“Alien: Covenant” is coming, and if you ask me, it looks a lot like “Prometheus,” just bigger and faster. There’s no doubt that the reboot/prequel earned its fair share of complaints — most notably that the characters made piss poor decisions at almost every turn — and fans were looking for something smarter in Ridley Scott‘s return to the “Alien” universe. But that’s not quite what the director heard, as VFX supervisor Neil Corbuld explained to Collider the approach being taken on the upcoming sequel.
“[Ridley Scott] did listen to the criticism, if you like, of [‘Prometheus’] and people wanted more aliens. The other thing as well is that certain studios want to make a certain movie, and sometimes your hands are tied for horror. If you’re making it for a PG-13 or 15, your hands are tied to give proper horrors. But when the gloves are off and it’s 18 or R-rated, then you can make the movie exactly what you want — with more aliens. He listened to the audience, that they want more aliens — they’re gonna get a lot more aliens. More than they probably anticipated,” he said.
READ MORE: ‘Alien: Covenant’ Unleashes Xenomorph Mayhem In New Trailer
Here’s the thing: “Prometheus” was R-rated, and I don’t remember anyone complaining about a specific lack of aliens. But anyway, it looks like they’re really going full throttle with ‘Covenant,’ as the series seems to be continually pivoting away from the finely calibrated horror of the original. As for the franchise, while Scott has previously had that everything will eventually link to “Alien,” it now seems we’re going to be getting an unending number of followups. In fact, the next movie is already written.
“You’ve got to assume to a certain extent success and from that you’d better be ready,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald. “You don’t want a two-year gap. So I’ll be ready to go again next year.”
“If you really want a franchise, I can keep cranking it for another six,” he added. “I’m not going to close it down again. No way.” Geez.
“Alien: Covenant” opens on May 19th.