Once upon a time, Ridley Scott mapped out a planned Alien prequel trilogy that encompassed a larger narrative arc leading to the 1979 groundbreaking original. But after releasing Alien: Covenant – the second film in the prequel trilogy in 2017, a supposedly third follow-up has since hit a roadblock. But the good news is that Scott is far from giving up the franchise, as the 88-year-old director, who has a new film called The Dog Stars out in cinemas this Friday, confirms the long-gestating third Alien prequel is in the works, following his recent interview with the Los Angeles Times.
According to Scott, the story will continue with David (Michael Fassbender) creating “a brave new world for himself”. The director even added that he’s intrigued by the “malfunctioned AI” character, stating, “AIs can go off [and] if they do, it’s like a bomb.” This comes across as a positive update for those who’ve been longing for what happens after the events of Alien: Covenant.
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Why the Alien: Covenant Sequel Took Almost a Decade to Happen
The indefinite delay stemmed from the second film failing to perform as well as expected when it was released during the prime summer 2017 release on May, grossing only $240.9 million worldwide against a huge production budget between $97-111 million. Such a financial underperformance naturally resulted in the then-20th Century Fox having cold feet, forcing the studio to re-evaluate the priority of greenlighting the third movie, despite Scott initially planning to start filming in 2018.
It didn’t help that 2019 marked a significant industry shift involving the Disney-Fox merger, and with corporate restructuring and inevitable changes of plans, Scott tried his best to negotiate with the new studio executives to let him complete the David arc for the third Alien prequel. But given the erratic history of the Alien franchise, Disney ultimately put the IP on the back burner for the time being.
Then came December 2020, as the studio finally reignited the path for the Alien franchise to continue, except it had nothing to do with the third Alien prequel; instead shifted to a new TV series for FX titled Alien: Earth under Noah Hawley’s creative supervision. In 2022, Disney greenlit a brand-new Alien feature film, albeit a rather standalone effort – Alien: Romulus – directed by Don’t Breathe‘s Fede Álvarez that took place between the events of Alien and Aliens, with Scott serving as a co-producer. Released in the dog days of summer in August, 2024, Alien: Romulus opened to mostly positive reviews and did exceptionally well at the worldwide box office, raking in $350.9 million on a reasonable $80 million budget.
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Alien: Covenant’s Biggest Problem — And What the Sequel Could Fix
Looking back at Alien: Covenant, the fact that Scott chose to regress his second Alien prequel to a more familiar been-there, done-that formula rather than continue to embrace the bold direction previously seen in the thematically cerebral approach in 2012’s Prometheus ended up being a missed opportunity.
The story mainly revolves around the crew – among them played by Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, and Danny McBride — of the titular colony ship investigate an uncharted planet, only to encounter something sinister. The narrative angle surrounding David and Walter – two identical androids with distinct personalities — sparks a few intriguing storytelling moments, including a surprising turning point in the third act that ends the otherwise underwhelming Alien: Covenant with a cliffhanger ending.
At the time of writing, the third Alien prequel is still without a release date. Scott himself already has his hands full with a packed schedule, from the upcoming big-screen adaptation of Treasure Island starring Hugh Jackman to other planned projects like Covenant with Death and the Bee Gees biopic.
Until we get an official title, cast, or a start date confirmed, the Alien: Covenant sequel is nothing more than “in development”. While Ridley Scott has revealed what it’s about, we have to wait and see if it pans out.
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