Even though the first Alien movie was a huge critical and commercial success, Ridley Scott was not brought back to direct the sequel. In fact, it took 33 years for Scott to return to the science fiction franchise. In total, Scott has directed three movies in the Alien franchise, which include the first film, 2012’s Prometheus, and 2017’s Alien: Covenant. Through these movies, Scott has proven that he is an incredible science fiction filmmaker who wants to take the franchise in bold new directions.

1979’s Alien is actually considered to be one of the best science fiction movies of all time. Despite this, Scott did not return to direct Aliens, which was released in 1986. Instead, James Cameron was hired to direct Aliens. This was a great choice, since at that point, Cameron had found success with his first Terminator movie. Just like Scott’s first film, which kick-started the franchise, Cameron’s Aliens was also a huge success. However, it is still worth exploring why Scott did not return to direct Aliens after the success of the first movie.

Why Ridley Scott Didn’t Direct Aliens

Scott Didn’t Want To Direct A Sequel To Alien

Scott was clearly a great choice to direct the first Alien movie. However, he actually wasn’t the studio’s first choice. In fact, he was actually Brandywine Production’s fourth choice to direct the now-iconic sci-fi movie. However, he was eventually offered the job after his first feature-length film, 1977’s The Duelists, won the Cannes Film Festival prize for Best First Work. Even though Alien was a huge success, Scott once again wasn’t the studio’s first choice for the sequel. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2019, Scott said:

Interestingly enough, I was never asked to do the sequel. Maybe because I was such a tough guy when I was doing it, they didn’t want me back. But I was also in the habit of not wanting to do a sequel then either. So I would never have done it.

Scott’s comments reveal that even if he had been offered to direct Aliens, he wouldn’t have accepted the role since he wasn’t interested in making sequels at the time. It is surprising that the studio didn’t want Scott to direct Aliens, since he also made Blade Runner in the 1980s, which is another one of the best science fiction movies of all time. However, instead of directing Aliens, Scott moved on to a variety of other genres, such as action thrillers, historical dramas, and even fantasy films.

What We Know About Ridley Scott’s Ideas For Alien 2

Scott’s Alien Sequel Would Have Been Much Larger In Scope

Since Scott was never seriously interested in directing a sequel to Alien, not many details about what his version of Aliens would have been like are known. However, the filmmaker has hinted at what he may have wanted to explore in his Alien sequel in interviews over the years. While the 1979 film is a pretty self-contained horror story about a mysterious alien terrorizing the crew of the Nostromo, which included Sigourney Weaver’s iconic character Ellen Ripley, it seems like Scott’s sequel would have done a lot more world-building and would have been more of an epic sci-fi story.

According to Strange Shapes, Scott would have wanted to explore what the Xenomorph actually is and where it comes from in his sequel to Alien. Because of this, his sequel would have had a much larger scale and dealt with “different planets, worlds, and civilizations.” While the first film is so intriguing because of the mystery surrounding the Xenomorph, it seems like Scott would have wanted to reveal its origins in a sequel. Because of reveals like this, the director has actually argued that his Alien sequel would have been much more interesting than the first film.

What Prometheus Tells Us About What Scott’s Alien 2 Could’ve Been

Prometheus Marked Scott’s Return To The Alien Franchise

Everything Scott would have wanted to touch on in his sequel to Alien was eventually explored in Prometheus, which is the fifth movie that was released in the franchise. While the first four Alien movies follow Ripley as she deals with Xenomorphs and other creatures, Prometheus is set before the first film in the Alien timeline and answers many questions about the franchise that were lingering for years. In Prometheus, it is revealed that the Engineers created the Xenomorphs, and may have actually created humans, as well.

In the Alien franchise, the Engineers are an ancient race that experimented with genetic engineering and created a black liquid that is capable of creating and destroying life. In Alien: Convenant, which acts as a direct sequel to Prometheus, Scott shows David, an android created by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, wiping out the Engineers’ thriving civilization with this back liquid, which leads to the creation of more Xenomorphs and other alien creatures. Therefore, Scott’s ideas for an Alien sequel are things he eventually included in Prometheus and Convenant.

Why Ridley Scott Took So Long To Return To The Alien Franchise

Scott Returned To The Alien Franchise With An Ambitious Plan After 33 Years

Based on his above comments, it is clear that Scott wasn’t interested in making sequels early in his career. Because of this, and perhaps because the studio wanted different filmmakers to make their mark on the franchise, Scott was not asked to direct any of the sequels to Alien before Prometheus. While Cameron’s Aliens was a mᴀssive success, 1992’s Alien 3 and 1997’s Alien: Resurrection were not received well by critics. This led to Scott finally returning to the franchise in 2012.

After over three decades, Scott decided that there was more he wanted to explore within the Alien franchise. Therefore, while Prometheus is technically a prequel and not a sequel, it was the first time he returned to flesh out a movie that he had previously worked on. He clearly enjoyed making Prometheus, as he also directed Alien: Covenant. While it has been eight years since the release of his most recent movie in the sci-fi franchise, Scott is developing a sequel to Alien: Covenant which will further explore the mysteries of the series if it does indeed get made.

I Love Aliens, But I’ll Always Imagine What Scott’s Sequel Would’ve Been Like

Scott’s Sequel To Alien Would Have Been Fascinating

Since Scott wasn’t very interested in directing a sequel to his hit 1979 film, it is probably best that the studio hired Cameron to direct Aliens. Even though it was a different tone than Scott’s movie, Aliens was a mᴀssive success and further proved that the series could become a major Hollywood franchise. However, despite this, I’ll always be curious what Scott’s version of an Alien sequel would have been like if he made it in the 80s.

Obviously, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant explore a lot of the ideas that Scott was most interested in within the franchise. These two films are more epic sci-fi films that deal with different planets and vast civilizations, which is not something that he was able to do with Alien due to budget constraints. Therefore, it’s perhaps best that Scott waited 33 years to make another Alien movie after the original film, but I won’t stop wondering what his sequel would have been like.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Strange Shapes

Alien

Movie(s)

Alien, Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997), Prometheus (2012), Alien: Covenant (2017), Alien: Romulus (2024)

Created by

Ridley Scott

First Film

Alien

Latest Film

Alien: Romulus

Upcoming TV Shows

Alien: Earth

Summary

The Alien franchise, which began with Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, is a Sci-Fi series comprised of several horror films, games, and comic books centered on humanity’s encounters with a hostile extraterrestrial species known as Xenomorphs. Characterized by their lethal prowess and capability to reproduce at an alarming rate, these creatures pose a profound threat to human existence. The primary series protagonist, Ellen Ripley, acts as the voice of reason as she seeks to keep the creatures out of the hands of greed-driven corporate scientists.

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