9 Years Later, Ridley Scott Is Officially Returning to His Unfinished Alien Story

Ridley Scott just can’t help himself when it comes to returning to Alien and, if we’re honest, we’re always going to be curious about what he’s got up his sleeve. After his last directorial sojourns to space and to visit his xenomorph buddies, we were left with far more questions than answers but now, nine years later, Scott is officially returning to the world he helped create.

A new Alien movie connected to Scott’s Prometheus and Alien: Covenant is officially in development at 20th Century Studios, with Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners) attached to write the screenplay. According to a report by TheWrap, Scott will produce the project through his Scott Free banner alongside Michael Pruss, although it’s as yet unknown if he’ll be directing. Given that he seems to direct something every minute of every day, it’s possible.

Prometheus followed the crew of the ship of the same name as a team of scientists and explorers travel to the darkest corners of the universe searching for the origins of human life. Instead, they find a dark, twisted world that hides a terrifying threat capable of destroying them, and all mankind. Truly awful when that happens.

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.

• You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
• You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
• You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
• The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.

The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.

• You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
• You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
• You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
• In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.

You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

• You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
• In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
• You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
• In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

• Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
• You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
• Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
• In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

• You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
• You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
• You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
• In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

What Was ‘Alien: Covenant’ About?

Alien: Covenant was a direct sequel to Prometheus, following the crew of a colony ship that was en route to a distant planet when they stumble across what appears to be a luscious, vibrant and untouched world. But little do they know, it’s home to the sinister android David, played with icy venom by Michael Fassbender, who has been experimenting with creating terrifying new forms of alien life, some of which are going to look very familiar.

The movie ends with David taking control of the Covenant and continuing his experiments, leaving the surviving colonists in an extremely dangerous position. That unresolved ending has frustrated fans for years, particularly as Scott had previously discussed plans to continue the story and explore the origins of the franchise’s famous Xenomorphs. The Alien franchise is undergoing a critical resurgence at the moment, thanks to the excellent Alien: Romulus and the expansion of the universe into television with Alien: Earth, but this movie might finally get to answer all those lingering questions we had.

20th Century Studios has not announced a release date for the new Alien movie. Stay tuned at Collider for more.

Prometheus

Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.