The passion of the Alien community has long sustained the franchise, even during the lean years when box office releases failed to meet expectations and fans wrestled with disappointment over story direction. Many franchises don’t survive box office letdowns, but science-fiction’s greatest creature persists. Online forums, video games, action-figures, and comics–Alien fans have demonstrated a willingness to commit time and money to the iconic franchise that has captured the imaginations of fans across generations.
While a new Alien film and television show are in the works (Alien: Romulus hits theaters August 16), fans don’t have to wait enjoy the quality cinematic storytelling from Christian Kennedy. The writer, director, and producer of the 2024 Alien fan film No Man’s Land, Kennedy has given fans another gem in the anthology of short stories and films featuring the Xenomorph.
Previously, Twentieth Century Studios partnered with Tongal in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Alien to host a competition for film shorts; six Alien shorts were selected and released, treating fans to harrowing tales of the Xenomorph in all its life stages. While No Man’s Land isn’t canon, it is the nearest in quality and craftsmanship since the official shorts and certainly gives fans something long asked for: standalone stories where the Xenomorph is dropped into significant moments or iconic situations in human history.
A similar idea played out in Prey, the 2022 standalone Predator film from Dan Trachtenberg featuring Amber Midthunder as Naru, a Comanche woman who defends her people against the deadly hunter during the 1700s. Before Trachtenberg’s movie, Predator Dark Ages, a 2015 fan film explored the idea of dropping the creature into an iconic era of human history; the film was well received and it’s certainly possibly the idea helped influence Twentieth Century Studios to entertain the idea. Clearly there’s appetite for the idea among fans.
Kennedy’s No Man’s Land asks, What if humanity encountered the Xenomorph during the trench warfare of The Great War? The film runs just north of twenty-eight minutes and contains fantastic visuals. Kennedy’s use of color and lighting are top-notch and create iconic atmosphere among the trenches of 1917. The short contains several twists that keep viewers engaged and does quite well with practical affects despite being on an indie budget.
Fans of the Alien franchise will undoubtedly wonder what a full-length film would be like based upon Kennedy’s short. Certainly some will want the franchise to remain within the confines of the mainline canon story, but perhaps there’s room for standalone stories so long as they don’t retcon the history of Alien.
Tell us what you think! Did you enjoy Christian Kennedy’s No Man’s Land? Share your reactions in the comments below or join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord and Facebook.
Source: Kennedyboy Productions
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