Sir Ridley Scott Talks Alien: Earth & Continuing The Theatrical Story

With Gladiator 2 not far off the horizon, Sir Ridley Scott continues to appear in the film press, following his recent profile in The Hollywood Reporter where he briefly mentioned developing a new Alien film (we still think this is just the recently announced Alien Romulus sequel).

Talking once again to The Hollywood Reporter, Scott also talked about Noah Hawley’s upcoming series Alien: Earth, as well as answering a question on the possibility of the USCSS Covenant meeting up with Alien Romulus’s survivors. Though he didn’t really elaborate (or answer the question), Scott did say he thought it would be easier to spin a story from the end of Covenant:

People keep wondering if there will be a sequel to Covenant. But it occurred to me after watching Romulus that the next movie could be both. Both films ended with ships headed to a planet we’ve never been to. There’s no reason those characters couldn’t end up in the same place.

Covenant is the best one [for a sequel] because it leaves the girl in the [cryo pod] and [Michael Fassbender’s killer android] David has alien eggs and 2,000 colonists hanging around. It’s a perfect beginning.

Scott also lamented his lack of ownership over the Alien franchise, something he’s previously expressed his disappointment in.

You also said earlier you regret not getting an ownership stake in the IP of the Alien and Blade Runner franchises — unlike how Cameron and Spielberg have done with some of their work.

I made Alien and Blade Runner, but then I moved on. I should have locked them up — as Spielberg would have with Jurassic Park, and everything he does, and Cameron has done. Studios paid for them, but there’s a way of locking yourself into [ownership] during the negotiation. I watched Alien2, 3 and 4 and realized, “Oh, you just ran that firmly into the ground.” Then I went back to [former 20th Century Fox chief Tom Rothman] and said, “Listen, there’s a way out. We should resurrect Alien with Prometheus.” They made half a billion dollars — by now probably a billion with all the resales. It’s not what happens at the box office, it’s what happens after the box office. Then I went back with Alien: Covenant, and that was big and ambitious and maybe too intellectual to play as well. It still did $250 million, and I still stupidly didn’t lock it up. I don’t blame me, because I’m busy. I blame a couple other people, which is why we parted company.

Speaking on the upcoming Alien Earth and Blade Runner 2099, Scott also discussed the influence he’s had on the franchises.

You also have TV shows based on your movies coming out now (with Amazon’s Blade Runner 2099 from Silka Luisa and FX’s Alien: Earth from Noah Hawley). How do you feel about your big cinematic properties now being interpreted by others for the small screen?

I’ve created the pace visually for a while. I know exactly what I’ve done and how it has been influential, because I keep seeing it — “Oh, there’s me … there’s me…” It was annoying initially, but now it’s amusing and healthy. Like [Hawley] has gone down that route and definitely respected the original Alien. And from that, I can’t hope for anything more other than to keep it alive. I don’t care what the platform is. I’m keen to go home and watch it. All these subjects are embalmed forever and that’s very healthy.

Be sure to head on over to The Hollywood Reporter to check out the entire interview where Sir Ridley Scott discusses his upcoming Gladiator sequel, his history and some more bits on the Alien franchise.

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