Creative Assembly wanted to make Alien: Isolation 2 for years, but Disney buying Fox is what "made it a lot more possible," says former dev
It took the axis of Hollywood shifting for Alien: Isolation to get a sequel
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Not a single day has gone by since Alien: Isolation launched that I haven't hoped for a sequel. Over a decade later, one is finally in development. It would've happened sooner if developer Creative Assembly had its way, but it wasn't until a massive shift in Hollywood the greenlight occurred.
Although Alien: Isolation was critically acclaimed and has amassed a large fan base, sales when it was released in late 2014 were less than impressive. As such, the powers that be weren’t in a rush to invest in a follow-up.
But, in 2019, Disney finished acquiring 20th Century Studios, one of the biggest mergers in pop culture. This led to a massive IP shake-up.
"I know that everyone wanted to do it," Dion Lay, co-writer of Alien: Isolation, tells the FRVR Podcast. "I think it was always like, 'Could it happen?' But I think that Disney buying Fox made it a lot more possible, just because I think Disney seemed to be doing a push on, like, right let's get all these IPs and do something with them and get them running again."
True enough, Alien has gotten significant attention since Disney became the Xenomorph custodian. We've seen no less than three games over the last five years: Fireteam Elite, Dark Descent, and Rogue Incursion.
Meanwhile, Alien: Romulus came out in cinemas and Alien: Earth just finished on Disney Plus. There's a lot happening, and on top of all that, a second Isolation is in the early stages of coming together.
Creative Assembly revealed Isolation 2 in October of last year as part of ten-year anniversary celebrations for the first one. Let's all agree to show up for this, alright?
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Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.
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