Ridley Scott Confirms Another ‘Alien’ Movie Is Still Happening

A disappointing sequel in a beloved franchise can sometimes mean the abandonment of that saga until a studio can figure out the best way to move forward, making Alien fans wary of what the franchise’s future holds after Alien: Covenant underwhelmed audiences and critics. Despite these setbacks, series creator Ridley Scott has once again confirmed that the saga will move forward, but audiences should prepare to see less focus on the extraterrestrials.

“We are [going to make another], we are,” Scott confirmed. “I think what we have to do is gradually drift away from the alien stuff. People say, ‘You need more alien, you need more face pulling, need more chest bursting,’ so I put a lot of that in Covenant and it fitted nicely. But I think if you go again you need to start finding another solution that’s more interesting.”

Despite the varied responses to Covenant, one of the factors that drew the most acclaim was Michael Fassbender’s performance as an android, which is sure to become more prominent in the franchise moving forward.

“I think AI is becoming much more dangerous and therefore more interesting,” Scott explained.

“Fassbender was an AI,” Scott reminded readers. “Ian Holm [from Alien] was an AI; Roy Batty [from Blade Runner] was an AI; so was Rachael [from Blade Runner].”

These recent comments seemingly confirm his thoughts on the franchise that he expressed earlier this year, as the filmmaker appears to be less concerned about audience expectations.

“I think the evolution of the Alien himself is nearly over,” Scott explained to Empire Film Podcast. “But what I was trying to do was transcend and move to another story, which would be taken over by A.I.’s. The world that the AI might create as a leader if he finds himself on a new planet. We have actually quite a big layout for the next one.”

Following Scott’s original Alien, many of the sequels focused on various formulas of the horrifying creature hunting down groups of humans who were stranded in a location for one reason or another.

In 2012, Scott returned to the franchise for the prequel Prometheus, which many fans thought would reignite the magic of the original franchise. Rather, the film focused more on themes of creator vs. creation, leaving audiences wanting more horror.

Alien: Covenant assuredly continued the themes presented in Prometheus, while also incorporating more survival horror, but that still wasn’t enough for most audiences.

No details have been released about when a new film in the franchise will move forward.

[H/T Entertainment Weekly]