Two of science fiction’s most iconic franchises have just crash-landed into the roster of Marvel Comics.

Marvel has acquired the rights to Alien and Predator, snatching them from their long-established comic home at Dark Horse and reportedly paving the way for a new line of comic books featuring the extra-terrestrial characters.

Dark Horse Comics has held the publishing licenses for both Alien and Predator comics for decades, going all the way back to 1988 and 1989, respectively. But IGN reports that Marvel Comics has scooped up the rights to both with plans for a new line of comics set in that cinematic sci-fi universe.

David Finch, a Batman artist who should not be confused with Alien 3 director David Fincher, created a couple of teaser images celebrating the new acquisition.

Predator Marvel

Unfortunately, while the concept of a Predator being unleashed into the Marvel Comics universe to hunt down Tony Stark (or, maybe more accurately, one of Tony Stark’s robot minions) sounds pretty damn cool, IGN is here to instantly swipe the legs out from under us by explaining that this image “isn’t meant to suggest the two franchises will be integrated into the Marvel Universe.” Not yet, anyway. While a potential crossover between these vicious characters and familiar heroes like Iron Man or Spider-Man might happen one day down the line, the current plan is simply for these new Alien and Predator comics to “expand on the characters and settings of the various Alien and Predator movies.”

This is the latest big loss of a sci-fi franchise for Dark Horse, who also lost the license to publish Star Wars comics to Marvel back in 2015. Both the Alien and Predator film franchises are now under the Disney banner in the wake of the company’s acquisition of Fox, so it makes a bit of sense that they’ll now be in the pages of Marvel Comics, which is also owned by Disney.

“There’s nothing more thrilling than a story that will keep you at the edge of your seat, and Alien and Predator have delivered that time and time again!” Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski said in a statement. “I can clearly remember where I was when I saw each of these modern masterpieces for the first time, and reveling in how both masterfully weave extraterrestrial dread and drama into some of the most iconic scenes we’ve ever seen on film. And it’s that legacy that we’re going to live up to! As a visual medium, comics are the perfect place to build on those moments, and we here at Marvel are honored to begin telling these stories for fans everywhere. As our release schedule continues to return, we can’t wait to share more in the coming months!”

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