Very, very disappointed with this. I think we could've gotten something truly special. People have been dreaming of seeing Ripley, Hicks, and Newt reunited since the comics in the 80's. This was a perfect storm opportunity that was seemingly sabotaged by Scott.
The most common complaint I saw about this film was "But I like Alien³." I love Alien³, and Blomkamp made it clear he wasn't trying to erase that film. Creating an alternate canon doesn't get rid of what came before. Blomkamp was humble, admitting his mistakes from previous films and pledging to learn from them, which is more than what can be said of most directors these days. His style would have complemented the Alien Universe immensely, just seeing those incredible pieces of art and even that prop pulse rifle got me way more pumped than anything leading up to Covenant. I really hope we get an art book or graphic novel for it someday.
Scott seems determined to keep the franchise to himself, and him saying possessive things like this franchise is "my baby" and "I'm not going to let this get away from me again" has been really off-putting. Alien was just as much of a product of Dan O'Bannon, H.R. Giger, and Ron Cobb as it was an accomplishment of Ridley Scott.
Scott also seemed to actively undermine the project, claiming there was no script, even though a script was confirmed by multiple high profile people, and saying about the film "It seems like shooting your big toe off." It's clear that he doesn't want anyone to play in his sandbox. It's entirely strange to me for someone who was never known for sequels to return to this franchise and claim to be the arbiter of it. I'm honestly glad that Covenant is bombing, perhaps it may bring Fox to their senses.
