The new Alien Nation film gets a director

It was last year when I reported on the Alien Nation remake/reboot. Art Marcum and Matt Holloway had been writing the script.

The original 1988 film followed the assimilation of the Newcomers, an alien race settling in Los Angeles, much to the dismay of the local population. The plot integrates the buddy cop film genre with a science fiction theme, centering on a union between a veteran police detective Matthew Sykes and Sam “George” Francisco, the first Newcomer detective. Sykes and Francisco probe the criminal underworld of the Newcomers as they attempt to solve a homicide.

It starred Mandy Patinkin and James Caan and it was an enjoyable piece of 80s sci-fi. There was also a TV show, which built on the basics. Both covered aspects of racism and refugees.

It turns out that Jeff Nichols (Loving, Mud, Midnight Special) is making a deal at 20th Century Fox to write and direct the new film, according to Deadline.

Last year the news was the film would be the first in a series. Not much was known about the plot apart from the fact the first film will begin by telling how and why the aliens came to Earth. I have no idea how much of that still holds true.

However, Nichols being attached does suddenly make my interest in this project jump to the next level.