MOVIE NEWS – Ridley Scott doesn’t beat around the bush with the science fiction saga and confesses how bad he felt watching the Alien sequels. The director regretted not having been able to maintain control of the saga.
While Gladiator II and his passion for Roman history dominate headlines, Ridley Scott has candidly addressed his feelings about the Alien franchise. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scott revealed his regret over losing creative control of the saga, especially after the Alien 3 and Resurrection installments, which he believes nearly buried the franchise.
“You’ve really blown the whole idea out of the water”
Scott admitted it was a mistake not to retain the rights to the series:
“I did Alien and Blade Runner, and then I moved on. I would have done better to keep the rights, like Spielberg did with Jurassic Park, or like Cameron has done with his projects. When studios pay for a film, there’s always a way during negotiations to retain control of the IP. When I saw Aliens, and later Alien 3 and Resurrection, I thought, ‘Oh, you’ve really blown the concept out of the water.’ That’s why I went to Tom [Rothman, then-head of 20th Century Fox] and said, ‘Look, there’s a way out of this impasse; we should resurrect Alien with Prometheus.’” Scott explained to THR.
Only Cameron’s Aliens Earned His Approval
In another interview with Deadline, Scott was even more blunt, stating the studio “screwed up” with Alien 3 and Resurrection:
“Jim’s [Cameron] sequel was very good. The third and fourth ones got pretty complicated. Watching them, I just thought, ‘Oh, lord, they’re screwing it up.’ From that point, I honestly said, ‘Okay, this is over,’” the filmmaker added.
While some argue that Scott’s own films (Prometheus and Covenant) didn’t deliver the revival fans hoped for, he is confident in their commercial success:
“They made $500 million with Prometheus. Maybe over a billion today with its sales. (…) Then I came back with Alien: Covenant, a huge, ambitious project—perhaps too intellectual to fully resonate—that still generated $250 million in revenue,” said the award-winning director.
Despite their success, Scott and his team once again failed to retain control over the franchise. The Alien saga is now continuing with Alien: Romulus, a film that Scott has endorsed. Additionally, Alien: Planet Earth is set to release on Disney+ in mid-2025.
Source: 3djuegos
