A large number of fans of the “Alien” film series attended a screening of scenes from the first episode of a new series set in the same universe, titled “Alien: Earth,” during the Comic-Con convention in California.
Series creator Noah Hawley chose this annual pop culture event held in San Diego to debut the first episode of his show.
Hawley said that the series is “without a doubt the greatest work I have ever done.”
The event drew about 6,500 attendees.
Nicole Martindale, who came from Northern California, said, “It was amazing!”
After watching the first episode, she added, “It wasn’t what I expected from Alien films, but it was fantastic.”
The events of “Alien: Earth” take place a few years before director Ridley Scott’s iconic 1979 film, which starred Sigourney Weaver.
Scott serves as the executive producer of the series, which will stream on platforms in August.
Hawley explained, “My talent in adapting these films lies in understanding how the original movie affected me and why, and then trying to reinvent it by telling a completely different story.”
The presentation featured actors Sydney Chandler, Alex Lothar, Timothy Olyphant, Babo Ceesay, and Samuel Blenkin, who shared their thoughts on entering the terrifying world of the Xenomorphs.
— “Surreal” —
Chandler, who plays a “hybrid” character with an artificial body and human consciousness, said, “It’s a dream, it was surreal.”
She added, “I’ve always been a fan of science fiction and Alien films.”
Comic-Con, the world’s largest pop culture festival, draws tens of thousands of attendees annually, many dressed as wizards, princesses, warriors, or characters from films and video games.
This year, the absence of major announcements from Marvel Studios made the lines for the main hall less energetic and intense.
Speaking to AFP, Carla Gonzalez, who has attended the convention since 2013, said, “Last year, we arrived the night before and had to wait hours to get in.” She added, “This year, there were still empty seats even as the first sessions were about to start. If Marvel had been here, the hall would have been packed.”
Film fans also got a preview of “Predator: Badlands,” directed by Dan Trachtenberg, set to be released in U.S. theaters in November.
In this new installment of the franchise, the usual roles are reversed, with the Predator finding himself in hostile territory and becoming the prey instead of the hunter.
Trachtenberg explained this new approach, saying, “I realized that the Predator never really wins in the series.”
He was joined by actor Demetrius Shuster-Koluamatangi, who plays Deke, the Predator at the center of the film, as well as actress Elle Fanning.
The actor said that portraying the role “required a lot of physical training at first,” also noting the difficulty of learning the language of the famous “Yautja” creatures.
Actors Jared Leto, Jeff Bridges, and Greta Lee also presented exclusive footage from “Tron: Ares,” the third installment of another sci-fi franchise dating back to the 1980s, in which Jeff Bridges plays a hacker who suddenly finds himself trapped in a digital world.
Comic-Con continues until Sunday.
AFP ©
