The Alien franchise fell on hard times with the last few sequels, but one of those 1990s installments almost had a big dose of the zombie classic 28 Days Later.
Danny Boyle, who would go on to direct the stellar 28 Days Later in 2002, was originally approached to direct 1997’s Alien: Resurrection. Boyle became a buzzy name after his 1996 flick Trainspotting, and was up for the ultimately mediocre sequel starring Sigourney Weaver and Winona Rider.
Boyle talked about his flirtation with the franchise in an interview with The Playlist, but said he quickly realized a space-set sci-fi epic wasn’t for him:
“I got involved briefly, with ‘Alien 4.’ After ‘Trainspotting’ my head was turned. Partly because I loved the ‘Alien’ movies, but I realized very quickly that I couldn’t make one. You wouldn’t get the best out of me at all.”
Boyle’s work on 28 Days Later was fantastic, and it would have been interesting to see what he could’ve done with the Alien franchise. Throw in the fact that Joss Whedon actually scripted the sequel (though he hated everything from the casting decisions to Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s directing), and this could’ve been a pretty awesome film.
Instead, we got a muddled mess, and the franchise was essentially shelved (except for those Alien vs. Predator standalones) until Ridley Scott’s return last year withPrometheus.
Would you have liked to see what Doyle could do in the Alien franchise?
(Via The Playlist)
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