I thought it was the first time humans were encountering the xenomorph in the first Alien (not that that was confirmed in any of the films, I don't think), but I suppose a prequel could have another ship landing on that planet where the "Space Jockey" was and picking up an egg or two long before Ripley and crew touched down. Or there was maybe another planet somewhere where the alien had taken hold (do they confirm if the planet in the first film is the alien's homeworld?). They could make up just about anything. Or maybe the characters in the prequel won't be humans and it'll be a different race of human-shaped people encountering the creature.

Unnecessary, but my interest is piqued due to Scott's involvement.

Summer Glau, also another cool possibility. Or they could have a male lead. Is it sacrelige to suggest that for the Alien franchise ?

Kris | August 04, 21:25 CET

Or they could use Sigourney Weaver, who is the one and only one true Ripley. :-)

Dana5140 | August 04, 21:32 CET

Well, if I was in any doubt about Eliza that primo photoshop job totally convinced me. Ahem.

Re: male lead, if it's not supposed to be Ripley in the prequel then I guess there's no particular reason why not but i'd rather they didn't personally - even Aliens vs Predator had a female protagonist, it's part of the "franchise" (and the dynamic works better if/when there's a showdown between the lead and the Alien queen - if the lead were a man it'd feel wrong somehow).

(in general I think it's a mistake BTW but I suspect that won't stop them doing it ;)

Saje | August 04, 21:40 CET

Yeah!*

*An Alien prequel would show Ms. Dushku off to best advantage.

Pointy | August 04, 22:06 CET

Eliza could certainly do the job... but somehow, I'm guessing that somebody involved in a war with intergalactic monsters wouldn't have that pleasant smile on her face nor the level of eyeshadow and poppin' lip gloss. Methinks the Photoshop-fu is off on that a wee mite.

Meltha | August 04, 22:43 CET

Yeah - role would probably require too much clothing too - and those 4-in heel thigh-high boots would likely be less than ideal alien-fightin' footwear.

baxter | August 04, 23:45 CET

With Ridley Scott back directing,I have hope for this project.With it being a prequel and not much known about it though,I have no idea what type of role there would be for Eliza.But I'm sure she would kick ass in an Alien film.

Buffyfantic | August 05, 00:39 CET

I guess I stand alone in thinking she would be better off doing something else. It's more typecasting. I mean, just because she CAN play a great, bad-ass opposition to these aliens (which, duh. Of course she can), doesn't mean she necessarily should. I think they should give it to someone else who hasn't had the chance to prove themselves in this capacity, and let Eliza continue to show more range with other, more challenging roles.

kungfubear | August 05, 01:18 CET

You're not alone kungfubear. I, too, think that while Eliza in an 'Alien' prequel would be bad-ass, it would be predictably bad-ass. I'd much rather see her stretch her range as she's doing in 'Dollhouse' as well as movies like 'On Broadway'.

kasadilla | August 05, 05:34 CET

Dana, I can't see how they would use Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in an Alien prequel, which is what they're doing here. I agree that, since she's still alive and in great shape, if they're gonna do any sequels, she should be the character (heck, even when she's a senior citizen she should still be Ripley--no reason Ripley has to be svelte and kicking ass in every film, though many seniors could). Prequel-wise, I hope they avoid including her entirely (unless there's some kind of bookend/prologue/epilogue thing with Resurrection Ripley on Earth, if they must). If Eliza or anyone else is in this as a heroine...just make them someone else. In which case it'll likely have nothing to do with the other films outside of simply including the creature (well, even Aliens vs. Predator had Lance Henricksen as the man Bishop the recurring android would be based on, not to mention the company Weyland-Yutani, but yeah, a prequel would likely feel as unrelated as those crossover films/prequels--I have no clue if the second AvP film had any callbacks/wink-n-nods to Alien franchise fans). And it wouldn't be so bad for the creature to be the star, although I wouldn't want it to be a simple creature-feature/body-count-pile-up kind of film either.

Kris | August 05, 07:04 CET

Nah, probaly they'll call Milla Jovovich.

Brasilian Chaos Man | August 05, 15:10 CET