Ridley Scott Retires from Alien Franchise

Legendary director Ridley Scott has signaled he is stepping back from the Alien franchise, stating, "I think I've done enough."

The 87-year-old English filmmaker, who launched the iconic sci-fi horror series with 1979's Alien and later revived it with 2012's Prometheus, told ScreenRant, "Looking at its future direction, I believe my contribution is complete, and I simply hope it continues to evolve."

Scott has entrusted the Alien universe to skilled successors, including the well-received Alien: Romulus by Fede Álvarez and the upcoming FX series Alien: Earth from Noah Hawley, creator of Fargo. The success of Alien: Romulus has already prompted plans for a sequel. Additionally, the upcoming Predator: Badlands features several Alien-related crossover nods.

In the interview, Scott also reflected on the franchise's decline after 1997's Alien: Resurrection, which motivated him to reinvigorate the series with Prometheus. He followed that with 2017's Alien: Covenant, marking the last mainline film until last year's Alien: Romulus.

"I felt the series had lost its energy after the fourth installment," he remarked. "I consider my film strong, and James Cameron's Aliens was excellent, but the others, in my view, fell short. I thought, 'This can't be the end of a franchise that should stand alongside giants like Star Trek or Star Wars,' which I find phenomenal."

The Alien Movies in Chronological Order

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He continued, "Years later, I decided to resurrect it, writing Prometheus entirely from a blank page. Damon Lindelof and I developed the story together.

"The response was immediate and positive. Audiences were eager for more. I declared, 'This needs to soar.' With no one else taking the helm, I went on to make Alien: Covenant, which also succeeded. As for its path now, I believe my work is done, and I sincerely hope it progresses further."

While Scott has ruled out directing another Alien film, he served as a producer on Alien: Romulus and is an executive producer on Alien: Earth through Scott Free Productions. Regarding Alien: Earth, its first full trailer has given fans plenty to speculate about.