3 Alien Franchise Sequels That Didn’t Get Made (But Should Have)

As one of the most popular sci-fi film franchises in cinematic history, the Alien series is filled with plenty of controversial entries that leave a lot to be desired, and that’s not even considering the infamous Alien vs. Predator films (but that’s a whole other story). Obviously, it would be extremely difficult for any film to live up to the greatness of Alien and Aliens, two iconic movies that shared the same DNA but could not have been any more different. In fact, it’s quite rare for any film franchise to be able to deliver a strong enough sequel to match the original. As many Hollywood executives know all too well, it’s hard enough to make even a single great film, let alone multiple classics. But that hasn’t stopped Ridley Scott and company from trying to find the next great sequel in the Alien franchise.

Alien: Romulus might not go down in movie history as an all-time great, but it was the best Alien franchise sequel in decades. The film succeeded by remaining true to what made the first two films great while still offering its own unique twist. Over the last four decades, several Alien sequels have also attempted to do just that, but the projects just weren’t able to make it past the early development stage for one reason or another. Frustratingly enough, a few of these sequels would have likely been better than what we actually got.

Alien lll

With a script penned by William Gibson, Alien lll would have taken the franchise into an entirely different direction than what we actually got. Similar to Alien 3, the scrapped film would have also been a continuation of the plot from Aliens. But instead of a tragic crash that kills Hicks (Michael Biehn) and forces Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) to permanently retire Bishop (Lance Henriksen), the tables would have turned and we would have seen Ripley remain in a coma, becoming a non-factor in the film. In the first draft of Alien lll, the bulk of the movie would have taken place aboard the massive space station Anchorpoint. Once there, Hicks and Bishops would have been forced to battle wave after wave of genetically-altered xenomorphs, making for a true action-oriented sci-fi blockbuster.

However, that version of the film was set aside for a rewrite that more closely resembles what we saw in Alien. While Ripley would have still been rendered incapacitated, Hicks, Bishop, and a band of newcomers would be caught in a game of cat and mouse with just three xenomorphs. But with the horror aspect of the story ramped up and the stakes raised, it would have likely been an intriguing entry into the Alien franchise. That film never saw the light of day and Alien 3 was released in 1992. It’s definitely hard not to wonder what could have been if Gibson’s script was used. For anyone curious enough, the first draft of Alien lll was turned into a novel and published in August 2021.

Alien 5

When Neil Blomkamp stormed onto the mainstream scene with District 9 in 2009, it was obvious that the South African director had a gift for creating a unique sci-fi story with tremendous visuals. He quickly became one of Hollywood’s hottest new directors and attracted a lot of well-earned attention. While his follow-up film films Elysium and Chappie failed to live up to the standards that he created with District 9, there was still a lot to love about Blomkamp’s work. So when it was announced in 2015 that he would be developing a brand-new sequel in the Alien franchise, there was plenty of hope that he’d be able to deliver.

Despite being tentatively titled Alien 5, the film would have completely disregarded the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection. In fact, it would have actually been an attempt to work as a direct sequel to Aliens. It was even reported that the film was to be titled Alien: Awakening. The story would reunite Ripley with Hicks and even Newt. Artist and illustrator Geoffroy Thoorens also produced some insane concept art that depicted a horribly scarred Hicks and some incredible xenomorph designs, including Ripley crafting armor using a xenomorph corpse. It seemed as if Blomkamp knew exactly where he wanted to take his Aliens sequel, but with the development of Alien: Covenant and Blomkamp’s failures surrounding Chappie, Alien 5 was permanently placed into a hypersleep chamber.

Alien: Paradise Lost

When Prometheus was released in 2012, the film created a bit of division in the Alien fan base. While some fans questioned much of the logic that was presented in the movie, especially from a supposed team of trained scientists, others praised Prometheus as a visually stunning sci-fi epic that was set to take the Alien franchise into an exciting new direction with seemingly endless possibilities. Besides, the film left viewers with an open ending that teased us with Elizabeth Shaw’s (Noomi Rapace) upcoming adventure to a distant planet draped in mystery. And after Prometheus raked in over $400 million at the worldwide box office, there was plenty to be excited about. So when Scott announced in 2015 that Prometheus 2 would be titled Alien: Paradise Lost, it appeared that things were lining up perfectly.

Sometimes when things seem too good to be true, they are. Just months after Scott soft launched Alien: Paradise Lost, the team then changed course and announced that the film would be called Alien: Covenant, referring to the ship that a group of settlers would be traveling on. As we now know, there was no longer a focus on Elizabeth Shaw, or at least a focus that we wanted. Instead, Alien: Covenant shifted its entire focus to David (Michael Fassbender) and the team of settlers. Instead of further investigating the mysterious planet of Engineers, we received a cookie-cutter sci-fi blockbuster that failed to deliver any iconic moment for the Alien franchise. While continuing Shaw’s story may have delivered similar results, we’ll sadly never know for sure.