Ridley Scott Says He’s “Ready to Go” on Alien: Covenant Sequel

We’re salivating for Alien: Covenant to hit theaters like a xenomorph about to pop its inner jaw into its next victim, but director Ridley Scott said he’s ready to move on to the next movie, the second of three planned sequels to Prometheus, which effectively relaunched the Alien franchise by delving into the origins of the eponymous creatures. Fans were more than a little disappointed that the classic xenomorph did not appear in Prometheus, and Scott told The Sydney Morning Herald that their reaction to the movie helped inform his decisions going forward.

What we did really well on ‘Prometheus,’ considering that it was a ground zero idea that was starting all over again, was I discovered that people do have an appetite for the alien and what he means and his evolution – the egg, the facehugger, the chestburster as we call them. People still want to see it. So I return to a little bit of that but not wholeheartedly; there’s a lot in here which is new as well.

Scott hadn’t been involved with the Alien franchise since the original movie, but he became interested in revitalizing it when he realized that there was one important question left unanswered.

‘Alien’ was special without question; it was unique really. ‘Prometheus’ was a good starting block to kick off the idea that no one ever asked in the sequels. That question is who made the chest-bursting alien and for what purpose? ‘Prometheus’ was about who and why? This is getting closer to who designed it and for what reason.

Scott won’t give away too much about Alien: Covenant, but he did say that it’s “about evolution” and described it as “pretty scary.” Assuming Alien: Coventant is a success — and from the looks of the movie’s teaser, trailer and extended clip it will be — Scott wants to a launch right into the next movie and already has a script.

You’ve got to assume to a certain extent success and from that you’d better be ready. You don’t want a two-year gap. So I’ll be ready to go again next year.

Alien: Covenant was written by John Logan (Spectre). Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir and Carmen Ejogo star.

The movie is slated for release on May 19, 2017.