20th Century Fox Calls On Fans to Create Their Own 'Alien' Short Films

The fate of the Alien franchise has been uncertain in the year since Alien: Covenant's release, as [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

The fate of the Alien franchise has been uncertain in the year since Alien: Covenant's release, as its underwhelming financial performance has seemingly stagnated the series completely. While not confirming what could be next for the series on the big screen, 20th Century Fox put out the call to the saga's fans to create a short film that takes place in the universe with six winning entries to be selected.

The contest's official site reads, "We're giving you the chance to create your own original story set in the biggest horror franchise of all time: Alien! Go ahead. Run outside and scream with excitement if you want to (just don't do it in space). But then hurry back here and pay close attention to this Brief because we've got a lot to cover. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Alien, 20th Century Fox is tapping six visionary filmmakers in the Tongal Community to produce their own original short videos set in the aftermath of the original film. Fox wants a wholly original story with completely new characters but your Pitch should draw on all the things that made the original Alien so groundbreaking."

The series is known to push the limits of sci-fi and horror, which would make completing a film in a short time frame an impressive feat. Luckily, the first stage of the contest requires only a pitch be submitted, with various deadlines throughout the year ensuring the completed films arrive on time.

The contest will ultimately select six winners which will be announced next year.

Director Scott return to the franchise for Prometheus and Covenant, though those films' focus on artificial intelligence over the familiar xenomorph creatures resulted in disappointment, leading to the franchise's uncertainty. Complicating matters further is the possible purchase of 20th Century Fox by Disney, which could halt the production of R-rated films.

Earlier this year, Scott himself confirmed the potential end of the saga.

"It looks to me that the Fox deal is certainly going to go ahead with Disney, and I've been with Fox for a number years now," Scott told Digital Spy. "I'm hoping I'll still probably be there so whether or not they go ahead with such a dark subject, being Disney, as aliens remains to be seen."

You can head to the contest's official site to learn more.

Stay tuned for details about the future of the Alien franchise.

Would you like to participate in this contest? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Twitter, AlienAnthology]

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