Ridley Scott is planning a new Alien film that would continue the storyline left unresolved by Alien: Covenant, according to reports. The project is said to be in development almost a decade after the 2017 film ended with the android David seizing control of the spaceship.
News of a possible continuation has excited fans of the franchise, since Covenant's ending clearly left much still to explain about what David intended to do next with the power he had gained.
The Alien franchise began in 1979 with Scott's original film, which introduced the xenomorph, a hostile extraterrestrial creature that became one of the most recognisable monsters in science-fiction cinema. The film also introduced Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, who went on to become one of the genre's most enduring heroines across several sequels, including Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection.
Scott, a British filmmaker also known for Blade Runner and Gladiator, returned to the Alien series decades later to direct two prequels, Prometheus in 2012 and Alien: Covenant in 2017, both set before the events of the original film and both available to stream on Disney+.
Prometheus shifted focus to humanity's origins
Prometheus, which starred Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender, took the franchise in a different direction. Rather than focusing on survival against a xenomorph, the film explored the question of the origin of humanity, a change that divided audiences and critics.
The film introduced the Engineers, a species presented as humanity's possible creators, along with the black pathogen, a substance that became a fundamental part of understanding the saga's biology.
Alien: Covenant, which also starred Katherine Waterston and Danny McBride alongside Fassbender, moved even further away from those questions by making the android David the central character driving the plot. That shift is likely the main reason the two prequels feel disconnected from one another, according to reports.
Why the prequels felt disjointed
Prometheus leaves unclear what plans had been conceived for humanity, while Covenant attempts to explain how David continued many of the Engineers' experiments. The film then ends before showing what David plans to do from that point onward.
Scott's new project could pick up the story exactly where Covenant left off, allowing those ideas to be developed properly, according to reports.
David and a 'new world' of his own
Although the two prequels may not have had the strongest execution, they did raise interesting conceptual ideas, the reports noted. Covenant's ending is said to give Scott a solid starting point for the new film.
Scott said the idea behind the project is to follow David as he builds a new world for himself, finally showing what he is capable of doing with the power he now holds.
Could the Engineers return?
The new film could also bring back the Engineers. Although Prometheus devoted most of its runtime to explaining who they were, Covenant proved contradictory by eliminating them before their role in the saga could be explored further.
David now holds the Engineers' knowledge and the pathogen he used in his experiments, meaning many of the concepts linked to them could resurface in the new project, according to reports.
Scott is described as having the best chance yet to give David a complete, closed narrative, which has fueled strong anticipation for the project among fans of the saga.
As of now, neither Scott nor the studio has officially confirmed the project, and no release date, cast or title has been announced.
