Ridley Scott Still Developing New ‘Alien’ Film, Probably Won’t Tie-In To Recent Prequels

Ridley Scott is back in the realm of dystopian sci-fi with his HBO Max series Raised by Wolves, and it’s got people wondering about the future of the Alien franchise. Turns out he’s far from done with it after the move to Disney, and in a conversation with Forbes says it probably won’t revisit the stories recently told in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, which were met with a mixed reaction.

“That’s in process. We went down a route to try and reinvent the wheel with ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Covenant,’” Scott said. “Whether or not we go directly back to that is doubtful because ‘Prometheus’ woke it up very well. But you know, you’re asking fundamental questions like, ‘Has the Alien himself, the facehugger, the chestburster, have they all run out of steam? Do you have to rethink the whole bloody thing and simply use the word to franchise?’ That’s always the fundamental question.”

Scott’s been saying stuff like this for a while. We know he believes there is more mileage in Alien, and had been developing a direct sequel to ‘Covenant’ titled Alien: Awakening that would ask even more existential questions. But is that what people want to see from this franchise? And how does Disney think it should be presented now? These are the things Scott has to ponder.

For now, Scott has to finish shooting on The Last Duel, which was halted due to the pandemic.

 

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.