It’s no secret that Fox is looking for a way to refresh the Alien franchise after the depressing state it was left in by the Alien vs. Predator debacle. Bloody Disgusting says they think they have a bead on what exactly they’re up to. It’s not good news.

According to their sources, Fox may be planning simply to remake the original Alien movie. Or, maybe they’ll come to their senses and simply do a prequel, original story instead. I’m not really sure which is worse.

A remake is a remake, and awful simply because of what it is. A creatively bankrupt way of cashing in on someone else’s work without having to come up with any good ideas of your own. But a prequel could be even worse for Alien fans. Half the fun of Alien has always been they mystery surrounding the creatures. They don’t really have an origin, or at least it doesn’t matter if they do. They’re more a life-ending, horrifying, force of nature which shreds and devours everything in its path leaving only an empty, acid-splattered husk behind. A prequel or an origin story would only demystify that. Remember how scary Darth Vader seemed before we found out he was really just a whiny, teenage boy? Now imagine someone doing the same thing to Alien. Yeah, I’ve got that same, big knot in my stomach too.