A longtime filmmaking veteran, who can pretty much get any actor he wants for his movies, even decades into the game, Ridley Scott doesn’t like wasting time or money. His productions are generally known for being fast, finished on time, and on budget. His efficiency is why he was able to replace Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer mere weeks before “All The Money In The World” was slated to open, reshoot all the necessary scenes, and get the picture into cinemas without any delay. However, the director also smells franchise opportunities when they’re cooking.
Earlier this year, Scott spoke plainly about his belief that “Alien” and “Blade Runner” could do with a George Lucas style touch.
“George Lucas. You know, and the way he’s handled ‘Star Wars‘ has been spectacular. It’s what I’ve been trying to do to really evolve ‘Alien,’ because in those days I wasn’t into making sequels, but now suddenly you realize, ‘Well, that’s stupid.’ I’ll use the word ‘duh’ again, right? You’d better get into sequels, duh. So that’s in a way what I’ve been doing,” he explained.
Speaking with the Toronto Sun, Scott continues that thread, and believes “Alien” could be just as big as the series set in a galaxy far, far away.
“There’s no reason why ‘Alien’ should now not be on the same level for fans as ‘Star Trek‘ and ‘Star Wars.’ So I think the next step as to where we go is, do we sustain the ‘Alien’ [series] with the evolution of the beast or do we reinvent something else? I think you need to have an evolution on this famous beast because he’s the best monster ever, really,” the director said, adding that he believes Daniels and Tennessee would survive from “Alien: Covenant” to the next film.
As for what the future holds for “Alien,” Scott isn’t sure — especially in this new era of Disney owning Fox — but thinks the brand is too good to leave on the table, and he’s eager to continue.
“I would like to; they’re crazy if they don’t. David is a fantastic villain. I love what [Michael Fassbender] did in ‘Covenant.’ But it’s f—ing hard, dude. We lifted ‘Alien’ out of a ditch and made ‘Prometheus,’ ” he said.
Given the underwhelming box office for both “Blade Runner 2049” and “Alien: Covenant,” it might be uphill climb to franchise ubiquity for both of those series, but if there’s one thing Hollywood has taught us, movie properties are never dead for long.