Traditionally there have been long gaps between Alien sequels, but xenomorph fans are in hog heaven right now with the idea that both Neill Blomkamp’s untitled Alien 5 and Ridley Scott’s Prometheus 2 are being concurrently developed. In a new interview with Empire, Blomkamp let it be known that his sequel will not, in his own words, “tread on the toes” of Scott’s pseudo-prequel.
“I changed the one thing [Scott] felt was bumping ‘Prometheus’ a little bit,” reveals Blomkamp. “One thing that makes me feel good about it is that Ridley is producing it. He likes the idea of what I want to make.”
Although Blomkamp makes it very clear that “the first two films are the ones that I care about,” as he has said in recent weeks, he jokes that his film could be called “Alien 3 (no, really)” while maintaining his poker face over what the actual title is.
“I sent what I wanted as the title to Ridley,” says Blomkamp. “It’s kinda quite bold, and he was like, ‘I really like that.’ So I’m gonna test it, I don’t think it’s gonna work, though. I have my own idea but it gives away too much if I say the title. But in the event that it doesn’t work, I’m dead in the water…”
Finally, Blomkamp’s wife and frequent collaborator Terri Tatchell revealed what finally tipped him to ultimately choose this film as his next project.
“He’s hemming and hawing, going back-and-forth,” Tatchell says of his indecision. “Finally I said, ‘Look, look at what you make me drink my orange juice out of every morning,’ and I pulled out of the cupboard, we have these set of glasses that have these brutal scenes from the movies. I said, ‘You make your daughter drink out of these cups! This is a sign.'”
“No bullsh*t, that made me realize there is a massive portion of my brain taken up by the xenomorph,” Blomkamp said. “I was like, ‘Hmm, that’s a valid point.'”
Ridley Scott is expected to direct Prometheus 2 from a screenplay by Michael Green and Jack Paglen, with original stars Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender returning for what is promised to be a trip to the homeworld of the sinister Engineers of both the alien species and humanity. 20th Century Fox currently has a March 4, 2016 release date set, although pre-production is unconfirmed at this time. Meanwhile, Neill Blomkamp will write and direct Alien 5 with an eye towards a tentative 2017 release. Sigourney Weaver is expected to return, although it is unclear if it will follow the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection or create an alternate follow-up to 1986’s beloved Aliens.
