In 1979 when director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Dan O'Bannon introduced audiences to their space-set, haunted house film, Alien, creating a franchise wasn't even on their minds. An original story, ...

In space, no one can hear you scream, but they can sure hear you scratching your head as you try to make sense of the sprawling “Alien” universe. While Ridley Scott’s 1979 haunted-house-in-the-cosmos ...