20th Century Fox’s “Alien” prequel is growing legs with Jon Spaihts “now hired to scribe. Who? Spaihts wrote an unproduced sci-fi script called “Shadow 19” that has Keanu Reeves attached and also has been hired to write a space epic called, “
“Passengers,” but he has no discernible IMDB credits yet.
Spaihts apparently got the job after pitching to the studio and the director’s Scott Free, which will produce the film.
More importantly, it looks like Ridley Scott has bitten the bullet and is now “attached to return as director” despite championing protege Carl Erik Rinsch to helm.
This is perhaps because Fox insisted they would not move forward on any “Alien” prequel project unless Scott was directing himself. Not much is known about the plot other than it will be set before the events that took place in Scott’s 1979 original, “Alien,” so presumably Sigourney Weaver will not be in the picture.
If Spaihts’ pitch however was enough to excite Scott into directing, we must admit, we’re mildly intrigued. [BFDealMemo]