Ridley Scott Still Wishes He Got to Make Alien and Blade Runner Sequels

Ridley Scott has had to see his landmark sci-fi films Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982) get handled by new visionary directors, with Dune director Denis Villeneuve directing the 2017 sequel film Blade Runner 2049, and director Fede Alvarez bringing Alien: Romulus to theaters this year. Alien: Romulus is a spiritual sequel to Scott’s original Alien film, which will see a group of young, would-be space-raiders board a ship that’s infested with Xenomorphs. The new Alien film has a lot of fans looking back at the original film again – including Sir Ridley Scott himself. 

In a new interview with Vanity Fair about his upcoming sequel to Gladiator (2000), Ridley Scott spoke candidly about his career and the film industry. The acclaimed filmmaker is now willing to admit that shepherding his groundbreaking films into larger franchises was a missed opportunity:

“I was slow out the starting gate,” Scott explained. “I mean, I should have done the sequels to Alien and to Blade Runner. You change over the years. At that time, I didn’t want to go through it again. So Jim Cameron came in—and then David Fincher—on Alien.” 

Scott revealed that producers and/or studios like Warner Bros. (Blade Runner) and 20th Century Fox (Alien) didn’t give him any choice on what happened with sequels:

“I’m the author of two franchises. Most directors in Hollywood—certainly, let’s say, at my level—don’t let that stuff go,” Scott continued. “But I did Alien as my second movie, so I didn’t have much choice. And Blade Runner was my third movie. So, I had no choice because I had very tough partners. It was kind of ‘Welcome to Hollywood.’” 

Alien proceeded to become a franchise universe with three sequel films and two crossover films (with the Predator films) before Ridley Scott got the reigns back for the 2012 prequel film, Prometheus. It’s a part of the business that Ridley Scott is still feeling raw about: 

“I was never told or asked,” he said, in regards to how sequels to his films were handled. “You can imagine I wasn’t happy.”

When it came to the subject of Blade Runner 2049, Scott admitted he was happy with the choice of director to carry the franchise, even while he was sad it wasn’t him: “I was regretful, although he [Denis Villeneuve] did a good job.” 

Alien: Romulus has a theatrical release date of August 16th.