Can you believe it’s been over 46 years since Alien was released? Ridley Scott directed the original Alien movie, which was released on May 25, 1979! The famed director had a lot to say about the franchise and his involvement, and whether he wants to do more.
What Did Director Ridley Scott Say?
Ridley Scott recently interviewed with ScreenRant, where he shared his thoughts about how the Alien franchise has done over the years, and he said he’s “done enough.”
I think I felt it was deadened after 4. 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, “F***, that’s the end of a franchise which should be as important as bloody Star Trek or Star Wars
In that quote, Ridley Scott is referring to the first four Alien films. The second film, Aliens, was directed by James Cameron. But then Alien 3 was directed by David Fincher, and Alien Resurrection was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Scott clearly thought those last two were so poorly done that they had killed the franchise completely.
It turns out that Scott was also the fifth choice for director of Alien. When he was offered the project, he said, “Are you kidding? I have to do this.” And it paid off. Alien grossed $78.9 million in the United States and £7.8 million in the United Kingdom in 1979. That was on a budget of $11 million. And, since then, it has continued to earn.
In 2012, Ridley Scott resurrected the franchise with Prometheus, followed by Alien: Covenant in 2017. Alien Romulus was directed by Fede Álvarez, but Ridley Scott remained involved as a producer.
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.
What’s Next for the Alien Franchise?
Mark your calendars for August 21, 2025. Alien Earth will premiere on FX and will stream on Hulu. The series follows “Wendy” (Sydney Chandler), who is the first hybrid prototype, a robot infused with human consciousness, in the year 2120. The Weyland-Yutani spaceship crashes into Prodigy City, and it sounds like the hybrids have a very serious situation on their hands.
From the key art and trailer (and the fact that it’s in the Alien universe), we see that Xenomorphs were one of the creatures on the crashed ship. The key art gives the show the typical dark, scary look of previous Alien projects. And the trailer makes it look like an Alien movie, too. Ridley Scott is the executive producer, so that we can trust this one. It’s going to be good.
There’s also a sequel movie to Alien: Romulus in the works. There isn’t a lot of information on this one, though. So we’ll have to wait and see. If we learn more, we’ll share updates here, so check back! And don’t forget to bookmark our site. We’ll keep you informed on all the latest entertainment news!
