Just after news hit that the delay of Ridley Scott’s ALIEN prequels is bogus, some more interesting tidbits have popped up. As it turns out, the potential delay was the result of a failed effort to cast Leonardo DiCaprio in the film.
The prequel is currently going by the working title PARADISE. One would assume it will be billed as ALIEN: PARADISE, but the NY Mag article doesn’t specify, nor does it mention if that is a collective title for both films or just the first in the planned pair.
It’s also worth noting that the article says that “Paradise reboots the original Alien franchise, in that the story follows a group of space travelers who encounter a monstrous alien creature that picks them off, one by one.”
Yes, they use the the scary term “reboot”, and some sites are taking this as meaning a remake – but it only makes sense that a prequel would be considered a franchise re-ignition these days (and God knows we need it after those ALIEN VS PREDATOR films).
In addition to Noomi Rapace (below, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) being a front-runner for the lead role of Elizabeth Shaw, a few bits regarding the casting of supporting characters have been revealed:
“There’s “David,” who’s actually an android, an earlier version of the Bishop 341-B character that Lance Henriksen famously played in Aliens. We’re told that Scott was interested in Michael Fassbender for the part, but that Fassbender’s reps had sought such an outrageous amount of money for their client that they — forgive the pun — alienated Scott. Of course, there’s still a chance that Fassbender’s reps may salvage the talks, but things haven’t been going so well.
“We also hear that Scott hopes to give the part of “Vickers” — a fortysomething, tough-but-sexy woman — to crouching tigress Michelle Yeoh.
“There are other interesting roles, including an older businessman along for the ride, but we’re most curious about the part of Engineer 1, who we’re told is to be “played” by a six-foot-five-inch actor, but will actually be entirely CGI, à la Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films.”
Interesting stuff, but it’s hard to get too excited by unsubstantiated rumors about a movie that may not happen for years. Although the planned 2012 release date is back in full effect, last we heard Fox has yet to officially green-light the project. As always, we will keep you updated.
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