If you were someone excited about Alien: Romulus and the new direction it took the franchise, well, I’ve got some bad news. Ridley Scott is getting more involved, as he suggested he would be after teasing an Alien: Covenant sequel centered on Michael Fassbender’s psycho android, David.
In a new interview with French outlet AlloCine, Scott kinda thumbed his nose at Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus, and suggested it’s what convinced him to get back to work on his next Alien movie…
“I’m rewriting the next ‘Alien’ film,” Scott said. “Actually, I suddenly went back and got involved. The one that just came out [Alien: Romulus] was OK. I think it needs some help. So, I’ve gone back in.”
It’s worth noting that Scott was a lot more pumped for ‘Romulus’ before it came out, probably because he gets a cut of profits or something. Anyway, he essentially confirmed the next movie will be picking up where he left off with Alien: Covenant.
“So, I’ve already got a footprint for the next ‘Alien,’” he continued. “We did ‘Prometheus,’ and then ‘Alien: Covenant.’ So, I’m picking up where we left off in ‘Alien: Covenant.’ Michael Fassbender’s [character] basically thinks he’s Ozymandias now.”
If it wasn’t clear from watching both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Scott isn’t really that interested in Xenomorph stuff as much anymore. He’s fascinated by the the idea of creation, evolution, and AI when it outlasts its creators.
“I like the fact that AI is going off the rails,” he explained. “If we go AI, the moment we discover it goes off the rails, it’s too late. It could switch every digital thing off in the world, like that. You’d have fucking chaos. It’s that kind of stuff that’s scary. You’d have a [shutdown].”
Someone must’ve forgotten to tell Scott that fans largely rejected these movies, even if he dug making them. But you can’t tell him shit right now, apparently. In yet another recent interview with Brut (Scott is everywhere talking up The Dog Stars, which bombed at the box office), he patted himself on the back for making the “best” Alien movie (debatable, bro), and said it was Prometheus that revived the franchise after Alien: Resurrection in 1997.
“I did the best one by far. Full stop. End of the f***ing story,” Scott said. “Then they let it die. After [Alien] 4, they killed it. So I sat there thinking, ‘I’m going to bring it back.’ So I sat down with a very good writer; two guys [and] eventually ended up with Damon Lindelof, and we caught fire and wrote ‘Prometheus.’”
Okay, so after all of this, is Alien: Romulus 2 dead or what? It’s tough to say. Alvarez had always intended to return, but he left due to creative issues, likely with Scott. Rumors were that the film was shelved, but 20th Century Studios recently debunked that report. Michael Sarnoski (The Death of Robin Hood) was attached to direct, but he’s busy with Death Stranding. Evil Dead Burn director Sébastien Vaniček’s name has been mentioned, although he has yet to be confirmed.
What’s clear is that Scott has taken this vacuum left by Alvarez and stepped in to fill the void with the stuff he wants to do, whether audiences want it or not.
