This summer, Ridley Scott gave audiences an unprecedented look into the mythology of the Xenomorphs with Alien: Covenant. The All the Money in the World director has remained vocal about his desire to continue fleshing out the dynamic between the deadly extraterrestrial creature and the artificial intelligence portrayed by Michael Fassbender, but now the future of that franchise does not seem quite as set in stone as we had previously thought. In fact, if new rumors hold true, we may not get a sequel to Alien: Covenant at all.
A new rumor circulating the web indicates that the folks at 20th Century Fox are no longer interested in pursuing a sequel to Alien: Covenant. Production on the proposed film was supposedly set to begin in Sydney Australia this month, but Covenant's underwhelming box office performance reportedly led to the project's cancellation. From there, a warehouse full of Alien franchise supplies was auctioned off, and there appears to be no set plan for anything else in this universe.
If you are one of the people who enjoyed Alien: Covenant, then this may come as a bit of a disappointment. The most recent installment in the Alien franchise ends on an obvious cliffhanger, as the mythologies of Alien and Prometheus finally bridge when David absconds with a set of Xenomorph embryos and a ship full of viable test subjects. Alien: Covenant very clearly concludes with the promise of more story (Ridley Scott had even teased a sequel called Alien: Awakening at one point), but if the next installment is now canceled then the Alien franchise may once again go back on ice for the foreseeable future.
This development naturally raises clear questions about where the Alien franchise could go if no sequel to Alien: Covenant is coming. The Alien IP was one of many properties acquired by Disney in its landmark deal to purchase Fox, and if the deal goes through, then it means Alien could find itself under new management within the next few years. This could lead to a full-blown reboot or merely a prolonged period of hibernation; neither option would necessarily surprise us at this point in time.
Of course, the main thing worth noting about this rumor circulating on Blu-ray.com is the fact that it has not received definitive confirmation or denial yet. Nobody at 20th Century Fox has explicitly acknowledged these rumors yet, which means that we have to take them with heaping helpings of salt.
We will have to wait and see if the Alien: Covenant sequel is genuinely canceled, but for now, you can catch Ridley Scott's latest directorial effort in the form of All the Money in the World, which is now in theaters.
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