When Ridley Scott got back into the Alien franchise with Prometheus he made it sound like he was going to continue making these movies until the end of time. Maybe not so much. After previously teasing several more Alien movies were in the cards for him, Scott now says that we may only get one or two more films within the Alien world before he's done. According to the director...
I don't know. [I'll make] maybe two more [films], or maybe one more, I don't know.
First Ridley Scott filmed Prometheus and very soon he'll be following that up with Alien: Covenant. Previously, the accomplished director had said that we could see as many six additional films following Covenant. However, these most recent comments to Yahoo Movies UK would appear to dial back those expectations considerably. Now he's talking about two more films at the most, and possibly only one.
We know for certain that we're getting at least one more film as Ridley Scott has stated that the script for that movie is currently being written and he expects to be filming it by next year. He further expands on that here to say that the film should see release within a year and nine months from now, which would put it no later than early 2020.
And while even yesterday we were expecting this next Alien film to be just another in an ongoing franchise, now it appears that this script being written could potentially be the last one that Ridley Scott plans to work on. Possibly, we could see one beyond that. It's not clear what has changed in the last couple of months to change the director's plans so drastically. Scott does talk a bit in the Yahoo interview about how Prometheus was not as warmly received as he would have liked, but certainly, he's known that for some time.
It's possible that the early reviews of Alien: Covenant might be having an impact on Scott's thinking. Currently, the film sits at a 74% fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. While that's a fairly solid average at this point, it's just above where Prometheus ended up (72%) and while reviews are trending positive, few of them are glowing. Many are just barely on the positive side of the line.
Of course, reviews aren't the only things that matter when it comes to deciding whether to move forward with a film idea. The box office will very likely be the determining factor. If the fans appreciate Alien: Covenant and show their love with ticket sales, then it's possible that sort of support could push Scott to make more movies in that world. We'll find out when Alien: Covenant lands in theaters May 19.
