Ridley Scott is developing a follow-up to his 2017 film Alien: Covenant, a decision that has left many fans of the long-running sci-fi horror franchise uneasy. The 88-year-old director, who helmed the original 1979 Alien, revealed that the new film will focus on the murderous android David, played by Michael Fassbender, as he creates, in Scott's own words, “a brave new world for himself.”
Franchise's Recent Resurgence
This news comes after a period of relative success for the franchise. In 2024, Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus was praised for returning to the series' roots, featuring xenomorphs chasing humans through corridors for the clear purposes of killing them or implanting smaller xenomorphs inside them. A year later, Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth reminded audiences that giant, murderous space insects are less awful than tech trillionaires, according to a recent commentary.
Scott's History with Sequels
Scott has a history of talking up sequels to Covenant. During the film's publicity run, he claimed a follow-up was already being written and that he would start shooting within 14 months. He also suggested he could make as many as six more Alien prequels, leading up to the original Alien. Eight years later, with no prequels made, Scott announced he had “done enough” with the franchise and hoped it would continue without him. Now, he appears to have reverted to his earlier stance.
Multiple Alien Projects in Development
The franchise is currently pursuing three different futures simultaneously. Alongside season two of Alien: Earth, a sequel to Romulus is in development, with Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues having finished the script. Álvarez will produce the sequel alongside Scott, while another director takes over. This leaves Scott's portentous, quasi-theological android opera as one of three approaches, and it is the only one that has been tried twice already, to diminishing enthusiasm.
Concerns Over David's Return
Fassbender's David is one of Alien's most intriguing antagonists, but he has been the principal attraction in two films that made little case for a third. If the character must be revisited, a high-end television offshoot would offer enough room to complete his story. Eight hours ought to be enough for even David to finish explaining himself, and most Alien fans would watch to the end. However, another movie in which David quotes poetry and perfects his egg collection while another crew of unwitting space colonists inspect it at suicidally close range is more doubtful.
The concern is that there are only so many times you can explain a nightmare before abject terror turns to outright tedium. The suggestion is to give David his limited series, then let the xenomorphs return to the honest work of killing supporting actors in ventilation shafts. In space, nobody needs to hear your origin story.
