It’s wild to imagine that the Alien franchise is now part of Disney’s world, but let’s indulge ourselves: would the House of Mouse ever incorporate a Nostromo ride into their theme parks? Will we ever get to see Mickey and Goofy battling a chestburster, or the Alien Queen crowned as a new Disney princess?
Every film in the Alien series can be seen on Disney+, including the modern-day prequels that keep springing up every few years or so.
Made by Ridley Scott in 1979, the original Alien film still stands as the perfect synthesis of sci-fi and horror, with H.R. Giger’s biologically-inspired production design still looming large in the world of creature creation. It introduced us to the Xenomorph, and the mockery it makes of humanity: how we eat, breed, try to survive.
Sigourney Weaver’s all-timer action hero Ellen Ripley got away, only for her greedy bosses at Weyland Yutani (never trust the company!) to send her off with a bunch of marines to a Xenomorph-infested colony. Directed by James Cameron with more Vietnam-inspired action than the original’s chilling atmosphere, Aliens is in fact preferable to the first film in the minds of some fans.
It’s wild that Alien 3 was the directorial debut of David Fincher—and that, despite its dark storytelling and tomblike settings, it got the franchise’s first real negative reviews. Another auteur Jean-Pierre Jeunet took over for Alien: Resurrection, where we got a creepy version of Ripley infused with the alien queen’s DNA: although generally considered an improvement, it ended the core franchise of Alien sequels.
Since then, we’ve had the forgettable Alien Vs. Predator popcorn action movies, and Prometheus and Alien; Covenant, both from returning director and creator Ridley Scott. Bringing back the murky worldbuilding and suspense of that first film, Scott’s latest Alien stories are also available on Disney+, making the House of Mouse a gooier and more terrifying place than Uncle Walt ever intended.
