It has been almost 40 years since Ridley Scott's first Alien movie burst its way into theaters and covered us in blood. The film has carved out a grisly legacy for itself, and the overall Alien franchise has become one of the most iconic series in Hollywood. With the upcoming release of Alien: Covenant, Ridley Scott is going to bridge Prometheus with the proper Alien series, and it now seems that the legendary director has no qualm about sticking with these films for the foreseeable future. Scott explained:
If you really want a franchise, I can keep cranking it for another six. I'm not going to close it down again. No way.
Ridley Scott's recent comments to The Sydney Morning Herald suggest the distinct possibility that the 79-year-old director could stick around the Alien franchise for quite some time. As long as the franchise keeps going, he will be willing to keep going with it. Of course, it is not terribly surprising to learn that he is so committed to more Alien films when we look at the current state of the horror genre. Horror films have experienced a significant resurgence in quality over the course of the last few years, and a renewed interest in the genre means that there has never been a better time for the Xenomorphs to coming crashing back into our lives. The more Alien films we get, the better.
If he is serious about this commitment, then we probably won't have to wait very long to see the next part of his plan. Although it has been five years since Prometheus hit theaters, recent reports indicate that Ridley Scott's sequel to Alien: Covenant will have a gap no longer than two years and that it "should be ready to go next year."
It will be genuinely interesting to see where Ridley Scott takes the Alien franchise after Covenant, because the blowback from Prometheus seems to have taken him back to the roots of the franchise. Although it is pretty clear that he is not completely ignoring the events of Prometheus with Covenant, the upcoming Alien sequel appears to lean heavily into the sci-fi slasher horror of the original Alien movie.
Where Ridley Scott will take the franchise from here remains to be seen, but it is becoming increasingly evident that seeds planted in Prometheus (the black goo, Michael Fassbender's David, and The Engineers) will slowly but surely start to pay off in significant and poignant ways, while maintaining the horror style that we love. After almost four decades, maybe we will finally learn the secret origins of the Xenomorphs in a way that's clear, easy to understand, and (most importantly) terrifying.
Alien: Covenant will hit theaters later this year on May 19, 2017. Are you as excited for Alien: Covenant as we are? Check out a trailer for the upcoming sci-fi horror adventure on the next page!
