It appears fans of the Alien franchise have grown tired of the same narratives being recycled and are finally embracing the idea of another Alien prequel! This marks an ironic turn of events given the initial backlash Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and Alien: Covenant received back in 2012 and 2017 which prompted a pivot in direction back to familiarity.
Since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, Alien has gravitated away from its ambitious prequel trajectory and has been flirting with the controversial decisions of revisiting and reinventing what's been done already. Fede Alvarez's Alien: Romulus paid some homage to Scott’s prequels, but a large number of fans felt the nostalgic pandering of the original films a bit excessive. The Alien: Earth series completely ignored the elements presented in the prequels and aimed to rewrite its own history and now, Sigourney Weaver is apparently entertaining the idea of a return to Ripley in an Alien 5 treatment by Walter Hill.
What do the fans really want?
We asked ourselves this question and figured, let the fans tell us! So, we opened up a public survey here on Alien-Covenant, asking what it is fans really want next. Voting is open to anyone, not just members of the site to avoid obvious bias. The results so far are staggering – over 65% (at the time of writing this) have voted in favor of another Alien prequel over Alien: Romulus 2 and an Alien 5 where Sigourney returns.
- 25% want Alien: Romulus 2
- 65% want another Alien prequel
- 10% want an Alien 5 with Sigourney Weaver
If you're surprised by this figure, so are we! Truthfully I anticipated Alien: Romulus 2 to be the favorite, given its attention to both prequel and sequel entries in the Alien franchise, best of both worlds seemed like the logical favorite. Apparently not.
Familiarity Fatigue
As we've seen before with other franchises acquired by Disney, filiarity and nostalgia only get us so far. Our imaginations crave ambitious storytelling because it offers something unique ‐ something new and something engaging. Familiarity and a nostalgic cameo or resurgence of a character we became fond of in our youth might give us a quick dopamine hit but that quick fix wears off rather quickly. The gimmick might work for a few entires, and it did – Alien: Romulus performed extremely well, far better than Alien: Covenant did when it released. But it hasn't been long and fans aren't really talking about it much – nothing compared to the debates, theories and discussions being had about Scott’s Prometheus even today, 13 years later!
Humans, like the Engineers are a species motivated by the act of creating. Creating – not Copying.
What are the chances of another Alien prequel happening?
We know Ridley Scott mentioned to The Guardian earlier this year that he would be open to another Alien prequel if he landed on the right story. We also heard not long ago from Alien: Covenant star Katherine Waterston that she would love to return for a Covenant sequel with Ridley Scott at the helm.
To top things off, Alien: Romulus 2 was supposed to have begun filming this month (October 2025) with Fede Alvarez at the helm once again, however that has seemingly fallen through – Fede is no longer attached to direct and production has seemingly halted for no apparent reason.
As David so eloquently put it in Prometheus, In order to create, one must first destroy – and I think it’s time we destroy our notion that familiarity is going to satisfy our curiosity. It's time for another Alien prequel.
Do you agree? Let us know – cast your vote and if you feel inclined, join our community and share your thoughts in more detail!
This article was front-paged from our Forums. Continue discussing this topic and cast YOUR VOTES in our Forum here!
The Alien: Romulus sequel is currently in development and cameras are set to roll by October, 2025! Be sure to bookmark the Alien: Romulus 2 Info Page for an up-to-date account of all available information, production updates and important details!
In addition to the upcoming Alien: Romulus sequel, we have the Alien: Earth TV series from Noah Hawley now streaming and a rumoured Alien vs. Predator reboot in the works as well!
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