Last week, the film world celebrated the 40th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi/horror masterpiece, “Alien.” Back in 1979, Scott and his talented cast and crew created a franchise, and a subgenre of film, that has become a staple of the industry. And even though the filmmaker hasn’t tried to work on a sequel to his film (as other people have done their best), Scott has been working on a prequel trilogy, which it appears he might actually get the chance to finish.
According to Variety, as part of the outlet’s ‘Alien’ celebration, it is reported that Scott is currently in the script phase of his third ‘Alien’ prequel that he will also direct. No word on the plot of the third film, at this point, but it’s assumed that it will continue the story of rogue android David and his quest to destroy pretty much everything.
As mentioned, this untitled third prequel would come on the heels of the first two in the series, “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant.” These films have been highly controversial among the ‘Alien’ fanbase, as Scott (the godfather of the series) has clearly decided the best course of action in exploring the world a bit more is to completely put the Xenomorphs on the backburner and focus on existential questions of the creation of life and what it takes to be human.
Many believe that these films are just vanity projects for Scott and not really ‘Alien’ films, but others feel like the first two prequels are interesting and help flesh out a world that was barely explored in the 1979 original. If you’re in the former category, you’re likely the same person that thinks that Scott and Fox messed up by not allowing Neill Blomkamp the opportunity to do his proposed ‘Alien 5’ film. Honestly, both arguments are valid, to a degree.
The good news about all of this is no matter what Scott does (or doesn’t do), the original ‘Alien’ is still an incredible film, worthy of celebrating. This is also where I tell you to run out and buy the 4K 40th Anniversary release of the film that just came out last month because it’s truly beautiful and the best presentation of the film I’ve ever seen. So, if you’re a little upset over Ridley Scott’s insistence on continuing his prequels, why not just relax and enjoy the original in the best possible way and pretend nothing else in the franchise exists. Well, except for James Cameron’s “Aliens.”
Meanwhile, Michael Fassbender is definitely down for more if Scott ever goes there.