For those itching to see Ridley Scott’s prequel to Alien, you may as well sit tight because it looks like it’s gonna be a while. Last we heard, visual fx guru Henry South had tweeted that he had begun work on the prequel. That tweet has since been deleted and Script Flags now reports that the release date of the film has been pushed back an entire year to 2013. Not without a silver lining, the same report also says that actresses Olivia Wilde and Noomi Rapace are currently the frontrunners to take on the lead role in the film.
At this time, there’s no official word on why the release date has been pushed back or even if that means that principal photography is being pushed back as well. Conceivably, the flick could still be shooting early next year and the studio could just be giving Scott more time for post-production. Hit the jump for more on the prequels.
The flick has had a bit of a rocky production to say the least. The first draft of the script by Jon Spaihts was apparently not up to snuff, and a subsequent rewrite was commissioned by Lost mastermind Damon Lindelof. Lindelof’s draft was met with glowing approval and intense enthusiasm, and the picture looked to be on track. Scott announced that the film would be shot in 3D and he had planned not one, but two prequel films.
As for the casting, I think both Wilde and Rapace are fine choices. The previously rumored Carey Mulligan would be fantastic as well. Wilde’s film career is taking off like wildfire, she’s currently on a break from her role on the TV series House in order to film The Change-Up and Now, and she’s got Tron: Legacy and Cowboys and Aliens opening soon (she’s set to return to House towards the end of the current season, but I don’t see her sticking with the show much longer given her recent “in-demand” status). After garnering raves for her work in the Swedish film adaptation of Steig Larsson’s “Millenium Series” books, Rapace been courted for a number of roles. She’s currently filming the sequel to Sherlock Holmes for Guy Ritchie.
All this being said, these rumors about the release date being pushed back could turn out to be just that: rumors. We won’t know anything for sure until someone closer to the production talks. Whatever the future holds for Ridley Scott’s prequels to Alien, I just hope he gets to make the films that he wants to make. I’d rather him work on something else that he’s passionate about, than be forced to turn in a cookie-cutter version of these films.
source:collider.com/Adam Chitwood
