In 1979, an enthusiastic group of film students shaped what was unknowingly going down in film history.
Dan O’Bannon wrote the screenplay for “a scary movie on a ship with a small group of astronauts,” as he described himself. He added an alien that would change everything.
Ridley Scott, who had only directed The Duelists then, was commissioned to direct it. It was not his idea originally.
His involvement in the project and the sketches he designed made 20th Century Fox double the budget. They wanted to see it as one of its potential successes.
And they weren’t wrong. Scott, with the script of O’Bannon, signed Alien, the Eighth Passenger. It is an absolute jewel of the seventh art and, especially, of the science fiction and terror genre.
More than 40 years after its release, Alien is no longer just a must-have film but has become one of the best franchises. He has given so much of himself that Ridley Scott has not stayed only in the sequels. He wanted to go further.
“I think it would be great to go back because I’ve asked myself that question many times: ‘Where did the Alien come from?’ People want to know in a very visceral way,” Sigourney Weaver said in a promotional interview.
The same thought hovered around Scott’s head, who also wanted to know what was happening. And so came Prometheus, a worthy heiress of Alien who started her trilogy.
For many, it is a great science fiction production that knows how to create its character despite belonging to such an important franchise.
Scott explores the dilemma between creator and creation with an interesting production design.
The sandstorms or the caves of the mountains are a plus within this story that comes to harbor moments of pure terror. Here we can put that scene starring Noomi Rapace in which he has to get one of those beings out of his stomach.
THE END OF A FRANCHISE AHEAD OF TIME: WILL THERE BE MORE ‘ALIEN’ MOVIES?
Then came Alien: Covenant which was more imperfect than its predecessor. It still offers a very entertaining story, but it seems it was not solid enough to maintain the franchise.
Its box office collection was somewhat lower than expected. It is possible that 20th Century Fox preferred to wait for a little before launching the third installment.
The plans, at least, were there. Ridley Scott wanted to make two Prometheus sequels that would end up tied directly to Alien. “Maybe there’s even a fourth movie before we get to the Alien franchise,” the director said in an interview with Film Futter.
At that time, I spoke more enthusiasm than practicality because, in reality, the franchise had ended prematurely.
Everything has been said about the saga’s future in the last decade. Of course, there has always been a desire to do more Alien stories, but there have been many swings.
There was even an attempt to develop a script for a third installment, but the low collection ofCovenantslowed the project.
In September 2020, there was talk of a possible new sequel, and now, in 2022, the future is uncertain. But, of course, Ridley Scott is still the guardian of one of the best science fiction sagas.
You have the entire Alien saga on Disney+.
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