other forms) have wreaked havoc in space. The Alien franchise remains one of the most beloved and terrifying series in existence, with feature films and video games consistently delivering the gory goods. That said, we haven't seen much from the series since Alien: Covenant debuted last year, but we can expect some excellent new content in the form of a series of short films. Check out the announcement from the official Alien Twitter account, below.
Creepy, right? As that video and post clearly lay out, the Alien franchise is getting the short film treatment, with several different filmmakers winning the chance to direct shorts set within this universe. The six lucky winners were crowned recently, and they will be officially announced to the world soon.
It will be interesting to see how these Alien short films flesh out the mythology of the series, because it has splintered off in a wide variety of different directions over the years. There's the Prometheus continuity that divided many fans of the series, the various video game sub-franchises that have focused on different characters, the Alien vs. Predator series (which has its own B-movie charm), and the ill-fated production of Alien 5, which would've seen District 9 director Neill Blomkamp take control of the series. There are a lot of avenues to take these stories, along with plenty of potential for brand new stories, so we will have to see what these creators come up with.
The prospect of the Alien franchise ending up in the hands of short filmmakers also has us wondering what the series could look like in its newest form. Alien has become increasingly bold and grand in terms of its scope and scale, with movies like Alien: Covenant and Prometheus going all in on massive spectacle with the help of some cutting-edge CGI. On the other hand, short films generally tend to be relatively small in scale, which could suggest a return to the practical, horror roots of the series.
Lastly, it's also worth mentioning that the Alien franchise already seems tailor-made for the short film treatment. In fact, when Ridley Scott returned to the series to direct Prometheus, Fox made a point to start producing some incredibly polished viral marketing shorts to help generate enthusiasm for the series. You can check out one such example from Prometheus, below!
We here at CinemaBlend will bring you more information related to this upcoming series of Alien-inspired short films as new details about the contest and its winners are made available to us. Until then, you can head over to our movie premiere guide to read up on everything that's coming to the big screen this yea. And remember, in space, no one can hear you scream.
