In a recent revelation, Ridley Scott, the director of the divisive 2012 Alien prequel “Prometheus”, has opened up about the film and the trajectory of the entire Alien franchise.
Scott’s original 1979 “Alien” was a landmark in the sci-fi genre. After that, James Cameron’s “Aliens” in 1986 was well-received. However, the subsequent films like David Fincher’s “Alien 3” in 1992 and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Alien: Resurrection” in 1997 didn’t fare as well. Scott then returned with “Prometheus”, which followed a team of scientists in a perilous situation on a distant moon. Despite its success, the film’s additions to the franchise lore sparked controversy.
During an interview, Scott shared his thoughts on how the franchise developed without his direct involvement. He wasn’t pleased with how things went after his initial film, even saying he thought others were “f*cking it up”. When he came back with “Prometheus”, he saw it as a way to resurrect his vision for the franchise. But he also admits to some missteps, like not having enough control and being “asleep at the wheel”, along with his advisors.
The “Prometheus” film took a different turn from the earlier installments. While the first four movies focused on horror and sci-fi action rather than deep lore, “Prometheus” delved into explaining the origin of the Xenomorphs and the Engineers. This, along with its focus on the android David, was controversial despite the film’s generally positive reviews and 73% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Scott continued these ideas in “Alien: Covenant” in 2017, which had mixed reviews and was a box office disappointment. The contrast between the success of “Prometheus” ($403 million gross) and the underperformance of “Covenant” ($241 million gross) showed that audiences were less keen on this new direction.
However, the franchise got a new lease on life this summer with “Alien: Romulus”. It was a critical and commercial hit, with an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score and $351 million worldwide gross. It didn’t completely abandon the lore from Scott’s prequels but made it less prominent, indicating a new direction.
While “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant” may not be on par with the best of the franchise like “Alien” or “Aliens”, they did have their merits with great set pieces and new ideas. “Alien: Covenant” set up a potential third installment in a prequel trilogy, but its poor performance means David’s story may remain unfinished. It’s a pity Scott won’t get to complete it, especially as time might have made a third David film more acceptable. Since an “Alien: Covenant” sequel is unlikely, fans can only hope for some elements from those films, like black goo action, to appear in the upcoming “Romulus” sequel.
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