8 Sci-Fi Films That Should Totally Be Rebooted

5. Alien

Alien Where Predator goes his reluctant stablemate is soon to follow. I know what you might say at the idea of an Alien reboot €“ there already is one, and it€™s called Prometheus. Well, in my opinion, Prometheus was many things but an Alien reboot it was not. It seemed to have its own mythology, exploring a new backstory focusing on the Engineers and while we got one obligatory xenomorph at the end, I don€™t think that justifies it as an Alien reboot. It€™s got a new direction and focuses on a new part of the Alien world, and that€™s completely fine. What an Alien reboot needs is a retread of some of the values that made the first two great. Whether that€™s the haunted house in space premise €“ admittedly harder these days because that idea is no longer so original €“ or the balls-to-the-wall everything ramped up to eleven approach of the sequel, it needs some sort of concrete identity beyond the plasticky adrenaline €˜thrills€™ of the bastardised AvP franchise. Out of all the franchises on this list, I reckon Alien might be the hardest to truly reboot precisely because of the above. It€™s been done in so many different ways, yet I don€™t think that should stop people from trying €“ Joss Whedon might have struck gold if they had kept to his script for Alien Resurrection, but instead we got a convoluted mess, so it proves there are still people with good ideas for the franchise out there. The balancing act appears to building a nuanced horror flick while allowing for extra symbolism (outside of the penis-headed aliens themselves) without the whole thing collapsing into a Prometheus-esque mess. It€™s a hard job, but if someone manages it, it just might pay off spectacularly.
Contributor
Contributor

Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.