Ridley Scott‘s original Alien movie was a groundbreaking horror sci-fi which introduced the world to HR Giger‘s horrifying Xenomorph, which quickly became one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time. Giger’s astonishingly designed extraterrestrial terror was literally straight out of the artists nightmares, and was brought to life by Nigerian actor Bolaji Badejo. But in a recent interview with Empire Magazine’s podcast Scott revealed that if he gets the chance to continue his Alien franchise the film might not actually be focused on the titular creatures at all!
In the interview Scott elaborated on his vision for the franchise after Alien: Covenant. “I think the evolution of the Alien himself is nearly over,” Scott shockingly stated. “But what I was trying to do was transcend and move to another story, which would be taken over by A.I.’s. The world that the A.I. might create as a leader if he finds himself onto [sic] a new planet. We have actually quite a big layout for the next one,” Scott teased. For fans of the later installments of the series this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
When Scott returned to the world of Alien with the prequel Prometheus in 2012, fans were split. They loved the philosophical world building of the film but also recognized that it stood in stark contrast with the bleak horror of the first movie and barely included the iconic monster or kickass action that’d defined the franchise for so long. Whether or not you enjoyed the movie, there was one thing that critics and fans alike lauded and that was Michael Fassbender‘s performance as David, the ship’s android who was raised as a son by the proverbial puppet master Peter Weyland, the head of the Weyland Yutani corporation. His chilling turn as an uncanny valley inducing robot with mysterious machinations was a stand out of the series and so it wasn’t a surprise when he became the center of the movie’s follow up, Alien: Covenant.
While Prometheus was hopeful and curious, Covenant was nihilistic and bleak, an existential mediation on survival and humanity that focused almost solely on Fassbender’s David, along with a new and “improved” android, Walter. Scott’s sequel strayed from many of the sci-fi tropes we know, instead creating a classic gothic horror story built around David’s journey into a modern Frankenstein, becoming obsessed with the Alien life form that he discovered in Prometheus. Ridley Scott‘s return to hard-R horror not only heavily featured Xenomorphs closer to the ones we know and love from the original movies but it was also a masterclass in atmospheric storytelling, a ghost story focused on the ever-living instead of the dead. Without getting too far into spoiler territory, the last act reveal made it clear that the true focus here wasn’t the Aliens but the man(droid) who’d played a part in creating them.
Though the Alien movies are most widely known for Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley and the monstrous Xenomorph, creator HR Giger’s relationship with the franchise after the original was fraught. James Cameron openly stated he could make a better creation than the Swiss surrealist, cutting ties with Giger in a now notorious letter. For Prometheus, Scott invited Giger back and gave him an art direction credit, utilizing his incredible vision to create the expansive world of the prequel. But before he could return for Covenant. Giger passed away and with him went the ability to create more of the lore and look of the Xenomorph.
So maybe now is the perfect time for Scott to change the focus of the movies, expanding his exploration of a robot who in reality is just trying to do his best in the face of a species who he sees as irrelevant and dangerous. A very modern horror story that is becoming closer to reality every day? What do you think? Let us know in the comments?
Images: Fox
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