Ridley Scott’s Alien is one of the best sci-fi horror movies of all time, marrying meticulous practical effects in both set and creature design with a story of government betrayal and intrigue and strong, likable main characters, but who could fill these roles in 2020? Now expanded into an entire universe of sequels, novels, comics, video games, and merchandise, Alien is a time capsule of 1970s and ’80s horror. While there’s been no talk of a direct reboot in 2020, it’s likely the franchise will be revisited again—or remade—at some point.
Alien follows the crew of the Nostromo, a commercial starship, as they’re unexpectedly woken from cryosleep halfway through their journey home when their ship detects a distress call. After going to investigate, they find a nest of eggs inside an abandoned alien ship, where one of their crew becomes an unwitting vessel for an alien creature.
Though the actors who starred in Alien are now extremely well-known, including Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, and Ian Holm, most of them were young and relatively unknown at the time of filming Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie. One interesting fact about Alien is in regard to its casting: the characters were all written as unisex, leaving them open for being played by actors of any gender. So, what might Alien look like if it was re-cast in 2020 for a modern audience?
Danai Gurira as Parker
Originally portrayed by Yaphet Kotto, Parker is one of two engineers aboard the Nostromo. He and his fellow engineer, Brett, are close friends, though frequently at odds with the Captain of the ship, Dallas, because they receive fewer shares than what the rest of the crew was earning. Parker is also depicted as being often in disagreement with Ripley after the captain’s death.
Most well-known for playing Michonne on AMC’s The Walking Dead and Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Danai Guirira has the tough exterior required to play Parker. Her other acting roles, which often see her characters as headstrong and in leadership positions, also prove she has what it takes to play a strong, capable engineer who is frequently at odds with the leadership and isn’t afraid to speak out.
A.J. Bowen as Brett
The other engineer and counterpart to Parker, Brett serves as a slightly more comedic, crude character designed to bring some levity to the crew of the Nostromo. Originally played by Harry Dean Stanton, Brett also takes issue with the fewer shares he and Parker receive, but is less serious about it than Parker.
An up-and-coming horror actor, A. J. Bowen is perhaps most well-known for his work on The House of the Devil and Hatchet 2. His acting career clearly shows his ability to be an effective horror character, but he also has the comedic chops that would be perfect for the role of Brett. In addition, playing off the toughness of Danai Gurira as Parker, Bowen is a great choice for this slightly older, less serious engineer.
Florence Pugh as Lambert
Joan Lambert was the navigator of the Nostromo. Originally played by Veronica Cartwright, Lambert is one of the crew members who went down to LV-426 to investigate the distress signal, and was most well-known for giving Ripley a killer slap across the face. Throughout the film’s events, Lambert is characterized by being frantic, nervous, and highly emotional, acting impulsively, and overriding Ripley’s command that Kane should remain outside of the ship after the initial alien attack to maintain quarantine protocols.
Famous now for her role as the lead character in Ari Aster’s Midsommar, Florence Pugh has demonstrated a phenomenal range in her acting ability, especially with her ability to accurately play emotional trauma and distress in a way that deeply connects with the audience. Because of this, it seems only natural that she would make a perfect fit to play Lambert.
Jonathan Majors as Dallas
The Captain of the Nostromo, Arthur Dallas was the Commanding Officer of the crew, played by Tom Skerritt. Though he was definitely more cautious than some of the other crew members when it came to investigating the distress signal on LV-426, he owned the decision and repercussions like a good leader should. His character was designed to be a strong leader while also being down to earth and likable.
Jonathan Majors is known for being the star of the 2020 HBO horror series Lovecraft Country and his role in Da 5 Bloods. To prove his capabilities for a role like Dallas, one need to look no further than Majors’ role on Lovecraft Country as the show’s lead character, Atticus, who travels across a segregated and violent 1950s United States in search of his missing father. Clearly having demonstrated the ability to play a strong, yet relatable character, Majors would be able to bring both leadership and a grounded sense of realism to the role of Dallas.
Oscar Isaac as Kane
The Executive Officer aboard the Nostromo during its return voyage to Earth, Kane was played by John Hurt, and probably is most often remembered for the iconic chestburster scene, in which an alien explodes from his chest in the middle of the crew’s last supper before going back into cryo-sleep. Not given too much time to characterize himself, as he spends most of the movie in a coma and then dies first, Kane is respectable and kind during his time on screen.
A highly accomplished, award-winning actor, Oscar Isaac has appeared in the Star Wars sequel trilogy as X-wing pilot Poe Dameron, and in X-Men: Apocalypse as the supervillain, Apocalypse. He’s been awarded several acting accolades, and was even named the best actor of his generation in 2017 by Vanity Fair. In addition to all this praise, Isaac also has a reputation—similar to actor Sean Bean—for dying early in many of his movies. The combination of this reputation being a comedic nod to Kane’s role in the original movie in conjunction with his amazing acting chops makes him the perfect choice.
Mads Mikkelsen as Ash
The secret synthetic Ash, played by Ian Holm in the original Alien, was a Hyperdyne Systems model 120-A/2 synthetic created for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation in the early part of the 22nd century. Ash was later added to the Nostromo’s crew as a science officer by the company in order to oversee the retrieval of a xenomorph specimen. Throughout the movie, Ash acts as an outsider to much of the crew, behaving politely, but having a somewhat sinister edge until he’s finally revealed to be a villain.
The perfect actor to play this character in a 2020 Alien cast is Mads Mikkelsen, most famous for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in the NBC TV series, Hannibal. Mikkelsen also landed roles in the Star Wars, James Bond, and Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises. An incredibly talented actor, Mikkelsen is more than capable of playing Alien‘s villain. However, he also has the perfect angular face, stoic countenance, and slightly sinister edge that would make him a perfect Weyland-Yutani synthetic as well.
Brianna Hildebrand as Ripley
Alien‘s undisputed lead character, Ellen Ripley, was played by the immensely talented Sigourney Weaver in a role that would make her an icon in the horror and science fiction genres alike. A Warrant Officer aboard the Nostromo, Ripley insisted on quarantine protocols to keep the ship safe after Kane was attacked, and though she was overruled and eventually proved right, she took leadership of the remaining crew, and became the only survivor of the xenomorph attack.
The most difficult character to cast, Ellen Ripley in the original Alien is strong and capable, but not an overtly action heroine archetype (yet). She still shows vulnerability in combination with strength and creativity in leadership while facing unimaginable horrors. For these reasons, Brianna Hildebrand would be the perfect choice for the character, having demonstrated all these traits time and time again across her filmography.
Brianna Hildebrand is most well-known for her roles as Negasonic Teenage Warhead in Deadpool and Deadpool 2 and as Sadie Cunningham in the horror/comedy movie, Tragedy Girls. Showing a clear ability to play strength as well as vulnerability through her various roles, Hildebrand also has the androgynous look that Ellen Ripley is known for. Though she’s been in quite a few feature films, she still remains somewhat unknown — another fact that makes her great for the role of Ripley.
Doug Jones as The Alien
Finally, a large part of Alien is the creature itself. For scenes where the xenomorph is shown in full, the creature was played by Bolaji Badejo, a Nigerian visual artist and actor chosen for the role because of his unique height and long, thin limbs. In these scenes, he wore a full suit, makeup, and acted against the rest of the crew in the titular role.
Today, there’s only one choice for creature actors, and that’s Doug Jones. Though viewers may not recognize Doug Jones in person, they will likely recognize his acting as both The Faun and The Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth, Abe Sapien in Hellboy, and the Amphibian Man in the Academy Award winning The Shape of Water, among many more credits. Unmatched in his ability to act through heavy makeup, utilizing his entire body to bring a character to life, there’s no one better to play the xenomorph, if Alien was remade in 2020.
