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Alien 5 Should Reboot Everything After Aliens To Fix The Timeline
A prospective Alien 5 movie has a chance to fix the biggest mistakes in the franchise, by rebooting the story to start again where Aliens left off. Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens are two of the most popular sci-fi movies of all time, cementing the xenomorphs among the darkest and most iconic movie monsters in pop culture. To date, no subsequent Alien movie has managed to fully recapture what made those first two so engaging. Therefore, in an age of movie reboots and revivals, perhaps the best creative choice would be to simply retcon the timeline.
Rumors and ideas about Alien 5 have drifted around for years, with multiple big-name directors variously attached to the project at one time or another. Sadly, however, for fans of the series, none have yet come to fruition. Despite the disappointment of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, the fun but forgettable Alien vs Predator movies, and the confused Prometheus and Alien Covenant prequels, a die-hard fanbase is still asking when the next Alien movie will be made.
Although Alien chronology is now firmly established after the original quadrilogy, any Alien 5 movie should actually take the radical step of restarting the saga from the aftermath of James Cameron's Aliens. This is because, despite some successes, the final two films in the saga ultimately drop the ball both narratively and from a character perspective. Alien 3, for instance, made the mistake of killing off too many characters – a decision that probably doomed Alien Resurrection, which needed to bring Ellen Ripley back from the dead to have a story at all. Ripley's treatment pales in comparison to the other characters, however, who are killed offscreen before the movie even begins. After Aliens invested its audience so deeply in the survival of Hicks, Newt, Bishop, and Ripley, their apparent disposability soured the story immediately, wasting any potential these characters could have had in the later movies. Therefore, a reimagined Alien 5 could give these iconic characters the satisfying story arc that audiences have been craving, and perhaps save the flagging franchise in the process.
An Alien 5 Reboot Could Give Newt A New Story
There's a lengthy time skip between the first two Alien movies, and a similar time skip after Aliens would give Newt enough time to grow up and become the main character. What could have happened to Newt has been explored before, by Alien comics set in alternate timelines, but a reboot could see her become a compelling protagonist. With her past experience dealing with xenomorphs, she would be hesitant to be dragged into the story, but would also feel a burning desire to prevent further catastrophes like the one she lived through as a child. This would nicely mirror Ripley's character arc in Aliens, showing Newt following in Ripley's footsteps whether she wants to or not. The trauma from her backstory would give Newt some emotional scars to work through, giving her internal conflict during the story and, ultimately, deep catharsis when she succeeds. All of this could give her a fierce characterization, leaning into the same traits which made Sarah Connor so memorable in the Terminator series.
Rebooting the movie series with Alien 5 could also bring back other characters from Aliens. Sigourney Weaver could return with a cameo as Ellen Ripley, even if she isn't directly involved in the action. After the strong theme of motherhood from Aliens, it makes perfect sense that she and Newt would've remained in close contact. When the military inevitably becomes involved, it would also be fitting for Michael Biehn to reprise his role as Dwayne Hicks, probably with a much higher rank than corporal.
Escalating The Xenomorph Threat
A good sequel will escalate the tension and threat from the previous movie, which is exactly what Aliens did, taking the creature from Alien and turning it into an entire horde. The original Alien movie hides its true villain in plain sight, while a single xenomorph endangers the crew of a spaceship. Aliens follows the same format, hiding its villain amongst a group of soldiers in a destroyed outpost. Alien 5 could easily follow this same format, with a secret antagonist who's revealed in the movie's second act, raising the stakes even higher with the setting. In the Alien universe, it's easy to imagine a planet which is home to at least one thriving human city, and Alien 5 could use that setting to play on the fears and anxieties of modern audiences.
One way to increase the menace of the xenomorphs is to introduce new kinds which haven't been explored in the movies before. Aliens introduced the fearsome xenomorph queen to film, standing out as one of the highlights of the series, and adding enough depth to leave audiences speculating on xenomorph origins and biology. The result was a variety of xenomorph creatures depicted in Alien media outside the movie series. Books, games, and graphic novels have included far more monstrous forms, notably the xenomorph empress — an intelligent matriarch as large as a kaiju, who can coordinate the nests of multiple queens.
Alien 5 Can Continue Alien's Anti-Corporate Message
Despite their fearsome appearence, the main antagonists of the Alien franchise are not the xenomorphs but the greedy faceless corporations looming everpresent in the background. This idea is no less compelling to a modern audience. An urban setting could put this aspect on full display, possibly leaning into a grim cyberpunk feel akin to Blade Runner or Altered Carbon. Whether the setting itself is a dystopia or a paradise, invading xenomorphs can serve as an allegory for major current issues, like climate change and the ongoing pandemic. People show a wide range of reactions to threats like these, especially when they aren't yet affected directly. The spread of a xenomorph infestation through a large city could follow an eerily similar pattern, with all the attached politics, arguments, disinformation, and denialism.
If Alien 5 is ever made, the best way to guarantee success is to take the movie series back to the simplicity of its original concept. Whether Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection are retconned into being the fevered nightmares of a young girl in a hypersleep chamber or allowed to remain part of canon, a plethora of graphic novels and video games can give plenty of inspiration for future movies to draw on, while returning the Alien franchise to its roots. If nothing else, audiences deserve at least one more truly captivating Alien movie.
