Grave Gamer News & Views — 20th century fox

Why am I just finding out there was a cancelled Saturday morning cartoon based on Aliens? I’m a bad fan. A terrible fan.

Dubbed Operation: Aliens, the series followed Ellen Ripley and an assortment of colonial marines that retired from G.I. Joe’s unit in every way save for their uber-machismo appearances and inspired one-liners.

Ripley and co. defend different colonies from attacking xenomorphs (including new, animal-based hybrids) and, presumably, high five afterward.

Set to coincide with the 1992 release of Alien 3, production came to a crashing halt for no explicable reason. Except maybe for the fact that the bad guy in the show was a penis-shaped monster that incubated in people’s chests before bursting out of their rib cage. Still, that didn’t stop the Quaalude-fueled producers of the world from adapting several other R-rated features like Robocop, Rambo, and Starship Troopers for the kiddies.

Kenner’s supplementing toyline of mantis aliens, snake aliens, and other strange hybrids (which I owned as a wee lad) had to change their name once the show’s plug was pulled, but some merchandise already hit the shelves with the branding intact.

Yes, Operation: Aliens probably would’ve been toxically cheesy and cripplingly dumb. But that was part of the fun of these cartoons. Goddamn, I would kill to hear this show’s theme song. But, alas, no recording of the pilot seems to exist (for all we know, watching it could be like opening up the Ark of the Covenant; leaving no survivors).

“If it Bleeds, We Can Reboot Sequelize it”: Writer/Director Shane Black is Remaking Predator

This falls outside of my typical wheelhouse of “ONLY VIDEO GAMES” but this parcel of news tickled my nerdies too much to go on unwritten about.

Despite Hollywood’s fervor, the entire catalog of 1980’s cinema has not been remade yet. I know, you’re thinking, “I’m pretty sure they already rebooted all of the ‘80’s.” I thought so, too! But after a quick Google fact check, it turns out we’re about twelve movies shy from doing so; as such, 1987’s sci-fi horror classic Predator is next up on the re-chopping block.

With Predator ranking on my short-shortlist of childhood movie faves, I’d be quick to write off Fox’s reboot/make as another hollow cash grab. Except… they chose exactly the right director to helm this project.

Some directors adopted the stylings of '80’s flicks; Shane Black was borne from it. As a writer, Black gave us the first two Lethal Weapon’s and – closer to home for me – the motherfuckin’ Monster Squad. Later in his career, he’d take his penchant for character emphasized plotting behind the lens with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (which, hate me if you must, is my favorite Iron Man).

And, even more perfect, the man’s closer to the source material than anyone – he was actually in the original goddamn Predator:

Fox has enlisted Black to write up a treatment for the remake while Monster Squad’s co-writer, Fred Dekker, will draft the official script. I’m almost too excited to see what Black and Dekker (Ha! That was accidental) bring to this infamous hunter’s universe.

The only factor that could spoil the fun is the studio forcing a PG-13 rating on the remake. At that point, you could cast Justin Bieber as the fucking Predator for all I care – you’ll have already shit on the series. Still, Shane Black’s the man to make this movie work if it truly needs to happen.

UPDATE: Director Shane Black has clarified to pundits that his Predator will not be a reboot or a remake, but an “inventive sequel” that expands on the creature’s already existing mythology. I’m doubtful we’ll see a direct sequel to 2010’s Predators, but I’m interested in seeing how Black continues the mythos.