In a recent episode of the Perfect Organism Podcast, 20th Century Fox’s former licensing director, Joshua Izzo, drops something of a bombshell: a fully produced, finalized, 10-episode Alien vs. Predator anime is currently sitting in the ol’ Disney vault, just waiting to be taken in by our exceptionally greedy and Xenomorph-hungry eyeballs.
The news comes to us from IGN, who quote Izzo with saying the following:
“There is, sitting at Disney now, at 20th Studios, 10 episodes of a fully completed Alien vs. Predator anime series that I produced. It’s done. It’s in the can. It’s mixed; it’s finished. It was produced and story cracked by Eric Calderon and Dave Baker, two unbelievably crazy talented guys.”
Apparently Izzo pitched the idea to 20th Century Fox years ago, before Alien: Covenant had even started filming. The idea worked its way up through the chain of command, secured a greenlight, and eventually hired a director to helm the project. Says IGN:
“After some discussions, they brought in a director who, according to Izzo, worked on Halo Legends and Harlock: Space Pirate, and pitched an entirely different story for the series. According to Alien vs. Predator Galaxy, the director is rumored to be Shinji Aramaki who, aside from Halo Legends and Harlock, helmed Starship Troopers, Appleseed, Appleseed Ex Machina, and Blade Runner: Black Lotus.”
A director hired (whether it be Aramaki, as suspected, or someone else), the series was completed, turned into the company … and then the Disney/20th Century Fox merger occurred. It’s apparently been under lock and key at Disney ever since. One wonders if the studio (now 20th Century, part of Disney) is planning to release the series alongside Fede Alvarez’s now-filming Alien: Romulus, or perhaps holding onto it for some anniversary or another. Maybe they never plan to release it! There’s really no telling.
No matter what happens, we’re excited to hear this series exists, and do hope that it’ll get its day in the sun at some point. Stay tuned for any further information that might roll in on the Alien vs. Predator anime series. We’ll letcha know if we hear anything further!
