Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson refused to take charge of a sci-fi franchise

One of the interesting things about the “Alien” movies, at least before Ridley Scott returned to make the (underrated!) “Prometheus” in 2012, is that the franchise has served as a sandbox for everyone to play in. type of directors. After Scott gave us a horror classic with 1979’s “Alien,” James Cameron swooped in to make an action thriller with 1986’s “Aliens.” After that, David Fincher stopped by in 1992 to make a prison drama very bleak with “Alien 3,” only for director Jean-Pierre Jeunet to turn around and put his own spin on the property with “Alien: Resurrection” 1997.

Has this approach always worked? Not really, but it gave the “Alien” franchise a fun, experimental feel. Many sequels have been criticized for being basically a remake of the first film, but outside of “Alien: Romulus,” the “Alien” property could never be accused of having this problem. That’s why it’s not a big surprise to learn that the director’s job for “Alien: Resurrection” was once offered to Peter Jackson, who had yet to become a household name at the time.

However, Jackson was not interested. “They asked me to direct ‘Alien: Resurrection’ but I passed,” he wrote in his old website faq pageadding, “I just can’t get excited about making an ‘Alien’ movie.” Although we can’t blame him for transferring a franchise he had no interest in doing, yes is a shame, as there’s enough in his filmography to indicate he’d probably be good at the job.

There are plenty of creepy moments throughout Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, like when Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm, who starred in the original “Alien”) stands over the One Ring or the entire sequence in the lair. from Shelob, but I… I would say it was with “King Kong” that Jackson really showed that he could handle an “Alien” movie. The film not only focuses on Kong, a deadly creature that greedy humans falsely believe they can contain and control for profit, but also includes the infamous bug pit scene.

This particular sequence, which continues for an agonizingly long time in the middle of “King Kong,” features a group of survivors being picked off one by one by a repulsive group of giant insects, spiders and hungry worms. (I was seven years old No having a good time watching this scene in a movie theater, I can tell you that.) It all reminds me of the sequence in “Aliens” where Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and Newt (Carrie Henn) wake up and find each other. trapped in a room with two facehuggers. The bug pit sequence in “King Kong” is much more over-the-top, of course, but both leave you holding your breath until rescue. finally It comes at the last moment.

In fact, the first two-thirds of “King Kong” plays out like a long, jumbled version of the original “Alien,” with a group of people entering a largely unknown environment and quickly realizing they’re in danger. . far above their heads. Although Anne, played by Naomi Watts, is not the ultimate fearless girl that Ripley turned out to be, she still plays a similar role as a woman uniquely prepared to survive this terrifying situation. “King Kong” isn’t an “Alien,” sure, but they aren’t exactly polar opposites either.

Has the window closed for an “Alien” movie directed by Jackson? Probably. But if I ever decided to dip my toes into the “Alien” waters, I think it would turn out better than most people would expect.