Ridley Scott confirms he's working on new installment in the Alien franchise

Ridley Scott will always be tied to the Alien franchise. He kicked things off with the original film in 1979, which for many, remains the best. He returned to helm Prometheus and Alien: Covenant in 2012 and 2017, respectively. And now he's coming back to work on another installment.

Scott confirmed his involvement with the untitled Alien sequel during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The director is in the midst of promoting a sequel to another one of his iconic releases, Gladiator II, but he made it clear that he has a creative stake in what happens with the sci-fi property next.

Ridley Scott was a producer on Alien: Romulus

This news should come as no surprise to those who have been paying attention to credits. Scott may not have served as the director on the recent Alien: Romulus (2024), but he was a producer on the hit film, which took in $350 million worldwide.

Ridley Scott didn't clarify whether he would be involved in the upcoming Alien film in a producer or a directorial capacity. The surprising success of Alien: Romulus, however, suggests that the film will be a direct sequel, rather than a reboot or standalone story.

Those who are hoping for a conclusion to Scott's Alien: Covenant will likely be let down, given that the film received mixed reviews from critics and struggled at the box office (hence the Fede Alvarez reboot). Scott refused to give up any plot details about the upcoming film, but he did tell THR that he feels a sense of ownership over the franchise as he gets older.

Scott wants partial ownership of the franchise

He also voiced his frustration with the fact that doesn't have partial ownership of Alien:

"I resurrected [Alien] with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, and we should have rejoined the ownership right then, and we didn’t, because someone was careless."

Scott evoked another Alien director, James Cameron, for being able to secure ownership of the Terminator franchise. Hopefully Scott gets his wish, and fans continue to get entertaining stories involving the Xenomorph.