Do you know any insiders about the Alien franchise?

Whether you’re an avid fan of the original pre-21st-century installments or you enjoy the technological advancements of computer graphics and artistry, there’s no arguing that the Alien franchise is notably one of the goriest science-fiction horror series of all time. Well, there has been some recent discussion about Ridley Scott directing a prequel to the 2017 installment, Alien: Covenant, that being said, the new proposed chapter, Alien: Awakening, has not yet been given the green light following the merger between 20th Century Fox and Disney. So, as a way to keep you composed while you await any news of a premiere date, we’ve gathered some riveting facts about the classic installments that you might find rather fascinating.

There are seven years between Alien and Aliens

Usually, when a movie does incredibly well in the box office a sequel often follows shortly after in order to keep up the hype. Needless to say, when it comes to the Alien franchise that simply wasn’t the case as it took seven years — 1979 to 1986 — before another installment was seen on the big screen. Why is that, you ask? Well, while there were talks of the sequel shortly after the first movie premiered, it was heavily delayed because the film’s producers and 20th Century Fox were arguing over the distribution of the profits.

Sigourney Weaver was paid a lot more for her role in the sequels

The first film in the franchise, Alien (1979), was Weaver’s second blockbuster film, having starred in Annie Hall (1977) a couple of years prior. She was paid $35,000 playing the lead role of Warrant Officer / Lieutenant Ripley in the 79’ film and after strict negotiations carried out by her directors, she continued throughout the franchise making $1 million for Aliens (1986), $4 million for Aliens 3 (1992) and a whopping $11 million for Alien: Resurrection (1997).

There was an awful lot of lubricant on the set

As an avid fan, you’ve probably always wondered how they made the Alien’s slime and drool looks so realistic and lifelike…well, it was made possible with the help of KY lubricant. Yeah, we were pretty shocked ourselves!

The novel and the film have some key differences

Alan Dean Foster wrote the first three Alien installments in paperback form (not to mention some titles in Star Wars, Star Trek, The Terminator and Transformers franchises). As a notable name in fantasy and science fiction, Foster stuck closer to what Cameron had written, but there were still a few differences between the two:

• The character, Newt, is 12-years-old in the movie, but only six-years-old in the book.
• Ripley immediately realizes that Bishop is an android and the famous knife trick scene isn’t part of the book.
• There are more colonists alive on the alien planet in the book, not just a single woman.
• Foster writes in Ripley open firing on the Queen as soon as she presents herself, she doesn’t negotiate like in the film.

Do you know any other fun facts about the Aliens franchise? Please share them with our other readers in the comments section below.