Alien and Predator are iconic sci-fi franchises that have fought against each other. There was even a finished anime featuring the battle between the two monsters. However, Disney did not want you to see it.
What is it about? In the Alien-focused podcast Perfect Organism: The Alien Saga Podcast
, Joshua Izzo was interviewed. He was the Director of Licensing at Fox from 2012 to 2016. In his career, he dealt with many franchises. These included Transformers, the Ninja Turtles, and during his time at Fox, Alien.
In the interview, he talks about an unreleased project in the Alien vs. Predator
franchise. An anime based on Alien vs. Predator was supposed to be released on Alien Day, April 26, 2016, and it even has 10 completed episodes. However, the studio decided not to release it just before the launch.
In August, we can expect the next Alien film:
A finished sci-fi anime
On April 26, 2023, a new episode of the Perfect Organism
podcast was released. There, Joshua Izzo talks about an anime for Alien vs. Predator. This was in production for Alien Day 2016, and even 10 episodes were produced. He also shares information about the story.
- The anime was supposed to be set far in the future and not connected to any of the previous films
- This was to ensure that the story would not interfere with future projects
- Additionally, the two
Alien vs. Predator
films, which were poorly received by both franchises, were not supposed to influence the story of the anime, but rather the various AvP comics - In Japan, the 10-part series was to air on television while it was to be released on DVD and Blu-ray worldwide
- Shinji Aramaki was involved as director
Aramaki has directed many sci-fi animes in the past, including various Appleseed projects and an episode of Halo Legends. According to Izzo, the AvP anime was even completed and was supposed to be released in 2016.
Ultimately, the studio decided not to release it after all. Izzo mentions Alien Covenant as a possible reason. Ridley Scott approached Fox at that time to create Alien Covenant. The Predator, known here as Predator – Upgrade, was also said to be in planning, leading Izzo to suspect that Disney did not want to interfere with a new project.
The logical justification for this is that the anime has no connection to the two franchises, which, in a world full of cameos and film universes, simply does not fit from a marketing perspective.
Even after Disney’s acquisition of Fox, the anime has not been released. Whether it will ever be released is questionable given the long wait time. On the other hand, such a project would be perfect for the current streaming landscape. Even if it sounds strange, this is not the only time that finished projects have not been released. Warner and DC have a similar case with a superhero film: You will never be able to see a superhero film with Michael Keaton, even though it was already completed
