Alien Awakening: Ridley Scott reportedly still making Alien: Covenant sequel at Disney!

What happened to the tail of the xeno in the picture?

Is this Disney's new alien?

Whilst I would love to believe it, there are no sources sited. Is this merely assumption on the part of the author?

We do need at least one other prequel-sequel, so that there is closure. I hope it happens!

To clarify I meant that the Deadline author lists no sources!

@Lone,

Agreed, reading the Deadline article it does read as though the author, Mike Fleming Jr., is assuming that Ridley Scott will remain to produce Merlin for Disney, while throwing in the long-held assumption that Scott is also working on Alien: Awakening (the believed title of Alien: Covenant's sequel), despite citing no sources for either of these two assumptions, and that the last concrete news we had on Scott's Alien: Awakening was from the Stacey Snider interview with Variety in September 2017, when she said in regards to the future of the Alien franchise, and Alien: Covenant's performance at the box office...

It was a disappointment, but I trust Ridley [Scott] and Emma [Watts] to know the right story when they find it. When universes are as rich as “Alien,” they can stay in a too familiar groove — in which case you’re in trouble — but they can also find a planet or a storyline or a villain that also lives in that universe that can be groundbreaking.

Kudo's to Chris for adding "Reportedly" to the article's title, because the aforementioned author of the Deadline article should have phrased his presumptions as such, rather than stating them as assumed facts. Such poor journalism only serves to confuse.

I would add, because the Deadline article is highly presumptive into Scott's future with Fox now that it is owned by Disney, that such information is treated like any other speculation and rumor - with a high dose of salt, until we here crystal clear confirmation from Fox, should it even be forthcoming.

Good points Gavin, and exactly why I inserted "reportedly" in the headline. Deadline usually is privy to information the rest of us aren't and in many cases provide accurate information on Studio dealings. For this reason I suspect their information might carry some weight but of course only time will tell.

Ridley is done. It'll be James Cameron and Neill Blomkamp taking over at this point. Direct sequel to "ALIENS".

Ridley Scott is the right person to complete Alien-Prometheus prequels. If he is too busy to direct the film, Christopher Nolan would be a very good choice to do the job.

Christopher Nolan on Directing

I love it LiquidSinister...instead of the beast being cooked its Ridley who's done.

Great stuff and I'd be happy to read news on either producer/director committing at this point but more so on Blomkamp.

I thought the maintenance area of Elysium was amazing and something of that scale is needed in the Alien films and the concept art for his project was a great example of where he could take it, below. 

I agree (strongly) with NTFS on both points above. I dare to dream of Christopher Nolan directing a film in the Alien franchise....with Ridley Scott producing it.

Wonderful news Chris, thank you.

When I see that picture I wonder how the breath of the Xeno is. :D

I kind of wonder what their sources are? I am not sure how much that I shall trust this piece. It is easy to post something if it sounds interesting but you also got to think about how likely something is. I am remaining skeptical.

@Gavin & Chris

As you guys no doubt realise, in the past I've been guilty of jumping on any nugget of info & getting carried away. With hindsight I have learned to be a tad more cautious!

As you say Chris, Deadline may well be privy to select intel. Ridley really needs to finish the story, whether it be good, bad or indifferent. Then Jim Cameron, Neil Blomkamp, whoever, can continue the Alien Franchise. 

For now, I'll remain cautiously optimistic ;)  

I believe Disney wants to recoup some of their money thru using the Alien universe.  Not making movies won't make back a lot of money.  They need to hire good writers and explore more of the universe.  I liked Prometheus and AC even though they could have been better but I'm hopeful that we get one more film to close the story arc and then Disney can cut loose on a new story line.  

Well i would say IF he is working on any Project then we should know about it by the time Ridley Scotts TV Series Raised by Wolves and Merlin are Finished.

seems RS had ideas where to take the Sequel, the Disappointing Box Office and Criticism may have made RS and his team have to go back to the Drawing Board and ask what went wrong and what would work next as far as MAKING Money.

Once Disney Take over was going on, you CANT see FOX making commitment to the Project, until Take Over completed and with Disney... they would NOT want to rush into anything.

I would say Ridley Scotts Project was No Further than Blomkamps...  a Vision, Ideas, and Broad Plot Idea and Concepts/Ideas...  But then a case of getting the Green Light and Writers in to Flesh those Ideas into Drafts.

I would say Blomkamp had not got to far with the Writing Process, as he would have wanted to get the Pitch Done to FOX, i think with RS then added as Producer, they would have started to begin the Process of RS looking at Blomkamps ideas and changing things... before we would have got to ACTUAL Draft work being worked on and completed.  Who knows how FAR the Draft work had got... did they get a First Draft?  We do know that some Further Concept Work had been done and so the Ball seemed to be Rolling..

Meanwhile Prometheus 2 was having Problems, despite various Drafts, they had not had a Draft that maybe RS or FOX was happy with.

Then we got to a point, where RS and FOX decided to place Blomkamps Alien 5 on Hold and Concentrate on Completing Ridley Scotts Prequels.... well at least what become Alien Covenant first.

I think the Sequel (to AC) has been put on ice due to Backlash, Lackluster Box Office and Pending Disney Take Over.

I think IF there is a Project in the Works then surely we should find out within the Next 12-13 Months.

seems RS had ideas where to take the Sequel, the Disappointing Box Office and Criticism may have made RS and his team have to go back to the Drawing Board and ask what went wrong and what would work next as far as MAKING Money.

In the first - "specific" behavior of the characters. They didn't see it after Prometheus - the main reason for criticism, not the absence of the Alien. And they give the characters of Covenant the same behavior.

I think regarding the Disappointment, i was referring mainly to Alien Covenants Disappointment and i think it came as a bit of a Shock to FOX as they felt with the more Direct Path to ALIEN and giving the Xenomorph Origins and introducing the Xenomorph they had expected that THIS would surely have more interest than Prometheus had done.

I think maybe with Prometheus, some fans had just lost interest in the direction taking and maybe decided to NOT bother with Alien Covenant.  As i also felt the Box Office would had been better, and its not like Loads had seen the Movie before and during its first few days of release and so having a BAD word going around would have been Unlikely to have affected the Box Office.

Thoughts_Dreams had also mentioned that a lot of Criticism for Prometheus was the Characters and some of the Choices they made, which indeed is True the execution of the Characters was not great, but saying that when was they any Good in a Alien Movie?  I think Alien 3 but after that there was not much Good Characters or uses for them..

But when Prometheus was being worked on, and the Trailers came out i think a lot of the Fans would have Expected the Movie to have had more Xenomorph Connections and Clues, not everyone was going to expect Eggs, Face Huggers and Xenomorphs running around like in Aliens or Alien Resurrection, but they certainly expected more than what we got in Prometheus, and the same was regarding any clues to the Eggs Origins.

I had studied the Trailers and kept up to date with the lead up to Prometheus and after i First Saw it even i thought it would have had more of a ALIENY vibe.  I did not expect to see actual Xenomorphs, or the Eggs getting on the Derelict, but i thought the clues to the connections would not be as VAGUE as what we got, and also i felt the Xenomorph Related Scenes were just not enough..  But i certainly was not expecting a ALIEN Movie.

But i expected more than we got, some would have expected even more and some would have wanted Xenomorphs and a Direct Answer to the Origins.

5 people i personally know who had seen Prometheus the First Time were Expecting MUCH more, 3 said HOW THE FECK does this connect to Alien?  2 saw connections but felt the movie was Misleading as far as Expectations and Trailer.

I think those at FOX had concluded that having a more ALIENY movie with Answers and Xenomorphs would have pleased Fans more, i think in Part Blomkamps Alien 5 leak had a lot to do with that, as it seemed Fans appeared to be more Excited about that rather than a Prometheus 2 to follow Dr Shaw and David to get her Answers.

I think this is WHY we ended up with Alien Covenant... but i agree that NOT having any Xenomorphs was not the Main Problem with Prometheus, having them would not have made a Good Movie if it was not well written or executed and Alien Covenant can stand Testament to that.

I think they are in a Pickle Now... because they may be thinking.... OK so we kept the Character that had the most Positive Comments about (David) we introduced the Xenomorph again, and are making a series of Prequels that will Steer to ALIEN rather than Steer Away.... what more do the Fans Want?

So yeah i think they are now having to ask many Questions.. trying to wonder what went so wrong!

Looking at a Prequel, Fans are expecting it to be a ALIEN Prequel Series, and what was ALIEN?  The Space Jockey and its Cargo.... The First Attempt was not enough Xenomorph or Cargo than was needed, in Hindsight, the second attempt was not enough about the Engineers/Space Jockey.

The Prequels were about Creation and Rebellion and Hubris in part.....  but it appeared that these are being played from the POV of David and so it appears that Foremost its a David's Journey...  where the Engineers and Xenomorph are just Background FLUFF!

Its set up to revolve around David, and i think thats ok but they cant OVERDO IT..  i feel this is something many more Fans are LESS interested in.

Your NEVER going to please every fan.... but i think where we are now as far as the Aftermath of Alien Covenant, i think its going to be very tricky to get back on track and please every kind of Fan.... or even come close.

Lone:

“Ridley really needs to finish the story, whether it be good, bad or indifferent.”

Even if that means that we get another Alien Covenant or even worse Alien R? I would not mind another if they improve the quality but if it will be the same or worse then I am not very pro that. Having another movie just for the sake of it is nothing that I support, I prefer quality over quantity.

In general I got to say that Fox never understood what the criticism of Prometheus was about. Not having the Xeno in it was far from what the criticism of Prometheus was about so I don’t know whee they got that from.

Leto:

Yes, they did not learn from Prometheus and made poorly written and/or executed characters. All they thought was that it was about the Xenos and they were wrong so we ended up with Alien Covenant. There are now more bad or average alien movies than there are good ones.

"Having another movie just for the sake of it is nothing that I support, I prefer quality over quantity."

I would not really agree with this... i think YES i agree in Terms to giving us another ALIEN movie set aside from the Prequels, or giving us a sequel to Alien Resurrection, or GOD Forbid a Reboot of ALIEN 3

But the Alien Covenant we had a series that was billed as a Prequel Route that would lead to ALIEN... and so ALIEN Covenant is the ONLY movie that actually LENDS to Needing a Sequel.   Prometheus also to a degree... the other ALIEN movies... they all ended without the Need for a Sequel.

There is a Problem with Alien Covenant and the route taken though, and i feel they need to remember that while they have given us a ALIEN Prefix Prequel Series, then the Movies have to connect to the Xenomorph and lead up to ALIEN i think by Virtue of the Route taken they cant go and try and explore other things if the Emphasis is to NOT include or set up the Xenomorph or lead into ALIEN.

The route Alien Awakening was rumored to take, is a distraction of Sorts to the ALIEN Franchise, and certainly does-not follow what the Set-Up seems to be from the Movie.

Regarding Prometheus and the Disappointments... a lot of Criticism on the Internet had been about how POOR the Characters and Questionable Actions and other Flaws were.   The movie could have been about Xenomorphs, or even just been a Weyland Company Movie and indeed getting the Characters and Story right are a MUST.

But there are a % of the Fans who EXPECTED to see more of a connection to ALIEN which this movie just never delivered, these Connections are HOW does this connect to ALIEN and offer any clues to the Derelict its Purpose, the Space Jockey its Purpose, and the Xenomorph Egg Origins.

I dont think every fan expected to see exact answers or even show us the Space Jockey Event or have Xenomorphs running around...  some would have expected this.. i think a lot more just expected  a bit more of a Connection.

I think a lot of what made Alien Covenant become something different was Fans just appeared to not be too happy with seeing a Sequel that would follow David and Dr Shaw to meet our Engineers and NEVER give any clues to ALIEN or maybe have any related Monsters.

Which is when they heard about Blomkamps Alien 5 Project this seemed to get more Hype from the Fanbase... and so this MAYBE is why FOX felt that they needed to give the Fans the Origins of the Xenomorph and bring it back.

Once the Dust had Settled with Prometheus, more Fans accepted what the Movie was trying to do, but they still could not overlook the FLAWS of the Movie as far as Characters and Execution of the Plot went.  So i agree this means that a Majority of Gripes are HOW the movie had been executed.

I still think there was expectation that the movie would at some point in its series give Fans something more closer to ALIEN and Answers...  I feel the comments by Ridley Scott and Lindeloff that appeared to suggest a Sequel would NOT connect to ALIEN or be about the Xenomorph, may have effected some Fans interest in seeing a Prometheus 2.

There was a lot of Anticipation for Blomkamps Alien 5, and excitement...  which may have helped to sway FOX to bringing back the Xenomorph and to CONNECT to ALIEN rather than STEER away.... and i think they were SHOCKED at how Disappointing Alien Covenant had done.

Its hard for them to Gauge what went wrong.... and deciding what they feel they need to change is going to be tough. They cant afford to get it WRONG Twice.

BD:

I agree that if they reboot Alien 3 I would be even more annoyed than I am now with how the prequels are going. Any (emphasis here) retcon of Alien 3 would get a thumbs down from me.

You mention that we are in the prequel-series and that they need to finish that. I understand what you mean but the way that it is set up and how it has developed has mad every very disappointed so that is why I say that I would like to see a last prequel if they get a good story and human characters that I can get behind but not just for the sake of it. Having a last prequel just to have a last prequel is meaningless to me, there has to be more than that. To me it is like well if they plan to go on with the emphasis on David then forget it, I can make up in my mind what would happen and I would be fine with that.

“But there are a % of the Fans who EXPECTED to see more of a connection to ALIEN which this movie just never delivered... i think a lot more just expected a bit more of a Connection...”

I understand your point and I can also understand their concerns but at the same time yeah they could have made it a bit less vague. For example when I saw the Xeno Fifield it look ed a lot better and also had less of a vague connection to the Xeno. They should have had more like that instead of what it became.

Sure I would not have been too happy about a David and Shaw movie and I am glad that they got rid of her but having it about David was a mistake. They should have made more interesting characters and at least surpassed what we had in Prometheus (that should not be too hard). Now we reached the same level but that they were less annoying but that is not too much to be proud of. They have failed with the characters twice in a row (five times if you count the AVP’s and AR). Well done ;)

“...a Sequel would NOT connect to ALIEN or be about the Xenomorph, may have effected some Fans interest in seeing a Prometheus 2.”

It is not about how many persons that watched the movie, it is about the quality. They still did not manage to get it right so they misunderstood the criticism IMO.

“.... and i think they were SHOCKED at how Disappointing Alien Covenant had done.”

They never understood the criticism of Prometheus so they have themselves to blame in a way. It was not mainly about the lack of Xenos even though you might have some percent of the audience that put that as number one. Most of it had to do with lame characters doing dumb things.

“Its hard for them to Gauge what went wrong.... and deciding… ”

Someone should tell them that they need to get a movie where we can get behind the characters and that does not focus on a mad android and a lot of it will be fixed. As long as they do not understand that we are in shit. Put them in a writing class ;)

“They cant afford to get it WRONG Twice.”

They already have, with Prometheus and Covenant, and even more so if we count the AVP’s + AR. How can they just get it so wrong? That kind of amazes me, it is interesting.

"They cant afford to get it WRONG Twice.”

They already have,"

In a way i agree with that as far as Critically..... but Box Office wise Prometheus did well enough, if Alien Covenant had made the same % Profit then you can bet we would have Alien Covenant 2 out this year... regardless of how how Criticism for the movie went.  You look how Criticized Star Wars the Last Jedi was...  i have not came across anyone who really praises the movie but Financially it was a MASSIVE HIT!

I do wonder if Prometheus had the same Success, in that expectation and excitement was there as Fans thought they are seeing a Return to the ALIEN Franchise and some Answers about the Xenomorph and Space Jockey, so they would have Flocked to the Box Office to see it...

Some Fans would have been disappointed... because of the lack of what they expected (in addition to how disappointing the Characters were).   Maybe they Boycotted Alien Covenant in protest... because its a puzzle to HOW the Sequel which was Marketed Heavy on bring back the Xenomorph etc... would do so Disappointing at the Box Office especially the First Few Weeks!

Likewise maybe in context we have to look at Han Solo which also did Very Bad at the Box Office... after the last Star Wars Movie had PISSED off the Fans...    I was shocked at the Box Office for that Movie... i never saw it until it was on my Cable Provider Movie Package... and i NEVER thought it was all that Bad... i have seen it 3 times... and i cant watch the LAST JEDI again.... twice was enough for me!

Unfortunately Nostalgia makes $$$$  and i hear loads of people who NEVER wanted to go and see SW EP9 after the Farce that was the LAST JEDI.... but Disney and JJ Abrahams have been teasing a bit about the NEW movie which looks to be throwing a lot of Nostalgia back into it, i FEAR the Emphasis will be taken off REY and KYLO REN and onto SOLO, LEIA, but more so LUKE, VADER, ANAKIN, PALPATINE with maybe even YODA and OBI WAN!

It should be called Star Wars: Reunion

I feel that Disney are in a pickle with the ALIEN Franchise as i discussed above, in that they have to think WOULD Fans be interested in the Prequels?

So i would not be surprised they would do a Nostalgia Blomkamps Alien 5: Bring the Gang back type of Movie.. because they may feel this would make money.. the TRUMP card...  if they went this route and the Box Office was Poor and Critically the Movie had Bad Characters/Plot etc..

Then we have to FEAR the Franchise could be Dead!

"You mention that we are in the prequel-series and that they need to finish that. I understand what you mean but the way that it is set up and how it has developed has mad every very disappointed "

I think in TERMS of the Prequels.. what they HAVE TO DO.. is they need to Figure out.... HOW/WHEN/WHY the Derelict gets on LV-426 and HOW/WHEN the Eggs got on the Ship.

Once they KNOW how they wish to tackle this subject and have the ANSWERS... they DONT have to Finish the Prequels.

All they have to do is make another ALIEN Movie, that will have Answers and enough Clues to suggest the Origins of the Eggs on the Derelict and When they got on the Ship and HOW LONG ago...

Then what ever route they go...

*Without David's Experiments on Planet 4 there would be NO Xenomorph

*The Xenomorph was a Ancient Event relating to the Engineers Experiments Thousands of Years ago.

If there is enough clues in a NEW Alien Movie series to answer which of those two, then they dont even have to carry on with David's Journey!

This could be covered in a NOVEL!

Whatever ANSWER they have in mind, i think they need to insure any NEW Alien Set of Movies will introduce the Engineers at some point. I would hate for everything the Prequels Set-Up to be abandoned and never explored again.

In Favor of Queen Eggs, Face Hugers, Chest Busters, Xenomorphs....  Hero/Heroin Kicks Ass and REPEAT!