Nearly three years ago, Jeff Nichols (MIDNIGHT SPECIAL) signed on to write and direct a remake of ALIEN NATION for 20th Century Fox, but now that Disney has acquired Fox, it seems that the remake has been shelved for now.
The original 1988 film introduced the Newcomers, an alien race who landed on Earth and were forced to live among the distrustful human population. The film starred James Caan as an LA police detective who finds himself partnered with a Newcomer played by Mandy Patinkin in order to solve a homicide. THR's Heat Vision newsletter revealed that ALIEN NATION is the latest casualty of the Disney/Fox merger, but the project isn't completely dead, as insiders have said that it is merely "paused" and will likely be revisited in some capacity in the future. Whether Jeff Nichols will still be involved at that point remains to be seen. THR also added that there was even walk of Jeff Nichols' frequent collaborator Michael Shannon starring as the alien detective, which would have been amazing. Son of a bitch.
Late last year before the merger was official, Jeff Nichols explained that he was still working on the project and that his take on ALIEN NATION was shaking up to be "epic" as well as the "biggest canvas [he's] ever painted on." The director added that it would still feel 100% like a Jeff Nichols movie, which he admitted would likely cause some ALIEN NATION fans to utter, "what the f**k." "But my hope is if they … If people come to it just ready for a new story, that they’ll like it. And I put my heart and soul into it," Nichols continued. "To be the project that’s supposed to be me being a sell out, it is like the least … I’m not saying that to save face or be cool. I put so much of myself into it, it takes place in Arkansas. There’s so much of me in it."