‘Alien’ 40th Anniversary Celebration Continues With 6 Short Films

We freaking love Alien around here at Bleeding Cool, and the continued celebration of the 40th anniversary of Ridley Scott‘s elegant science fiction masterpiece has us super excited. Along with the brand-new 4K special edition of the film, we’re getting six, SIX, entries into the franchise by way of short films.

After story and idea 550 pitches from filmmakers, six final stories were chosen to be created into the shorts featured below.

ALIEN: Alone – Hope, an abandoned crew member aboard the derelict chemical hauler Otranto, has spent a year trying to keep her ship and herself alive as both slowly fall apart. After discovering hidden cargo, she risks it all to power up the broken ship in search of human life.Written and Directed by Noah Miller

ALIEN: Containment – Four survivors find themselves stranded aboard a small escape pod in deep space. Trying to piece together the details around the outbreak that led to their ship’s destruction, they find themselves unsure to trust whether or not one of them might be infected.  Written and Directed by Chris Reading

ALIEN: Harvest -The surviving crew of a damaged deep-space harvester have minutes to reach the emergency evacuation shuttle. A motion sensor is their only navigation tool leading them to safety while a creature in the shadows terrorizes the crew. However, the greatest threat might have been hiding in plain sight all along.Directed by Benjamin Howdeshell

ALIEN: Night Shift – When a missing space trucker is discovered hungover and disoriented, his co-worker suggests a nightcap as a remedy. Near closing time, they are reluctantly allowed inside the colony supply depot where the trucker’s condition worsens, leaving a young supply worker alone to take matters into her own hands. Written and Directed by Aidan Breznick

ALIEN: Ore – As a hard-working miner of a planet mining colony, Lorraine longs to make a better life for her daughter and grandchildren. When her shift uncovers the death of a fellow miner under mysterious circumstances, Lorraine is forced to choose between escape or defying management orders and facing her fears to fight for the safety of her family. Written and Directed by the Spear Sisters

ALIEN: Specimen -It’s the night shift in a colony greenhouse, and Julie, a botanist, does her best to contain suspicious soil samples that have triggered her sensitive lab dog. Despite her best efforts the lab unexpectedly goes into full shutdown and she is trapped inside. Little does she know, an alien specimen has escaped the mysterious cargo, and a game of cat and mouse ensues as the creature searches for a host. Directed by Kelsey Taylor

Exclusive fan screenings of the first four titles will happen at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle beginning on March 15th, followed by C2E2 in Chicago on March 23rd. The final two shorts, both helmed by female filmmakers, will screen exclusively for fans at WonderCon on  March 30th, followed by a panel with the directors.

The shorts will then be released weekly on IGN, starting on March 29th, and will be available on the official AlienAnthology social channels beginning May 3rd, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes content.