Alien Director Ridley Scott Weighs in on the Status of the Franchise

Director of the original 1979 Alien and prequel films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant Ridley Scott recently reminded fans that he sees a lot of "mileage" that has yet to be explored in the franchise, even if there are no official updates on what direction the series' future would explore. In its more than 40-year history, the series has delivered fans a variety of adventures and diverse storytelling genres, which has also expanded outside of movies to include video games and comic books. Now that Disney has obtained the rights to the series, fans are left to speculate about how the gruesome series could continue under a studio known for offering tamer fare.

"I still think there's a lot of mileage in Alien, but I think you'll have to now re-evolve," Scott shared with the Los Angeles Times. "What I always thought when I was making it, the first one, why would a creature like this be made and why was it traveling in what I always thought was a kind of war-craft, which was carrying a cargo of these eggs. What was the purpose of the vehicle and what was the purpose of the eggs? That's the thing to question — who, why, and for what purpose is the next idea, I think."

In the original film, the crew of the Nostromo fell under attack by a monstrous xenomorph that had infiltrated their ship, while the android Ash also malfunctioned on board and caused serious complications for the ship's survival. In sequels Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien: Resurrection, the xenomorph became the primary threat, a trend which continued in crossover films Alien vs. Predator and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem. When Scott returned to the series for the prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the filmmaker deviated from the beastly threats and delved more into the terrors of artificial intelligence, much to the dismay of some audiences.

Following the release of Covenant and the lackluster financial reception of the two prequels, Alien's future seemed to be in jeopardy, despite Scott often claiming his plans for the prequels was to include a third film. When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, it included many of its most famous franchises, including Alien. Given the series' macabre tone, reports have emerged that the series could continue on one of Disney's newly obtained streaming platforms so it could fully embrace its violent subject matter.

Stay tuned for updates on the Alien franchise.

What would you like to see in the franchise's future? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!