Director Nacho Vigalondo’s Colossal is as eagerly anticipated as it is bonkers, telling the tale of a heartbroken young woman who returns to her home town to discover she’s inadvertently controlling a gigantic kaiju monster that’s busy destroying Seoul. This kind of thing is par for the course for Vigalondo, who’s previously put out the trippy mystery Timecrimes and suspense-thriller Open Windows. His is a star on the ascent, then, but what would be his dream project? Why, an Alien sequel, of course!
Screen Rant interviewed Vigalondo at SXSW about his cinematic ambitions, and he revealed a couple of nuggets of info. First is a discussion of his adaptation of Supercrooks, a comic he co-wrote with Kick-Ass author Mark Millar. It’s a heist story with a twist – it’s being pulled off by a gang of supervillains. The comic has received rave reviews thus far and it sounds like a great idea for a film.
Here’s what Vigalondo said about it:
I am still in talks with Mark Millar. We are desperate to do something together. I really love the guy. But with Supercrooks, it’s a studio film. Studio films: it happens or it doesn’t happen. Sometimes it happens with another filmmaker. So far, I don’t know if it’s going to happen. At this point I don’t have the power to just raise studio movies by myself. Maybe it could happen. It’s a story that I love. That would be just pure fun, pure unapologetic fun.
The events of the comic would seem to necessitate an R-rating, which up until a couple of years ago was considered a kiss of death for a big budget blockbuster by studio beancounters. But Vigalondo smells change in the air:
“I feel like we are approaching a gold-age of mainstream films. When you see the reactions to Logan, the John Wick film, Atomic Blonde, Baby Driver, it’s something everybody loves. It’s like you can make really smart and beautiful mainstream movies and people will accept them. I think that could happen. That would be great. I think the turn started with Mad Max: Fury Road. That movie changed the whole thing for many people.”
The interviewer then asked the golden question: what would be your dream project? Vigalondo didn’t hesitate to answer.
Would I love to make an Alien sequel? Of course. That would be amazing. But does the world want to see my Alien sequel? I’m not sure.”
I would! I’m still heartbroken by the news that Neill Blomkamp’s Alien project appears to be have gone nowhere and though Alien: Covenant looks fantastic, I’m always curious to see what a fresh pair of creative hands can do with the Xenomorph – one of the most malleable of movie monsters. So, studio heads, pay attention – if you need someone to follow up what Ridley Scott’s doing, Nacho Vigalondo might be your man!
