It’s been 40 years since fans witnessed the iconic chest-bursting scene in Alien, but the backstory isn’t over yet as director Ridley Scott is working on a third prequel to the film.
Looking back on the original film with the knowledge of special effects today, it’s more amusing than horrifying to watch the little snake-like alien emerge from poor Kane’s body and scuttle away across the table.
But back in 1979, Alien was a masterpiece which raked in $105 million worldwide – the adjusted gross is $283.5 million, Variety report.
The film spawned three sequels, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection, as well as two crossovers with the Predator franchise and two prequels, Prometheus and most recently Alien: Covenant.
At this point the chronological timeline of the series is threatening to get even more complicated than the Star Wars films, and the two prequels weren’t as well received as the 1979 original, but that hasn’t deterred Scott from diving back in for another instalment.
According to Variety, the third prequel in the works sees Scott in the director’s chair once again. Disney hasn’t yet made an official announcement, and there is no timeline for production to start, but the new movie is reportedly in a scripting phase.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of a new addition to the franchise, as in 2017 the director insisted there would be a follow up to Alien: Covenant, MovieWeb report.
The title Alien: Awakening was attached to this supposed upcoming film, but it’s unclear whether the movie which is currently being scripted will bring Awakening to life, or whether the idea will have morphed into something new.
Alien was originally a Fox production, but it is now controlled by Disney as a result of the recent merger between the two companies.
Disney doesn’t tend to do R-rated movies of this nature, but the company has made it clear that they will have a new Fox-friendly banner which will allow for the existence of more R-rated creations, like Deadpool, so it’s possible the new film could still be aimed at mature viewers.
Alternatively, the upcoming release could be made suitable for younger viewers and given a PG-13 rating, in the same way as the first Alien Vs. Predator movie.
Speaking about the possibility of a new project to The Hollywood Reporter recently, Scott said:
The alien [origin concept] is uniquely attached to Mother Nature. It simply comes off a wood beetle that will lay eggs inside some unsuspecting insect. And in so doing, the form of the egg will become the host for this new creature.
That’s hideous. But that was what it was. And you can’t keep repeating that because the joke gets boring. Go on, leave that behind, and see where it can evolve. So we’re looking where we’re going to evolve.
Will the new film be able to make amends for the less popular follow ups and take us back to the glory of the original? We’ll have to wait and see!
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.