While Alien: Covenant was originally intended to be the second part of a trilogy that kicked off with 2012’s Prometheus, the film underperformed when it hit theaters in 2017, and since then, Disney has gained control of the Alien franchise after its massive acquisition of Fox. In short, the odds of director Ridley Scott completing his prequel trilogy haven’t been looking great. Or so you’d think.
In a recent interview with the L.A. Times, Scott revealed that he’s still working on a sequel to Alien: Covenant:
“I still think there’s a lot of mileage in ‘Alien,’ but I think you’ll have to now re-evolve,” Scott said. “What I always thought when I was making it, the first one, why would a creature like this be made and why was it traveling in what I always thought was a kind of war-craft, which was carrying a cargo of these eggs. What was the purpose of the vehicle and what was the purpose of the eggs? That’s the thing to question — who, why, and for what purpose is the next idea, I think.”
While Scott’s quote confirms reports from 2019 that a Covenant sequel is in the script phase, it also still seems to be stuck there, which should temper expectations for Scott delivering a new Alien film anytime soon. On top of that, Collider reports that he still has to finish directing The Last Duel with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, which saw its production delayed by the pandemic, and then move quickly to Gucci starring Lady Gaga.
Of course, Alien fans could see a situation where Scott hands over directorial duties while serving as producer, which would echo the situation on Indiana Jones 5 where Steven Spielberg passed the reins of that classic franchise to director James Mangold.
(Via L.A. Times)