MOVIE NEWS – Ridley Scott is working on a new standalone Alien movie, to be written and directed by Fede Alvarez.

The Alien franchise has come a long way since its relatively small origins in 1979. Now it looks like the series is getting a new standalone film, courtesy of Don’t Breathe director Fede Alvarez. According to sources, the new movie will not be connected to the upcoming TV series or any of the previous films in the franchise, although Ridley Scott will produce it. It is said that 20th Century Studios has given the green light to the project “purely thanks to Fede’s application”.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the project’s news, which is believed to be part of 20th Century Studios’ plan to produce ten films a year for the Disney-backed Hulu platform. This would be the first feature film based on the Xenomorphs since Disney acquired Fox, which owned the rights to the franchise.

While the Disney deal has brought heartbreak to many fans, the news that it will be tied to Hulu should at least allay some fears – so no, there won’t be a PG-13 Alien movie…

In 40 years, the franchise has spawned three direct sequels, two cross-over films with the Predator franchise, and two prequels – the latter of which hasn’t been as well-received as the first two, as both Alien and Aliens are considered groundbreaking, timeless classics in their own right.

No word yet on a new Alien film, but sources say Alvarez has been working on the idea for some time. According to the report, the director has always been a fan of the franchise and pitched the idea to Ridley Scott years ago. Last year, Scott apparently decided to call Alvarez and ask if he still wanted to make the film. 20th Century president Steve Asbell said, “It was just a really good story with a bunch of characters you haven’t seen before.”

This isn’t the first old franchise Alvarez has tried to make a mark with: he previously wrote and directed the 2013 Evil Dead remake and co-wrote and produced Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While the latter didn’t really work for many, it will be interesting to see what he can do with this franchise while keeping it mostly separate from the rest of the series.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter