By Brent McKnight | 7 years ago

Theme parks are not generally known for catering to the hardcore sci-fi fan. Sure, there have been attractions like Star Tours, the Cylons on the Universal Studios tour, and even Captain EO was genre themed, but those were all geared towards mainstream, all-ages audiences. There isn’t a lot of time and space devoted to the darker, more sinister side of sci-fi. This may all change soon, to a degree anyway, and assuming you’re willing to travel to Malaysia.

20th Century Fox announced that it is partnering with a Malaysian property company, Genting Malaysia, to open their first theme park. Many of the parks attractions will revolve around more moderate fare, like Night at the Museum, Life of Pi, Ice Age, and Rio. That sounds like pretty standard stuff, but there will also be “darker rides” that revolve around movies like Alien and Predator.

How incredible would that be, to see a hulking, animatronic Predator wandering through a theme park as part of a nightly march of movie characters? Because that may very well happen. In fact, it’s part of their plan. All in all, designs for the park include a 25-acre grounds, and 25 movie-inspired rides and attractions. These will run the gamut from scary as hell, to more family-oriented.

This is going to connect to an existing theme part outside of Kuala Lumpur called Resorts World Genting. Though it has been around for more than 35 years, and took in 20 million visitors last year alone, the park will shut down operations on September 1 to make way for the wrecking ball. If everything goes according to schedule, Fox’s new park should rise like a Phoenix from the ashes sometime in 2016. The $125 million renovation is part of a larger overhaul of Genting’s Malaysia resort. When you realize that the entire project will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of a billion dollars, $125 million barely feels like anything at all.

This isn’t Fox’s first them park rodeo, though their last was a dismal failure. Back in 1999 they opened the Fox Studios Backlot in Sydney, Australia. That endeavor didn’t go so well for them. With a $261 million price tag, the attraction, modeled after the likes of Universal Studios, absolutely tanked, and closed up shop two years later in 2001. Let’s hope they have better luck this time around.

I don’t know how they play to work the big ass Xenomorph from Alien into daily life at a theme park, but goddamn am I excited to see what they do with it. How freaky would that be, a ride where face huggers, chest bursters, and H.R. Giger’s monstrous alien queen are leaping out of the walls at you? They’re probably not taking suggestions from the likes of me, but I sincerely hope there is a section of the park, jungle themed of course, where you can grab a Gatling gun, smear some camouflage paint on your face, and are let loose to hunt a Predator of your very own. That would be one hell of a trophy, a Predator head mounted on the wall above your fireplace.

And because why the hell not, here is a ten-minute supercut of Jesse “The Body” Ventura firing his mini-gun in Predator