4/26 Day, ummm… Whatever Happened to..?

ALIEN Day has been and gone for this year and it brought with it announcements and reveals that set fans and collectors abuzz. Which is a great thing as that was the goal it set out to do.  I enjoyed it immensely and among various treats, we saw some prelude footage for the upcoming ALIEN: Covenant movie and a wide range of new licenced merchandise coming our way.

Some of these items were already anticipated such as the Super7 Blind Box ALIEN figures and NECA’s reveal for their upcoming figure based on the creature as it appears in ALIEN: Covenant along with a few surprises.  Some of these surprises included an ALIEN themed Mr. Potato Head figure and a set of wooden matryoshka nested dolls.  All good stuff in their own way. Even the new range of Funko POP! figures (below) based on the new movie were a welcome sight.

On the other hand, I got to thinking ALIEN Day was a little incomplete.  Something was missing.  As I contemplated further, I realised not only was something missing, but there was a whole lot of something missing.  Let’s take a look at some of the content that I was anticipating on the day and thought was surprisingly absent from ALIEN Day reveals and announcements.

First off, we know that NECA have an entire series 11 ALIEN action figures to be released as some point in the future.  I was surprised we never heard any details regarding this new set whatsoever.  We even know what its contents will be.  There’s a new Kenner tribute figure, the blue Vicious Alien  Attack Warrior, Lambert sporting a compressing suit using the authorised likeness of Veronica Cartwright  and a Darkhorse Alliance comic book tribute ALIEN figure.

These items are presumably coming sometime in the not too distant future but not a single piece or shred of information was forthcoming from NECA regarding them.

Also absent from NECA’s announcements and reveals was the long lost wave series 4 range of PROMETHEUS action figures.  This line up was to include the final 3 figures based on the movies.  Notably, these figures had been previously cancelled and the Lost Wave was welcome by many fans.  Once again, not a single piece or shred of information was provided by NECA.  Lost again, maybe?  Who knows.

The new PROMETHEUS figures were originally slated for release at the end of April, 2017.  Which is kind of now – or at the very least, the day after tomorrow.  Still, not a word on these items – especially on ALIEN Day.  Maybe they’ve been cancelled again but I don’t think so.  NECA have a long reputation of delaying figures.  We’ll see these appear yet, I’m sure of that.  Well, I’d like to think so.  I am hoping to get my hands on the infected Fifield at least; and a Meredith Vickers, too, for that matter.

Another range of figures I was surprised didn’t get any mention are the new Super7 ALIEN wave 3 ReAction figures we heard about earlier this year.  These were revealed at ToyFair along with the blind box ReAction ALIEN figures.  The blind box figures went on sale on ALIEN Day but have we heard any more of this new wave 3 ReAction figures since?  Nope.  Didn’t hear anything about this new set when I expected to most.

The new wave 3 is believed to be the final members of the Nostromo crew that are missing from both previous released series.  There are believed to be 6 figures in this lineup including screen accurate Dallas and Ripley; versions of Lambert, Brett and Parker along with a new decapitated version of Ash.  ToyArk provided us with photos of these so we know they’re coming:

Any mention of these items was conspicuously absent from any announcement or reveals during this year’s ALIEN Day.  Also absent was Super7’s new ReAnimated series of ALIEN figures that treat the characters to a more contemporary cartoon style.  At least 2 Alien figures from this series were also shown at this year’s ToyFair but they too lacked any representation in any way during the big day for us fans and collectors wanting to know more about these items.

These are just a few items that came to mind without too much effort – and from just 2 companies.  At some time in the future I’m also expecting an announcement from Super7 regarding their 2nd 18 inch ALIENS figure we also know about, the ‘Marine Ambush’ variant.  I can understand that these items aren’t ready for distribution but as they’re already known about from other sources, why withhold them from ALIEN Day?

So, I’m wondering what other items we could have expected but didn’t show up on the day – at all.  I’m betting this list could easily be made a lot longer but right now these were the distinct items that I felt were noticeably absent from the day’s reveals and announcements.

Anyway, it was a fun day the world could participate online and not just be another exclusive for US residents only. Thank you Fox and partners for the effort it took to arrange all of these fun reveals and announcements.

-Windebieste.

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