Fans of Alien Vs. Predator and the respective franchises involved were shocked to learn that an Alien Vs. Predator anime was made--it just happens to be sitting in Disney's vault, unreleased to the world.
In a fan podcast for Alien Day, a celebration of the classic sci-fi horror franchise, a former licensing director at 20th Century studios named Joshua Izzo confirmed that Fox created an Alien Vs. Predator anime series, with 10 episodes completed and ready to go, as reported by IGN. Why the anime series has yet to be released remains unclear, but Izzo did reveal some tantalizing details that will no doubt have fans of either franchise itching to take a look.
Alien Vs. Predator Has a 10 Episode Anime Series
According to Izzo, the story of the Alien Vs. Predator anime was produced and had the story created by Eric Calderon, known for writing work on Afro Samurai: Resurrection, and Dave Baker. The initial pitch was actually for a Western animated series designed for Direct-to-DVD release, which could serve as a means of moving new merchandise and products related to the franchises. According to Izzo, this was initially pitched when 2017's Alien Covenant was still in its early stages, suggesting that this project got started quite a while ago. The pitch was approved, and they began looking for a director. While Izzo didn't name the director, previous fan rumors suggest it to be Shinji Aramaki, who worked on Halo Legends and Harlock: Space Pirate, as well as 2021's Blade Runner: Black Lotus, another anime based on a Fox movie. All those series make use of a CGI animated style rather than the conventional anime look, suggesting that this Alien Vs. Predator series would likely be in the same style.
Izzo revealed no story details, other than the fact that the series was supposed to be set after Alien Vs. Predator and Alien 4. There was also no clue as to why Disney has decided not to release this series for so long; it was clearly in development before the Disney/Fox merger went into effect, and if the work is truly as complete as Izzo says, there's really no reason not to release it. After all, the money has already been spent, and there are plenty of fans out there who would be eager to watch. Blade Runner: Black Lotus was fairly well received, too, so there's no reason to think Shinji Aramaki's other Western movie adaptation wouldn't be.
While the fate of this Alien Vs. Predator anime may be up in the air, the series could always debut at some point in the future, possibly on a streaming service like Hulu or Disney+; perhaps a wave of fan interest might even push them to release it at last.
Source: IGN
