Ridley Scott Should Really Let Neill Blomkamp Make an Alien Film: Sigourney Weaver Is Still Ripley
The legend that is Sigourney Weaver reprised her role as Alien’s Ripley on The Colbert Show recently and it was outstanding. So why does it look like Ridley Scott holding up Neill Blomkamp from making a film with her?
First of all, please watch the video above, it’s amazing. I somehow missed it but my brother shared it with me this afternoon and I knew I had to show it you all of you immediately.
Now, some history on the Blomkamp Alien project. The District 9 director was campaigning to take on the franchise, even showing some concept art of Ripley, Hicks, and a xernomorph. In February of 2015 he said, “I think it’s officially my next film.” And Weaver was totally down, mentioning it would pick up where Aliens left off. But in October of that same year the director said it was in a holding pattern while Scott decided what he was doing with the Prometheus sequel. In January of this year he said chances of it happening were slim.
But people kept talking about it because it sounded interesting! Prometheus 2 eventually *ahem* evolved into Alien: Covenant and here we are today. French website AlloCiné got some new info from Scott while he was promoting in Paris. Here’s how Google Translate puts it, if anyone has a better translation please let me know:
“I think he will never see the light,” he replied after explaining that the project was far less advanced than previously thought. “There was never a scenario, just an idea that evolved into a pitch of ten pages, I had to participate as a producer but it did not go any further because Fox decided that she did not want to do it. I had already done Prometheus and worked on Covenant.
It looks like Scott saying Blomkamp’s project is never going to happen because 20th Century Fox wasn’t interested. But remember, Scott’s original plans didn’t have him connecting the Prometheus universe to Alien until a few films down the road. But soon after Blomkamp announced his project, Scott changed direction and went straight to the xenomorph. There’s nothing specific indicating Scott himself blocked Blomkamp’s take but of course Fox would defer to the original director and once his film was in motion they’d have to see it through before considering another.
So, Alien: Covenant is set for release May 19, 2017…Blomkamp’s Alien, maybe never.
(via CBR)
[…] so that the cycle can continue. Perhaps Alien: Covenant will be a turning point which will allow someone else the chance of extending the life of the […]
I love that video’s props & it keeps all the movies canon!
I’m fine with Blomkamp’s movie never getting made. Alien 3 was flawed, but not ignorable. And every indication/rumor coming out about Blomkamp’s concept (never had a script, remember, and this has been going for two years now) was that it would completely retcon 3 and Resurrection (which is…also there). I’m all for expanding the universe beyond Ripley, but it makes so little sense to make a sequel that ignores two whole entries in the series.
And that’s not even to comment on the fact that Blomkamp’s work has been a series of diminishing returns. I’d half expect his Alien movie to involve Ripley slowly turning into a power loader by the finale.
“Alien 3 was flawed, but not ignorable.”
Oh, it is VERY ignorable. It begs to be ignored. I have never seen a sequel retcon so many details and bury itself in inconsistency just to make a movie where the alien is just a typical Hollywood Slasher. The whole franchise would be better off without it.