Even though the Alien vs. Predator franchise never fulfilled the potential promised by its title, Disney is sitting on a completed series that could finally do the concept justice. Alien vs. Predator sounds like an easy sell. The Xenomorph of the Alien movies is an unthinking killing machine famous for its ferocity and its terrifying appearance. By contrast, the eponymous monster of the Predator franchise is an intelligent, honorable killer that can communicate with its victims and even collaborate with humans. The two beasts couldn’t be more different and are well-suited to an on-screen showdown that would finally allow them to face off.
However, the Alien vs. Predator movies never lived up to this killer concept. Although 2004’s original Alien vs. Predator was better than its many detractors claimed, the anodyne PG-13 effort was still comfortably one of the worst movies in either franchise. Meanwhile, 2007’s Alien vs. Predator: Requiem was even worse. A nastier sequel that added endless gore but no scares, tension, or characters worth caring about, this mindless addition to the series effectively killed any interest fans had in another match between the two titans of sci-fi horror cinema. That said, Disney reportedly has a finished Alien vs. Predator series that finally found the right approach for the premise.
An Alien Vs Predator Anime Was Exactly How To Make The Franchise Work
According to former licensing director Joshua Izzo’s comments on the Perfect Organism Podcast, Disney currently owns a completed Alien vs. Predator anime that is awaiting release. Since Alien vs. Predator was such an absurd, exaggerated concept to begin with, it would have always worked great in animation. While Alien vs. Predator’s Predalien was a bulky, oversized letdown in live-action, the monster could have been authentically threatening in its animated form. Many of the worst problems from the Alien vs. Predator movies — from shoddy CGI fight scenes to terrible lighting — could have been solved by a transition to the anime format of this rumored project.
Why The Alien Vs Predator Movies Failed
While Alien vs. Predator was not the disaster that its biggest critics claimed upon its release, the movie did have enough flaws to hold it back from living up to its title. For one, both the Alien and Predator franchises had always been R-rated before Alien vs. Predator. However, the prequel’s creators opted to cash in on the PG-13 horror trend that was profitable in the early 2000s. This resulted in Alien vs. Predator cutting great scenes that were deemed “too dark,” which left the movie with no bite. Despite some tense sequences and a great setting, Alien vs. Predator couldn’t get around this issue.
Meanwhile, 2007’s Alien Vs Predator: Requiem was just terrible. The movie’s unforgivably bad lighting made it look incredibly cheap and meant that viewers couldn’t tell what was going on in major scenes. In another attempt to cash in on a horror trend that was already dying out, the sequel ramped up the mean-spirited gore — but viewers didn’t want to see pregnant women and small children killed by Xenomorphs and Predators. Finally, the much-hyped Predalien was an ungainly mashup of the two monsters that looked more unwieldy than scary, meaning Alien vs. Predator: Requiem ruined both iconic monsters without any of its predecessor’s redeeming qualities.
Will Disney Ever Release The Alien Vs Predator Anime?
It is unclear whether Disney will ever release the rumored Alien vs. Predator anime despite the fact that those involved in its production claim the project is completed. According to Izzo, all 10 episodes of the series are ready for release with the licensing director saying, “It’s done. It’s in the can. It’s mixed; it’s finished.” There has not been any mention of an upcoming Alien vs. Predator anime since this surprising revelation in May 2023, but if Izzo’s claims are true, Disney would not need to do much more than promote the series. The project is completed, so marketing might be its only remaining expense.
That said, the fact that the Alien vs. Predator anime was produced back in 2017 could be a problem. Since then, the Predator franchise has weathered a major flop and an even bigger comeback, while Disney’s upcoming Alien movie will prove whether the series can survive without Ridley Scott at the helm. Since there has been no official word on the Alien vs. Predator anime in the intervening six years, it’s reasonable to assume that Disney is waiting to see whether both franchises still have reliable fan bases before releasing the project. This would make a lot of sense after both Alien vs. Predator movies received terrible feedback.
