Alien vs. Predator

Alien vs. Predator
Poster for the first film
Print publications
Books	Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - Inside the Monster Shop Alien vs. Predator: The Creature Effects of ADI
Novels	Aliens vs. Predator: Prey Aliens vs. Predator: Hunter's Planet Aliens vs. Predator: War Alien vs. Predator: The Movie Novelization
Comics	Comics
Films and television
Films	Alien vs. Predator Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Games
Video games	Alien vs. Predator (1993) Alien vs. Predator: The Last of His Clan Alien vs. Predator (1994, Capcom) Alien vs. Predator (1994, Rebellion) Aliens vs. Predator Aliens versus Predator Aliens versus Predator 2 Aliens Versus Predator: Extinction Alien vs. Predator (2004, Superscope) Alien vs. Predator (2004, Elite Systems) Alien vs. Predator 3D Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem Alien vs. Predator 2 2D: Requiem Aliens vs. Predator (2010) AVP: Evolution

Alien vs. Predator (also known as Aliens vs. Predator, abbreviated AvP or AVP) is a science fiction horror franchise spanning several media. The series is a crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises. The franchise, which depicts the two species as being in conflict with one another, includes feature films, comics, novels, and computer/video games. There were also two Alien vs. Predator films produced, both critically panned and generally denounced by fans but relative box office successes, and the development of a third film has been rumored over several years.

History

The first Alien vs. Predator story was published by Dark Horse Comics in Dark Horse Presents #34-36 (November 1989-February 1990). In November 1990, Predator 2 was released in theaters, and includes a scene depicting an Alien skull as one of the Predator's trophies. The first feature film was released in 2004 and was called Alien vs. Predator. The second film in the series was called Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem and was released in 2007.

Films

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Set in 2004, this film follows a group of archaeologists assembled by billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Henriksen) for an expedition near the Antarctic to investigate a mysterious heat signal. Weyland hopes to claim the find for himself, and his group discovers a pyramid below the surface of a whaling station. Hieroglyphs and sculptures reveal that the pyramid is a hunting ground for Predators who kill Aliens as a rite of passage. The humans are caught in the middle of a battle between the two species and attempt to prevent the Aliens from reaching the surface.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Following the events of Alien vs. Predator, a Predator ship is leaving Earth carrying Alien facehuggers, and the body of Scar, the Predator that defeated the Alien Queen. A chestburster erupts from Scar's body; it is a new creature that is a hybrid of both species. It quickly matures into an adult Predalien and starts killing all the Predators on the ship. A Predator's weapon fire punctures the hull and the ship crashes in the forest outside of Gunnison, Colorado.

Future

The brothers Colin and Greg Strause were adamant that they wanted to develop Aliens vs. Predator 3 during the production of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. They essentially sought to make an AVP-film in space and set in the future, but by the time they were hired, 20th Century Fox had already decided to go with Salerno’s script set on Earth. They incorporated elements of their ideas into the second film, such as the Predator home planet. ADI duo Tom Woodruff and Alec Gillis were also contenders for the director’s chair. Having worked on the special effects in each movie since Aliens, Tom Woodruff revealed in April 2008 that he and Alec Gillis had aspirations to direct Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem themselves.^[1][2]

In 2008, according to the horror news-website ShockTillYouDrop, “An anonymous source over at 20th Century Fox got in touch with us over the weekend to relay the news another Aliens vs. Predator sequel is a ‘certainty’ at this point. If you recall, the brothers Strause – who helmed the Christmas release Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem – stated Fox was going to take a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to a third chapter, furthermore, that the story would have to continue in space.”^[3][4][5]

On September 21, 2008, Collider published an exclusive interview with John Davis (the producer of both AVP films) and he stated, "I think we’ve logically done what we could’ve done with the two AVP movies. But I think there’s something to go back to with Predator."^[6]

On October 28, 2010, io9 published an exclusive interview with the Strause-brothers in which they revealed that Aliens vs. Predator 3 would have led directly into Alien. Greg Strause stated that, "The original ending for AVPR, that we pitched them, ended up on the alien homeward, and actually going from the Predator gun, that you see at the end, it was going to transition from that gun to a logo of a Weyland-Yutani spaceship that was heading to an alien planet. And then we were actually going to cut down to the surface [of the alien planet] and you were going to see a hunt going on. It was going to be a whole tribe of predators going against this creature that we called "King Alien." It's this huge giant winged alien thing. And that was going to be the lead-in, to show that the fact that the Predator gun [at the end of AVPR] is the impetus of all the technological advancements that allowed humans to travel in space. Which leads up to the Alien timeline."

When asked about the ending sequence of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, that the Predator-weapon handed to Ms. Yutani would lead to us humans developing advanced space travel technology, Greg stated, "That was the idea. They never got any of the equipment from the first Predators. It's the first time they ever received any intact working technology left over. So they could take that and reverse engineer, figure out what the power source was - all of those things. And in theory, that would enable that company [Weyland-Yutani] to make massive advancements in technology and dominate the space industry. That was the whole idea, was to literally continue from Ms. Yutani getting the gun - and then cut to 50 years in the future, and there's spaceships now. We've made a quantum leap in space travel. That was going to set up the ending, which would then set up what AVP was going to be, which would take place 100 years in the future. That was kind of the plan."^[7]

In 2012, What Culture stated that "surely sometime in the near future we will see a third attempt at an AvP movie" and listed five major reasons that would make a third sequel work - namely the inclusion of Colonial Marines, a strong lead character, no Predators teaming-up with humans, memorable action sequences, as well as a great director.^[8]

In 2015, having worked on the special effects of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, VFX make-up artist David Woodruff (the son of Tom Woodruff who worked on both the Alien- and Terminator-franchises) participated in an interview with TheTerminatorFans, and when asked about the situation of a third chapter in the AVP-trilogy, he stated, "I haven’t heard anything about a 3rd installment, not even rumors. This Neill Blomkamp project is the first possibility I’ve seen or heard of another Alien film and I’m all about it. I know the guys at Amalgamated Dynamics are pushing for something like this too. It’s time."^[9]

Also in 2015, during the London Film and Comic-Con, Sigourney Weaver provided with yet another statement towards the AVP-franchise having supposedly "ruined the franchise" by stating that she asked to have Ripley killed in Alien 3 because she supposedly knew that Fox were moving forward with Alien vs. Predator.^{[10][11][12][13]} This eventually motivated Peter Briggs (writer of Alien vs. Predator) to respond in an exclusive interview with Bloody Disgusting on July 22, 2015, with several objections to her statements and praising all films in the franchise (even stating that Alien 3 - Director's Cut was "more watchable" than Aliens) and reminding her that the AVP-films were even more successful than Weaver's last two Alien-films. He also particularly noted that "There’s a terrific “Alien vs Predator” movie still to be made by someone. It just hasn’t happened yet."^{[14][15][16][17][18][19]} The A.V. Club in turn responded "Great, a Fox executive probably just read that and has decided to greenlight four new installments. Are you happy now, Briggs?"^[20]

Other media

Comics

• Aliens vs. Predator (1990)
• Aliens/Predator: Deadliest of the Species (1993)
• Aliens vs. Predator/Witchblade/Darkness: Overkill (1999)
• Aliens vs. Predator/Witchblade/Darkness: Mindhunter (2000)
• Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator (2000)
• Superman and Batman versus Aliens and Predator (2007)
• Alien vs. Predator Three: World War (2010)
• Fire and Stone: Alien vs. Predator (2014)

Novels

A novel series was produced based on the franchise.

• Aliens vs. Predator: Prey (1994) by Steve Perry
• Aliens vs. Predator: Hunter's Planet (1994) by Dave Bischoff
• Aliens vs. Predator: War (1999) by S.D. Perry
• Alien vs. Predator: The Movie Novelization (2004) by Marc Cerasini

Other books depict the background to the film's work with Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI), the special effects company that worked on the Alien films.

• Alien vs. Predator: The Creature Effects of ADI (by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Design Studio Press, August 2004, ISBN 0-9726676-5-2)
• Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - Inside the Monster Shop (by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., Design Studio Press, December 2007, ISBN 1-933492-55-4, Titan Books, January 2008, ISBN 1-84576-909-0)

Video games

An Alien vs. Predator arcade beat 'em up game was released by Capcom in 1994. Two other Alien vs Predator games were also published by Activision for the SNES and Game Boy in 1993. There were also several Alien vs. Predator mobile games, and two cancelled titles for the Atari Lynx and Game Boy Advance.

In 1994, Atari Corporation released the Rebellion-developed first-person shooter Alien vs Predator for the Atari Jaguar, in which one could play as a Marine, Predator or Alien. Rebellion then went on to develop the similarly themed 1999's Aliens versus Predator for the PC. This was followed by, among others, Aliens versus Predator 2 and the expansion pack Aliens versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt. In 2010, Sega released Aliens vs. Predator, a multiplatform remake first-person shooter also made by Rebellion.^[21]

Action figures

In 1994, Kenner released a collection of action figures known as Aliens vs. Predator. This followed the two initial series of Aliens that were based on an animated series, Operation: Aliens, that was never broadcast. As such, the inclusion of Predator is often considered the 3rd and 4th series of the Aliens line. This collection includes several Aliens, many of which feature built-in attack features, and Predators, which include removable masks and battle weapons such as spears and missile launchers. The figures generally possess 5 points of articulation, and some include a mini Dark Horse comic book.

While the collection as a whole is known as Aliens vs. Predator, the two character types have their own card art that only features the character at hand. An exception would be the Aliens vs. Predator 2-pack. Since human space marines were included in the initial Aliens line, the Predator was marketed as an alternative enemy to the Aliens. A figure cardback reads:

"The stage is set for the universe's two most ferocious enemies. It's the gruesome and evil Aliens against the big-game hunter Predator. Who will win... the beast or the hunter? Can the Predator stop the evil Aliens before the galaxy is destroyed?!?!?!"^[22][23]

The Aliens: Hive Wars series was released in 1995, which included various Aliens, Predators, and larger scaled space marines. More figures, including a female Predator and an Alien/Predator/Smash Mason 3-pack, were designed for this series but never released as part of the line.

Six sets of Aliens and Predator Micro Machines were also planned by Galoob in 1995 but never released. This would have also included the LV-426/Outer World Station Action Fleet Playset. Thanks in part to the research of toy collectors, many photos of these unreleased toys and prototypes have shown up on the Web in recent years.^[24]

In December 2002, McFarlane Toys released a highly detailed Alien vs. Predator deluxe set.^[25] In 2004, they produced a series of figures based on the Alien vs. Predator film. Alongside the articulated figures, McFarlane also released statuesque display sets depicting scenes from the film.

Hot Toys produced highly detailed 16" tall figures for every film including Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007. That same year, NECA released two series of Requiem figures.^[26]

Theme park attractions

On August 4, 2014, Universal Studios confirmed that there will be haunted mazes based on Alien vs. Predator for their Halloween Horror Nights events at both Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida.

Notes

References

• Beautiful Monsters: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Alien and Predator Films (by David A. McIntee, Telos, 272 pages, 2005, ISBN 1-903889-94-4)