Hi! I hope you’re doing well. Alien 1979 is a huge interest of mine and I absolutely love the way you capture the vibes of Nostromo Crew for this AU. Can I ask what animals you assigned them all as?
This is so interesting to me! :)
Hi thank you, and yes!! I love talking about animals so I’ll gladly explain!
Kane:
I chose to make Kane a rabbit because I grew up knowing his actor, John Hurt, as the voice for Hazel in the Watership Down, so I couldn’t help but see him as a rabbit. I chose to make him a belgian hare because belgian hares are an expensive breed that originates from the UK that have a resemblance to Hazel and match his role as being an executive officer, the second in command. Kane is written to be explorative as well, getting really excited about being able to explore the planet, he’s written as an overachiever in that sense; similar to how rabbits are in real life.
Lambert:
I chose to make her a deer mouse due to her mousey appearance, wide-set eyes, her small frame, as well as her reluctance and fear throughout the movie. One of the funniest things I read, that is a great example of how fearful she is written to be, is learning that Lambert was originally just going to die of fright, but it was never filmed. This is a thing that mice are known to do when under extreme stress.
Dallas:
To be honest I didn’t put much thought into why I chose a groundhog. To me he honestly just gave off groundhog vibes, due to his scruffy and bulky appearance within the original Alien film. I think it fits with his lone-sharkish tendencies, though, so I stuck with it.
Parker:
I chose to make Parker an american badger because of their size, strength and the fact theyre a tougher burrowing species. He's a brave character so I wanted him to be a brave animal. I also thought it matched with Brett since they work together as the most blue collar of the workers. I had both of them be mustelids because it would be another point to explain why they are super close friends.
Brett:
I chose to make Brett a sable mainly because I think he's weasly, but he's not cute enough, or small enough to be a weasle. Sables are kinda scraggly-like he is in the movie. Him being apart of the mustelid family helps to give more connection as to why he would be friends with Parker, who is an american badger.
Ash:
I chose to make Ash a guinea pig because they are a common lab animal and it fits with his occupation as the medic.
I wanted him to be something a laboratory would likely construct. Due to him being an android, he doesn't have the same qualities as an actual guinea pig, typically known for being social, docile, and gentle creatures. Not to mention, the noises that he makes as he begins to break down sound similar to guinea pig squeaks and squeals.
Because guinea pigs cannot make their own vitamin c they need citruses to survive, so as a rule to hint at how Ash is actually a synthetic, I’ve made sure that there’s no citruses or drinks like orange juice shown on the ship. This would only be a clue to people who know guinea pigs, but i think it’s funny.
Ripley:
I chose to make Ripley a jack russel terrier because she is loyal to both rules, people and things she care about, making sure to search for, and take Jonesy with her before she escaped onto Narcissus. She moves through the tunnels very fast with a clear understanding of where to go and I felt like that could be her using her instincts to her advantage as a way to escape.
