Sir Ridley Scott has revealed he won’t be making any more Alien films, believing he has “done enough” with the franchise.
The filmmaking legend directed the first film, 1979’s Alien, telling the story of a predatory lifeform that hunts the crew of a spaceship. The film starred Sigourney Weaver and is regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films ever made.
After that film, James Cameron took over for the sequel Aliens (1986). Two more sequels followed, before two Alien Vs Predator crossovers in the 2000s. Scott would then return to the franchise with 2012 prequel Prometheus and 2016’s Alien: Covenant.
Despite the success of the most recent film, last year’s Alien: Romulus (directed by Fede Álvarez), Scott’s original and Cameron’s sequel are considered the high points for the franchise. In an interview with Screen Rant, the director echoed those sentiments.
“I think I felt it was deadened after four” he said, referring to 1997’s Alien Resurrection. “I think mine was pretty damn good, and I think Jim’s was good, and I have to say the rest were not very good. And I thought, ‘Fuck, that’s the end of a franchise which should be as important as bloody Star Trek or Star Wars’”.
Recalling the original film, he revealed: “I was the fifth fucking choice. Why you offered Robert Altman Alien, God only knows” he said. “Altman said, ‘Are you kidding? I’m not going to do this,’ and I went, ‘Are you kidding? I have to do this,’ because it borders and verges on heavy metal”.
He continues: “So that’s where I went, and then (the franchise) died. A number of years after, I said, ‘I’m going to resurrect this,’ (and wrote) Prometheus from scratch–a blank sheet of paper. Damon Lindelof and I sat then hammered out Prometheus”.
He said of his latter films: “It was very present and very welcome. The audience really wanted more. I said, ‘It needs to fly.’ No one was coming for it, (and) I went once again (and made) Alien: Covenant, and it worked too. Where it’s going now, I think I’ve done enough, and I just hope it goes further”.
Last year, Alvarez shared how Ridley Scott gave him advice for the making of Alien: Romulus.