Disney Releasing New ‘Alien’ Book Aimed at Preschoolers

2024 is going to be another huge year for film anniversaries. Particularly in the horror genre as the classic film Alien will be celebrating its 45th anniversary. The 1979 film directed by Ridley Scott is considered to be one of the scariest films ever made. However, now it looks like Disney is making the Alien franchise more accessible for kids, as the family-friendly company is releasing a new children’s book based on the blood-curdling franchise next year.

The book titled A is for Alien: An ABC Book will be part of the Little Golden Books line and illustrated by the Disney Storybook Art Team. The description reads as follows, “In space no one can hear you giggle as you read this Little Golden Book featuring the characters from the classic movie Alien! Follow Ripley and the rest of the Nostromo crew on a space adventure that introduces the alphabet from A to Z.” This spooky adventure will be targeted at children 2 to 5-years-old. While this seems like a very strange move given how dark and distracting the Alien franchise is, it’s nice that Disney has found a way to expand former Fox properties in new creative ways. Particularly their horror brands. Beyond Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney isn’t really known for horror. However, their acquisition of Fox has given them access to some of the most beloved horror franchises, like Predator and Alien.

This is kind of funny given that they’re making a children’s book for a hard-R franchise, but gateway horror is crucial for young minds to discover the genre. If it wasn’t for things like The Nightmare Before Christmas, many of us wouldn’t be the horror fans we are today. With the Alien universe expanding every year, this would be a fun way for genre enthusiasts to have their kids explore one of the key franchises while learning how to read. Let’s just hope there aren’t too many “facehuggers” and “chest bursters” to traumatize kids for life. Nevertheless, the thought of Disney artists tackling these iconic blood-soaked scenes is hilariously smile-inducing.

‘Alien’ Returns in 2024

While the franchise has been quite active since 1979 with six feature films to its frightening name, Alien will be stocking us once again with the new film Alien: Romulus in theaters next year. The film takes place between the first two Alien nightmares with a whole new cast of victims that’ll be screaming in space for no one to hear. While Scott returned for the last two installments, the main reason fans are excited about this particular film is it was directed by a modern genre icon Fede Álvarez. The filmmaker’s previous two horror works, Evil Dead (2013) and Don’t Breathe, are considered to be some of the best offerings the genre has to offer in the last decade. With a cast that includes Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) and Isabela Merced (Superman: Legacy), it’s going to be exciting to see where the Alien franchise is taken next. However, that’s not all the Alien goodness we’re getting in 2024, as a new FX series based on the xenomorph-centric franchise is likely to premiere next year.

A is For Alien: An ABC Book is releasing on July 9, 2024. That’s just a month before Alien: Romulus terrorizes theaters on August 16, 2024. You can pre-order the book for your future horror-loving kid from Penguin Random House’s website for $5.99 USD. Alien is currently streaming on Hulu.

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