Danny Boyle Passed on 'Alien' — And the Reason Might Make You Laugh
Though later, he did admit a touch of regret.
Before Alien Resurrection crawled out of the shadows in 1997, it could have looked very different.
In a recent interview with THR, Trainspotting director Danny Boyle revealed he was once lined up to take the helm of the fourth film in the iconic Alien franchise. Yes, the same franchise born from Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror classic — chestbursters, acid blood and all.
Boyle says he was thrilled to be involved at first. He met with stars Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder, who were already attached to the project. "They were wonderful," he recalled. But there was one problem: CGI. The industry was shifting, practical effects were giving way to digital, and Boyle — ever the hands-on realist — didn’t feel it was the right fit.
"I just suddenly had a rare moment of clarity, thinking, 'You are not the right guy for this,'" he admitted.
And with that, Boyle stepped away from the alien hive… and straight into A Life Less Ordinary, a fantasy-comedy that, ironically, bombed.
"I didn’t do Alien," he laughed, "and I went and made this flop for them instead!"
