Legendary director Ridley Scott has confirmed he's stepping away from the Alien franchise, stating: "I believe I've done all I can."
The 87-year-old British filmmaker, who pioneered the series with 1979's groundbreaking sci-fi horror Alien before reviving it with 2012's Prometheus, told ScreenRant in a recent discussion: "Looking at its current direction, I feel my contribution is complete, and I truly hope it continues to evolve."
Scott has entrusted the Alien universe to capable successors, with Fede Álvarez's successful Alien: Romulus and Noah Hawley's upcoming FX series Alien: Earth. Alien: Romulus performed so strongly that plans for a sequel are already underway. Additionally, several Alien crossover elements appear in the forthcoming Predator: Badlands.
During the same conversation, Scott reflected on how the franchise declined after 1997's Alien: Resurrection, explaining how this motivated him to rejuvenate the series with Prometheus. Scott continued the narrative with 2017's Alien: Covenant, which remained the franchise's latest mainline installment until last year's Alien: Romulus.
"I felt the series lost momentum after the fourth installment," he recalled. "I consider my original strong, and James Cameron's sequel excellent, but the subsequent entries didn't meet the same standard. I thought, 'This can't be the end of a franchise that deserves the cultural impact of Star Trek or Star Wars,' which I find extraordinary."
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He continued: "Years later, I decided to revitalize the franchise, developing Prometheus entirely from scratch. Damon Lindelof and I collaborated intensely to craft Prometheus.
"The response was immediate and positive. Audiences were clearly eager for more. I declared, 'This needs to soar.' When no one else stepped forward, I took the helm again with Alien: Covenant, which also resonated successfully. Regarding its future direction, I believe my work here is complete, and I sincerely hope the journey continues."
While Scott has confirmed he won't direct additional Alien films, he served as producer on Alien: Romulus and acts as executive producer for Alien: Earth through his Scott Free production company. Speaking of Alien: Earth, its debut trailer gave fans substantial new material to analyze.
