20th Century Studios Head Steve Asbell Talks Another ‘Alien’ Sequel, the Future of ‘Predator’ & ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

Between the releases of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Alien: Romulus, 2024 has been a banner year for 20th Century Studios.

This year saw the studio return to the top of the box office heap and breathe new life into some of 20th Century Fox’s biggest franchises.

In the wake of its acquisition by Disney, the future of 20th Century Fox seemed in doubt. Now, the studio has found its footing and is integrated into the larger Disney machine.

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century head Steve Asbell gave fans a preview of what the studio has in store for them.

‘Alien: Romulus’

As crazy as it seems now, once upon a time, Alien: Romulus was slated to go straight to streaming. Eventually, however, 20th Century decided to give the film a theatrical release.

Photo: 20th Century Fox

“It started as a streaming movie because we started development when we were in COVID, and it wasn’t clear what our strategy was, whether it was theatrical or streaming. At the time, we had different budget categories for streaming, and we were always circumspect about not wanting to spend too much money on streaming movies,” Asbell explained.

“We didn’t know quite yet how they would perform based on the metrics. And the truth is we started it hoping that theatrical would return to some measure of normal. But we made that film and, frankly, every other film we’ve made for streaming with the same care and curation as we do our theatrical movies.”

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Alien: Romulus would eventually be a major success for Disney, surpassing even the studio’s lofty expectations. Looking ahead, Asbell says the studio is close to a deal with Fede Alvarez to direct another sequel.

“We’re working on a sequel idea now. We haven’t quite closed our deal with Fede [Alvarez], but we are going to, and he has an idea that we’re working on. The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, were real highlights of the film,” he explained.

Photo: 20th Century Fox

“And so I always think of it like, “Wow, where do people want to see them go next?” We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them, and I want to see what their story is.”

‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

Turning his attention to the Avatar franchise, Asbell discussed the tragic death of producer Jon Landau. Despite the loss to the Avatar family, Avatar: Fire and Ash remains on schedule.

Image: Getty Images

“It’s just hard personally because Jon’s somebody I talked to every day, and he was a mentor to me and a good friend and had an unbelievable impact on everybody. I mean, it’s a huge loss. He was a great, great friend and a great sort of half mind to Jim [Cameron], however he describes it,” he reflected.

“We just miss him every day. But it hasn’t changed. It hasn’t affected the release date or Jim’s timeline or anything of that. We were already on a track that has its own milestones and guideposts.”

‘Predator’

Finally, there is Predator. While Disney previously set a 2025 release date for Predator: Badlands, Asbell teased that another Predator film is also in the works.

Image: 20th Century Studios

“There’s a secret Predator movie that will come out before the theatrical one, but I can’t say anything about it yet,” he said.

As 20th Century Studios enters another chapter in its history, Asbell is happy to be working within Disney.

Image: 20th Century Studios

“I’ve been here five years now almost, and it’s been an amazing journey with Disney in fact, because there is no sort of us and them, it’s just us.”