ALIEN: ROMULUS News And Updates!

[Birdie]

I'm still optimistic it'll be a fun ride. The trailer is extremeley fan-servicey, and makes it look like 'Hey, everyone hated Prometheus and Covenant, let's make an Alien/Aliens clone and the fans will lap it up!' Reminded me of the new Beetlejuice trailer greatest hits reel.

I hope there is more to it than that, but if that is the deal, I hope Alvarez at least does it well. Didn't rate the Evil Dead remake at all, but that was mostly because I thought the tone was completeley off. I'm not convinced Alvarez can give us characters we give care about (see again anonymous Evil Dead teens), just hoping there is some actual, y'know, suspense.

 

[Solo4114]

What do you WANT?

Serious question.

Each time a trailer comes out for something, i hear alot of the same things:

"Ehh... I'm good",

"Looks boring"

"Rehash City"

First of all, how do we know? I mean...we do an awful lot of bellyaching about "not showing the whole film in the trailer (I support that), but then it never occurs to us that maybe they're showing us the familiar bits in the trailer precisely to whet the appetite for more, while not showing us the pivotal stuff ya'll say you don't want spoiled in the first place?

It just seems like a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to be so cold fish about it. i think becoming jaded is far more common after all of the bad films we've been given over the years, but listening to Fede Alvarez and his obvious love and reverence for the two films in this franchise that we all can agree are by far the best... don't we think it's worth keeping an open mind, and maybe--just maybe--forking over a few bucks to support a director who at least respects what you love, instead of all of those in Hollyweird these days who clearly do not?

So, two different approaches to this for me, which generally apply to most franchises.

What do I want?

1. Most of the time? Nothing. I don't want or need additional entries in franchises. I really do not want, for example, Back to the Future 4 or whatever. I know the past is a foreign country. I know you can't go home again. I'd prefer that we stop trying endlessly, and instead take risks with storytelling and maybe, I dunno, create NEW franchises, which we then move on from, and keep making new stuff.

2. If we're going to expand the story, then I want it to expand. I want it to evolve. I don't want it to just reiterate. In some franchises, that means exploring new angles of the setting. One thing I loved about Andor and Solo was that they touched on places we'd largely ignored in the Star Wars history. The experience of real people in the Empire as well as the Rebellion. The criminal underworld and shady back-corners of the Star Wars galaxy. Gimme that stuff, and then keep going with other aspects! The other thing I want is a real exploration of character. Give me real stories with interesting characters. Give me something I can sink my teeth into. Something that resonates. Don't just reheat the "good old days" and serve it to me. Why? Because, see #1: I know you can't go home again. But what you can do is build a new home.

 

[kristen jones]

So, two different approaches to this for me, which generally apply to most franchises.

What do I want?

1. Most of the time? Nothing. I don't want or need additional entries in franchises. I really do not want, for example, Back to the Future 4 or whatever. I know the past is a foreign country. I know you can't go home again. I'd prefer that we stop trying endlessly, and instead take risks with storytelling and maybe, I dunno, create NEW franchises, which we then move on from, and keep making new stuff.

2. If we're going to expand the story, then I want it to expand. I want it to evolve. I don't want it to just reiterate. In some franchises, that means exploring new angles of the setting. One thing I loved about Andor and Solo was that they touched on places we'd largely ignored in the Star Wars history. The experience of real people in the Empire as well as the Rebellion. The criminal underworld and shady back-corners of the Star Wars galaxy. Gimme that stuff, and then keep going with other aspects! The other thing I want is a real exploration of character. Give me real stories with interesting characters. Give me something I can sink my teeth into. Something that resonates. Don't just reheat the "good old days" and serve it to me. Why? Because, see #1: I know you can't go home again. But what you can do is build a new home.

So, two different approaches to this for me, which generally apply to most franchises.

What do I want?

1. Most of the time? Nothing. I don't want or need additional entries in franchises. I really do not want, for example, Back to the Future 4 or whatever. I know the past is a foreign country. I know you can't go home again. I'd prefer that we stop trying endlessly, and instead take risks with storytelling and maybe, I dunno, create NEW franchises, which we then move on from, and keep making new stuff.

2. If we're going to expand the story, then I want it to expand. I want it to evolve. I don't want it to just reiterate. In some franchises, that means exploring new angles of the setting. One thing I loved about Andor and Solo was that they touched on places we'd largely ignored in the Star Wars history. The experience of real people in the Empire as well as the Rebellion. The criminal underworld and shady back-corners of the Star Wars galaxy. Gimme that stuff, and then keep going with other aspects! The other thing I want is a real exploration of character. Give me real stories with interesting characters. Give me something I can sink my teeth into. Something that resonates. Don't just reheat the "good old days" and serve it to me. Why? Because, see #1: I know you can't go home again. But what you can do is build a new home.

I agree with what you've written here. I think it's a very reasonable outlook.
I just think that some (not you) have either too high or too low expectations, and are often too quick to just write something off without giving it a chance.

 

[Solo4114]

I'll be honest, from watching these forums over the years and other fan spaces, I've become convinced that fans have excellent sense of what they do and do not like, but often lack creative vision and thus are unable to articulate what they really want and what they enjoy.

I mean, there's a reason why fan fiction is so often derided, and it's not because of Mary Sue/Gary Stu characters. It's because fans are myopic, and tend to just want to recreate what came before, only with a slight twist on it, instead of truly breaking new ground. Fans are often unable to see beyond what already exists, and thus aren't really in the best position to suggest what studios ought to do. It's also part of why when someone says "Well, the director is a huge fan of the franchise," I don't really care. I mean, great, I guess, but that doesn't guarantee a good story at the end. JJ is a huge Star Wars fan, and I think his films are...not good. TFA isn't awful, but ROS is really not good at all. By the same token Rian Johnson is a big fan of the films, and people likewise hate his film (I love it, but it's also wildly out of place sandwiched between JJ's films).

I'm far less concerned with "But are they a fan?" and far more concerned with "But are they a good storyteller?"

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

The story--as it's been parsed out so far--is that this takes place on a different "shake and bake colony" world, and the protagonists are seeking to escape said colony. The meeting with the alien(s) is pure accident, and the station that they are on appears to have been isolated or abandoned in space.

So there would be no story-driven reason to have marines all of a sudden just show up.

Additionally:

** I'd rather watch more of the same with Marines blasting Aliens than a bunch of 20 somethings who escaped from The Hunger Games, Divergent, Twilight, etc.**

OK... so you ARE OK with rehash, as long as it's the rehash you like? That seems a bit hypocritical.

Also, we don't know that they're "teenagers who escaped Hunger games, twilight, etc..." JUST BECAUSE they are young people. that is a HUGE assumption to make based on the very scant dialog and sequences in this trailer. Maybe they WILL be lame kids.. but we don't KNOW that now, so it seems short sighted to just leap to that conclusion and then dis the whole thing based upon a straw man position.

I gave my opinion, you don't have to like it. I will watch it when it's on streaming though. My not liking it shouldn't affect anyone else, it's an opinion. AND I don't think the Colonial Marines ever need an excuse to just pop up in an Alien movie!

 

[Ron]

So, two different approaches to this for me, which generally apply to most franchises.

What do I want?

1. Most of the time? Nothing. I don't want or need additional entries in franchises. I really do not want, for example, Back to the Future 4 or whatever. I know the past is a foreign country. I know you can't go home again. I'd prefer that we stop trying endlessly, and instead take risks with storytelling and maybe, I dunno, create NEW franchises, which we then move on from, and keep making new stuff.

2. If we're going to expand the story, then I want it to expand. I want it to evolve. I don't want it to just reiterate. In some franchises, that means exploring new angles of the setting. One thing I loved about Andor and Solo was that they touched on places we'd largely ignored in the Star Wars history. The experience of real people in the Empire as well as the Rebellion. The criminal underworld and shady back-corners of the Star Wars galaxy. Gimme that stuff, and then keep going with other aspects! The other thing I want is a real exploration of character. Give me real stories with interesting characters. Give me something I can sink my teeth into. Something that resonates. Don't just reheat the "good old days" and serve it to me. Why? Because, see #1: I know you can't go home again. But what you can do is build a new home.

This is where I fall as well. I've come to believe if there's nothing new to contribute to a franchise, it's best to just move on from it. I saw the trailer and my first thought was it looks like the same movie as the original. With Aliens, the series went from Sci Fi horror to Sci Fi action. I don't even remember what they were going for in the third one or the fourth one. AVP was a monster mashup. No problem with that. Prometheus was a Sci Fi mythos I guess you could say? Never saw Covenant but it looked to be another horror. And here we are with another horror. It has Friday the 13th vibes with just more of the same.

I could make the same argument with Terminator. It's the same movie just repackaged over and over. The first was great. T2 had an interesting twist with the Terminator being the protector. The rest with the exception of Salvation was just more of the same.

Star Wars: The OT was about the rise of a hero. The PT was about the fall of a hero. Then the ST was about the rise of a hero with the state of galaxy reset to Rebels vs Empire and it was like, "Oh. We're doing this again?"

 

[kristen jones]

I gave my opinion, you don't have to like it. I will watch it when it's on streaming though. My not liking it shouldn't affect anyone else, it's an opinion. AND I don't think the Colonial Marines ever need an excuse to just pop up in an Alien movie!

Of course i "don't have to like it", and it goes without saying that your "not liking it shouldn't affect anyone else"

However...

This IS a discussion forum, and discussing opinions and points of view is the business of this place.. it's supposed to be what we are all here for, no?

That is what i was doing.

Additionally--and this goes to what i was trying to point out in my initial response--much of what you wrote wasn't so much 'opinion" as "assumption", because we weren't given nearly enough evidence of it's intent upon which to base an 'opinion".

It's supposition, really. And that was the point that i was making: many--including you, apparently-- seem all to quick to just write something off after a 5 second glance, assuming it's going to be "just like this..." or "as bad as that other thing..." and while that could indeed turn out to be the case, we simply don't have enough to go on at the moment to state that with any degree of certainty.

 

[kristen jones]

I'll be honest, from watching these forums over the years and other fan spaces, I've become convinced that fans have excellent sense of what they do and do not like, but often lack creative vision and thus are unable to articulate what they really want and what they enjoy.

I mean, there's a reason why fan fiction is so often derided, and it's not because of Mary Sue/Gary Stu characters. It's because fans are myopic, and tend to just want to recreate what came before, only with a slight twist on it, instead of truly breaking new ground. Fans are often unable to see beyond what already exists, and thus aren't really in the best position to suggest what studios ought to do. It's also part of why when someone says "Well, the director is a huge fan of the franchise," I don't really care. I mean, great, I guess, but that doesn't guarantee a good story at the end. JJ is a huge Star Wars fan, and I think his films are...not good. TFA isn't awful, but ROS is really not good at all. By the same token Rian Johnson is a big fan of the films, and people likewise hate his film (I love it, but it's also wildly out of place sandwiched between JJ's films).

I'm far less concerned with "But are they a fan?" and far more concerned with "But are they a good storyteller?"

I messed up my earlier quote of your first response, so i think it got lost.

Here's what i replied initially to you:

**I agree with what you've written here. I think it's a very reasonable outlook.
I just think that some (not you) have either too high or too low expectations, and are often too quick to just write something off without giving it a chance.**

 

[Leinads]

Which one is the android?

 

[Leinads]

It appears that both the main character and her ‘foster brother’ are androids. Hmm…

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Of course i "don't have to like it", and it goes without saying that your "not liking it shouldn't affect anyone else"

However...

This IS a discussion forum, and discussing opinions and points of view is the business of this place.. it's supposed to be what we are all here for, no?

That is what i was doing.

Additionally--and this goes to what i was trying to point out in my initial response--much of what you wrote wasn't so much 'opinion" as "assumption", because we weren't given nearly enough evidence of it's intent upon which to base an 'opinion".

It's supposition, really. And that was the point that i was making: many--including you, apparently-- seem all to quick to just write something off after a 5 second glance, assuming it's going to be "just like this..." or "as bad as that other thing..." and while that could indeed turn out to be the case, we simply don't have enough to go on at the moment to state that with any degree of certainty.

I didn't write it off at all, I was just stating what I thought after seeing the trailer. I'm still going to watch it.

 

[Banzai88]

Couple more pix with Cailee Spaeny.

 

[Banzai88]

Latest poster release.

 

[kristen jones]

I didn't write it off at all, I was just stating what I thought after seeing the trailer. I'm still going to watch it.

Ok, fair enough if you say so. It's just that the wording of this gave me the impression that you had written it off as a rehash:

**To me this movie has a big "Been there. Done that." feel to it. It just looks like they're cashing in on the franchise.**

 

[Banzai88]

Anyone have any info on this hat?

 

[Solos blaster]

Anyone have any info on this hat?

Maybe a crew hat based on a ship in the movie?

 

[Solo4114]

It's from the USCSCSSMSCS Coachella.

 

[Leinads]

How darest thou, with such impudence, besmirch the distinguished repute of the USCSCSSMSMCS Grand Coachella

 

[Solo4114]

How darest thou, with such impudence, besmirch the distinguished repute of the USCSCSSMSMCS Grand Coachella

Bro, it was so much better before all these poseurs started coming aboard, before it got too popular. Now it's just a bunch of basic Bs in ugg boots and feathered headdresses.

 

[Tan Djarka]

So, there's a new trailer...