Alien Nation Remake Being Directed by Jeff Nichols

Deadline is reporting that Nichols has signed on to go behind the camera for the reboot of Alien Nation, the buddy cop movie about an alien and an earthling. By the time the events of the film take place, the Newcomers are more or less a brand new societal minority, complete with their own culture shock, poverty problems, and struggles with racism. The original starred James Caan as the human cop, forced to team up with an alien (Homeland’s Mandy Patinkin), who is struggling to assimilate to Earth. It eventually led to a 1989 TV series and several TV movies. Or perhaps Fox just saw what Nichols was doing with Loving, and said “yeah, let’s have that”. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Sara Greene will produce the remake with Nichols.

Nichols’ Loving, starring Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, is screening at the Toronto International Film Festival after debuting earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival. Their case became a landmark civil rights victory when the Supreme Court invalidated state laws preventing interracial marriage.

Nichols is best known for his recent features Midnight Special, Mud, and Take Shelter, with this year’s Midnight Special earning rave reviews for its emotional take on a father’s efforts to protect his son from sinister forces, set against an intense sci-fi backdrop.