The 'Loving' director is also attached to pen the screenplay for the new version of the 1988 sci-fi film starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin as the lead characters.
- Sep 10, 2016
AceShowbiz - Jeff Nichols is in final negotiations with 20th Century Fox to direct "Alien Nation" remake. Deadline has reported that the "Midnight Special" helmer is also on board to pen the screenplay for the new version of the 1988 sci-fi film starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin as the lead characters.
The original movie, which was directed by Graham Baker, follows a racist cop (Caan) who is forced to team with a new partner (Patinkin), a member of an alien race who was on a ship carrying 300.000 alien refugees known as the Newcomers. The ship crashed on Earth years before the Newcomers assimilated into Los Angeles.
The film was successful enough to spawn a 1989 TV series. The title was a clever metaphor to explore racism, which seems timeless in relation to current racial politics. The remake will be Nichols' next project dealing with a different kind of racism after his latest civil rights drama "Loving" starring Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga and Michael Shannon which premieres at Toronto this weekend.
In tackling the "Alien Nation" remake, the helmer will reunite with his "Loving" producers Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sara Greene. No information is available about the start date of the production and the release date of the reboot. While "Iron Man" scribes Matt Holloway and Art Marcum were previously attached to write the script, it remains to be seen if Nichols will revise or simply start over their draft.
