It was announced several years ago that Fox was developing a remake of the 1988 film Alien Nation, with Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special) on board to direct. In the most recent update on the project, Nichols had noted that the screenplay was nearly finished, and that everyone over at Fox was into it. But a whole lot has changed since then.
In the wake of Disney acquiring Fox, Variety reports that Nichols’ remake of Alien Nation has now been put on hold. The site explains, “The Alien Nation movie project is being put on hold rather than being put into turnaround, three months after Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of much of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets.”
Nichols had told Slash Film last year, “It’s epic. I mean, it’s the biggest canvas I’ve ever painted on, but it 100 percent feels like a Jeff Nichols film, which I’m sure there are gonna be some Alien Nation fans out there that are like, “What the fuck?” But my hope is if they … If people come to it just ready for a new story, that they’ll like it. And I put my heart and soul into it. I put so much of myself into it. It takes place in Arkansas. There’s so much of me in it.” In that very same interview, Nichols had expressed concern about Disney taking over Fox.
We’ll keep you posted if/when we learn more about this one.
In the original film, directed by Graham Baker, “Aliens, known as Newcomers, slowly begin to be integrated into human society after three years of quarantine.”