It seems like Hollywood is getting nostalgic as there seems to be a slew of 80’s properties either being rebooted or in development. Not only are 80’s movies being redone like ‘Total Recall,’ and ‘Robocop,’ but also childhood memories are being adapted to the big screen like ‘Voltron,’ ‘Masters of the Universe’ and now ‘Alf.’

Yes, ‘Alf,’ the loveable furry “Alien Life Form” (ALF) that graced the small screen on NBC from 1986-1990. Sony Pictures Animation has just closed a deal to acquire the rights to the sitcom and plans to develop the property into a CGI/live action feature film. Jordan Kerner, who produced ‘The Smurfs’ and has just finished on the sequel, hopes to do the same with ‘Alf.’ He will be co-producing the project with the series’ creators Tom Patchett (writer of ‘The Great Muppet Caper’ and ‘The Muppets Take Manhattan’) and puppeteer Paul Fusco, who also voiced the title character and is expected to do so again in the movie.

For those not familiar with the series, Alf (whose real name is Gordon Shumway), was a survivor from the planet Melmac that exploded because of a nuclear war catastrophe. He crash lands into the garage of the Tanners, a suburban middle class family and becomes a member of the family. Alf is sarcastic, outspoken, has an appetite for cats and, like all aliens that crash land on US soil, has the government after him.

In an interview earlier in the year with THR/Vulture, Fusco commented on how the time is right to bring ‘Alf’ back:

“Alf could be more outspoken now than ever, because the world is a whole different place than the ’80s. And I think the character still stands up and certainly has more to say now than ever. I think we would approach it in a fresh way. I don’t think we would duplicate the TV show, but I think we would maybe put it in a storyline where we would explain how ALF got here and put him with a new family and let the character speak for himself.”

With the project now in development, the question begs is whether ‘Alf’ would be family friendly like ‘The Smurfs’ or venture into adult territory like the films ‘Ted’ and ‘Paul.’ It has the potential to go either way. At the moment, there is no writer or director attached to the film.

So what do you think? Are you ready for ‘Alf’ to return?

‘Alf:’


Source: THR