Following the critical success of District 9 in 2009, Neill Blomkamp has been the talk of the town in the sci-fi world. It’s no surprise that even prior to his latest release, Chappie, he was using that new found attention and respect to try and develop something exciting. Namely, a new Alien film. Unfortunately it’s beginning to look like a pipe dream.
With Ridley Scott‘s Alien:Covenant arriving later this year, Blomkamp simply tweeted out the word “slim” when a fan asked what the chances were of seeing his version of Alien come to life.
This is despite Blomkamp releasing intriguing but unofficial concept art in 2015, and Sigourney Weaver‘s own excitement over the potential project. Coincidentally or not, Blomkamp’s project was put on indefinite hold once Scott’s Prometheus sequel was retitled Alien: Paradise Lost (now Alien: Covenant), as if Scott’s decision to move his project closer to the original mythology doomed Blomkamp’s own vision.
Blomkamp’s potential film might have been controversial, as he had decided to veer from the traditional canon of the franchise, bringing back fan favourite, Newt, and determined to give Weaver’s Ripley “an ending”. Whether this would have sat well with a studio, or even an audience potentially unaware of the films’ separate universe is up for debate. It would have been at least interesting, for sure.
As one of the best world builders in the sci-fi world, Blomkamp will no doubt get many more opportunities to flex his creativity, but it seems like his own vision for a potentially non-canon, separate Alien film is over. We’ll have to make do with Scott’s film instead, which is released Friday, May 19.
#Peace.Love.Alien
