Ridley Scott hasn’t completely abandoned plans to return to the Alien franchise at some point. The architect behind the original 1979 horror sci-fi classic took the series in an unexpected direction when he came back in the 2010s with two prequels, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant​​​​.

Due to the financial disappointment of the latter, plans for him to complete a trilogy focused on Michael Fᴀssbender’s android David fizzled. It’s now been eight years since Scott directed a movie in the $1.6 billion franchise he created, and it sometimes appears as though there’s no hope of him doing another.

The director hasn’t made his future any clearer through his comments. Back in June, he told ScreenRant that “I think I’ve done enough” when talking about his involvement going forward. That came after reports that he was developing another prequel, and his quote seemingly squashed the chance of it happening.

There’s now some renewed hope of him making another Alien prequel, with him recently saying he’d “for sure” come back if he gets an idea. He might not have a specific outline for what he’d want to do next, but Scott’s third prequel should still be a priority for the franchise.

Finishing Ridley Scott’s Prequel Trilogy Is A Must, Even After Alien Has Moved On

Thanks to the unresolved nature of Scott’s prequel story, this chapter remains the biggest loose end in the entire series. What happens to David after Alien: Covenant is still a burning question. There’s also still intrigue around how the director planned to lead the trilogy directly into the events of the 1979 original.

Alien as an IP is not currently hurting without giving Scott his chance to finish the story. Alien: Romulus masterfully relaunched the series and even connected to Prometheus in a major way. More recently, Alien: Earth is giving the franchise a very different type of prequel story.

Both projects are critically acclaimed, earning praise above Scott’s last two movies. Romulus finished with $350 million worldwide, coming in second for the franchise overall, not adjusted for inflation. Alien: Earth has been a strong performer on streaming through the first half of season one, too.

Despite how compelling those stories are individually, it’s difficult not to feel some level of dissatisfaction regarding where Scott’s plans for David currently rest. No matter what stories come in future Alien projects, unless they work to actively resolve the prequel storyline between David and the Engineers, this will continue to loom over the IP.

That is why the 20th Century and Disney really need to prioritize working with Scott to bring this story to an end. The longer the franchise goes without finishing the story, the more maddening it becomes, especially when it comes at the expense of the original director completing his vision.

I’ve been beating the drum that Alien: Romulus‘ sequel could work as Scott’s trilogy conclusion too, but that doesn’t mean two separate films shouldn’t be made. That should only really happen if Scott has no desire to come back, but that doesn’t appear to be the case based on his most recent comments.

After Romulus‘ connections to Scott’s prequels, Michael Fᴀssbender returning as David would feel more natural. A cameo in Romulus 2 could even be used to directly set up the third prequel and reignite broader interest in a return to this era of the series.

It remains to be seen if Scott will come back to Alien for a third prequel. At this point, it still feels less likely to materialize, but if the director is still up for another one, it must happen. It’s the best way to bring the franchise some much-needed resolution, thus allowing the series to move forward after.