Is the Sequel to Alien: Romulus Canceled After Ridley Scott Resurrected His Prequel?

Ridley Scott has been tied to the Alien franchise since he launched it in 1979, even as other filmmakers steered the series in different directions over the decades. James Cameron famously turned the sequel into an action film with Aliens, while David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet pushed the Xenomorph mythology into stranger territory through the 1990s. Scott returned to the director’s chair for two prequels, Prometheus in 2012 and Alien: Covenant in 2017, both of which drew mixed reactions from critics and saw a steep decline in box office returns. Fede Álvarez then redirected the series back toward its horror roots with Alien: Romulus in 2024, a film that grossed $350.9 million worldwide and renewed industry confidence in the property. However, with a sequel to Romulus in development at 20th Century Studios for years, Scott has now reentered the franchise in an unexpected way, claiming he will handle the next Alien release calendar.

“I’m rewriting the next Alien movie,” Scott told French outlet AlloCiné. “I suddenly went back and got involved. The one that just came out last year [Romulus] was okay. I think it needs some help. So I’ve gone back in.” From his words, Scott has taken direct creative control of the franchise’s next theatrical installment. We also know where the filmmaker wants to take the franchise next. “I’ve already got a footprint for the next Alien,” Scott added. “We did Prometheus and then Covenant. So I’m picking up where we left off in Covenant with Michael Fassbender, who now thinks he’s Ozymandias.” The premise ties the new film directly to the ending of Alien: Covenant, where David (Fassbender) secretly assumed the identity of his successor android, Walter, and took command of a colony ship carrying thousands of sleeping settlers alongside a hidden cargo of Xenomorph specimens. Framing David through Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias,” which the character quoted throughout both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, suggests Scott intends to push the android’s god complex further. So, where does this leave Alien: Romulus?

Is the Alien: Romulus Sequel Dead?

The fate of the Alien: Romulus sequel is uncertain for now. Scott’s blunt assessment of Romulus as merely “okay,” combined with his decision to take over the franchise’s next script, raises the question of whether the Romulus follow-up will be replaced or simply delayed behind Scott’s Covenant-focused project. On top of that, in late July 2026, a report claimed the Romulus sequel had been indefinitely shelved following Álvarez’s exit from the director’s chair, citing friction with Scott over Fassbender’s David appearing in the film. Steve Asbell, 20th Century Studios’ President of Production, publicly denied the claim in a one-word reply to a since-deleted post repeating the rumor. However, in light of Scott’s new reveals, it’s likely that the dismissed report had some truth to it.

No director has been named for the Romulus sequel after Álvarez’s departure, and Scott’s admission that he has “gone back in” for a prequel leaves the studio’s priorities unclear. On top of that, since Scott is “rewriting” the script instead of making a new story, maybe there isn’t much hope for an Alien: Romulus sequel. Sure, Scott could be rewriting Alien: Awakening, announced as Scott’s intended follow-up to Covenant before the studio shelved it following the film’s weaker box office performance in 2017. However, if there were indeed friction about David appearing in the Alien: Romulus sequel, perhaps Scott’s idea was to unite both segments of the timeline. That would be a mistake, as Romulus succeeded by steering away from the prequels’ approach, and closing the door on anyone continuing that story is bound to backfire. The best-case scenario now is for the Alien: Romulus sequel to keep in development parallel to Scott’s movie, although in that case we shouldn’t expect a release anytime soon.

What Will Ridley Scott’s New Alien Movie Be About?

Fassbender first played David in Prometheus, portraying the android as a quietly unsettling figure fascinated by the Weyland Corporation’s search for humanity’s creators. Alien: Covenant deepened the role in 2017, giving Fassbender a dual performance that contrasted David’s manipulative curiosity against the restrained programming of his successor model, Walter. Critics and audiences agreed that Fassbender’s performance was one of the best elements of both prequels, even as the films themselves divided viewers over their philosophical detours. While we don’t know exactly what the future of Alien holds, Scott confirmed he will keep following the same narrative thread.

“I like the fact that AI has gone off the rails,” Scott said, connecting David’s storyline to contemporary anxieties about artificial intelligence. “If we go AI, the moment we discover it’s off the rails, it’s too late. It could switch every digital thing off in the world like that. You’d have f–king chaos. It’s that kind of stuff that’s scary.” Reviving the prequel in 2026, with AI anxiety now embedded in mainstream conversation, gives Scott’s long-dormant prequel a cultural relevance it lacked when it was first conceived. To be fair, that does sound like a concept that can be interesting to watch in the world of Alien. Still, the new chapter of David’s narrative should not get in the way of a Romulus sequel.

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