Happy Alien Day to all those who celebrate. April 26, as many of you know, is the day pop culture has decided to celebrate one of the landmark franchises in science fiction: Alien. That’s because the planet in the sequel Aliens is LV-426—so, April 26. But while in the past Alien Day has been largely an excuse to simply rewatch or praise the old movies, this year is completely different. This is truly the best Alien Day ever.
Why? Well, because there is so much amazing new Alien stuff coming, or out there right now, for fans to enjoy. Way more than ever before. What are we talking about? Here goes:
Alien: Romulus
The most exciting thing coming for Alien fans is the next movie in the franchise, Alien: Romulus, set for release in August. We’ve seen some footage and a trailer and think director Fede Alvarez is going to knock this one out of the park. He’s even celebrating Alien Day too by revealing the radio-controlled Facehugger they used on the film. Watch that here.
Alien TV show
So there’s the movie. What else? Well, Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley is currently working on making a brand new Alien TV show for FX. Yup, he’s making it right now. Timothy Olyphant is in it and it takes place in a time never explored in the Alien franchise before— our near future. It’s still rather mysterious, but it’s coming.
Aliens comic book
Movies, TV, what about books? We’re glad you asked. Right now, Marvel Comics is in the middle of a multi-issue run of Aliens: What If…? It’s a brand new story that asks the question what if Carter Burke, the evil asshole from Aliens played by Paul Reiser, survived. We actually spoke to Reiser all about it and you can read that here. Suffice to say, if you are a fan of Aliens, you’ve gotta check it out.
Alien Re-release
Depending on when you’re reading this, the ultimate Alien Day celebration may still be available to you. Disney/Fox re-released Alien in theaters today, April 26. What better way to show your love of Xenomorphs than with the Ridley Scott original on the big screen?
An Alien VR Game
Any other big Alien news today? Why yes there is. A new one-player VR game called Alien: Rogue Incursion from Survios was just announced and it’ll be here over the holiday season for PlayStation VR2, PCVR via Steam, and Meta Quest 3. There’s not a ton of news just yet but visit alienrogueincursion.com for info.
Aliens 4K
This happened a few months ago but is still worth mentioning. Recently, James Cameron released several of his older films in 4K for the first time ever and one of those was Aliens. So go see Alien in theaters, swing by Target or something after, and then watch Aliens in 4K to cap off the day.
New Alien Book
If you like to read about Alien’s aliens and not just watch movies about them, Titan Books has a new one coming out on July 30 called Alien: Uncivil War by Brendan Deneen. Find out more here, and pre-order on Amazon.
Aliens RPG Sales
Finally, though it’s been out for a few years, the award-winning Alien: The Roleplaying Game is having massive 50% off sales on its core game, and add-ons. You can find out all about it here.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.