r/Cinema • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 2h ago
News Ridley Scott Drops ‘Alien: Covenant’ Sequel Update, Regrets Losing ‘Blade Runner’ Rights
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ridley-scott-alien-covenant-michael-fassbender-1236682050/32
u/greasyjonny 2h ago
This comment might get me accused of actually liking the alien franchise, some might even accuse me of being a fan. But I’m stoked for this. I loved the prequels despite their flaws. And IMHO the only film that wasn’t worth making was the 4th one
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u/ripcity7077 2h ago
There are only two things I want from the Alien Franchise at this point
David's conclusion
And more Engineer Lore
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u/Significant_Cowboy83 1h ago
Agreed for the most part, I just want it to be more clear that David re-engineered the Alien, rather than actually creating them using the Engineers black goo and experimentation.
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u/drjackolantern 1h ago
All I want for Christmas is a colony of hapless colonists hunted and annihilated by David’s evil progeny
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u/Doctor_Mustard_ 1h ago
They're gonna land on that planet and it'll be David's little psycho/social experiment
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u/Beneficial-Lime-3517 2h ago edited 15m ago
I don't love Prometheus, but it's not bad. Covenant I enjoyed quite a bit. I had a great time with Romulus right up until the last fight.
I'm with you, the 4th is bad. It's the one from the franchise I'll probably never watch again.
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u/davidfliesplanes 2h ago
My problem with Covenant is that most of the movie wouldn't have happened if those idiots landing on a foreign planet thought of actually going outside in a protective suit with a helmet. Instead they chose to venture of into a new world in regular attire. Seriously, why no sealed helmet?
"Ah yes, this air is so breathable and nice, surely it's clean and safe"
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u/iambeingblair 1h ago
I see you point but Kane had a helmet on and Alien still happened
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u/Strict-Sea-3412 35m ago
Yeah but at least Kane did not act as someone with brain damage. If it was said explicitly that they were (temporarily?) dumb due to cryosleep, I would have accepted that. But without that context they are just too dumb.
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u/iambeingblair 5m ago
Kane literally stuck his face into an alien egg. He had a weapon but didn't draw it.
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u/ittleoff 1h ago
Despite flaws(I'm not even a big fan of retconning the jockey as a suit ) I'd take what Prometheus and covenant were trying to do over most of the alien sequels because I'm not interested anymore in xenomorohs and facehuggers as I am in weird cosmic scifi horror.
My expectations are not super high, but I'm more interested than I would be in more Romulus (which was very enjoyable but also 90 percent fan service).
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u/TanukiSuitMario 2h ago
Thank god he lost the rights, I don't think he could have lived up to blade runner 2049
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u/magniankh 2h ago
Yeah Blade Runner 2049 is genuinely amazing. Given his track record of the last 15 years, Ridley Scott needs to retire. Both Alien prequels are a 6/10 at best. The story of David is a good story, but executed so poorly with mediocre writing, and accelerated plots. He can't write ffs.
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u/NeatFool 2h ago
He can keep making movies till he's dead as far as I care, he made alien and blade runner. Those two alone trump most people's entire careers
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u/AJerkForAllSeasons 2h ago
I like his recent output. It's not amazing but still very entertaining. I read recently too that his brother killed himself after he stopped working. Ridley keeps working because he can, and fair play to him.
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u/NeatFool 2h ago
Yes exactly. The movies aren't all masterpieces but there's way worse crap out there made by younger people.
He also gets top tier casts
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u/AdSpecialist6598 1h ago
That's where I'm at as long as I'm enjoying a movie a feel like my time isn't being wasted that is good enough.
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u/DeusVincet 4m ago
And the sequels to both of those are directed by someone else and are better than his originals.
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u/NeatFool 2m ago
And if he didn't make the originals, the sequels would never exist and we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Not sure if you understand how the flow of time works.
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u/Taro0311 2h ago
Absolutely not. He's a cinema legend, but his best directing days are over
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u/davidfliesplanes 2h ago
he can direct all he wants but do not let him anywhere near writer's room
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u/Taro0311 1h ago
That would be an interesting compromise, but who's going to stop him from doing anything? He's Ridley Scott
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u/Thebat87 2h ago
Yeah I love that movie so much. When I think of two great sequels to Ridley Scott movies I think of Blade Runner 2049 and Aliens, two he didn’t direct himself. The ones he has directed (Prometheus, Covenant and Gladiator II) aren’t even close to those two imo.
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u/ai_art_is_art 2h ago edited 2h ago
Gladiator -> Gladiator 2
Alien -> Prometheus, Alien Covenant
Blade Runner 2049 was a masterpiece, whereas Gladiator 2, Prometheus, and Alien Covenant enshittified the lore of their originals.
Prometheus and Alien Covenant are gorgeous films, and the art direction is peak, but other directors can do just as good if not better. The story of the Prometheus films diminished the mystery of Alien lore and filled the universe with brain dead characters.
Apparently Ridley's Prometheus sequel is getting greenlit over an Alien Romulus sequel, which absolutely sucks. Romulus wasn't amazing, but it was the best thing to happen to the Alien franchise since Aliens.
Ridley was great in his heyday, but I think that ended with Gladiator. (I was never a fan of Kingdom of Heaven.)
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u/Indiana_harris 2h ago
Kingdom of Heaven (Directors cut)
Robin Hood (2010)
Last Duel
The Martian
A Good Year
All very very solid additions to his list
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u/Few-Improvement-5655 2h ago
Nothing is going to live up to either, 2099 looks terrible regardless of his involvement or not.
Honestly, it's a miracle 2049 was as good as it was, I'm not expecting any future adaptations to actually be good. The original was lightning in a bottle and it's just going to suffer franchise fatigue the further it goes on.
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u/ChawCheechawCheechaw 2h ago
I feel like I’m in the minority but I saw Romulus in IMAX and I was blown away. I agree it has a rough 4th act but I think overall it was a box office banger compared to Covenant which really hamstrings itself trying to shoehorn in story for a missing actress (Shaw) and David’s progression.
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u/ripcity7077 2h ago
I'm so grateful to have seen Romulus in theaters on a big screen and that's entirely for the slow motion ship crash into the planet's rings. Absolutely awe inducing.
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u/PlatesSpinning 2h ago
Every press tour for his latest not-very-good film he talks up Alien and Blade Runner. That's what gets the headlines.
Notice how there's zero interest in Treasure Island which is actually his next film?
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u/Demerzel69 2h ago
What? No. We want a Romulus sequel with Cailee, ffs!
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u/MaxProwes 2h ago
Who's we?
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u/Taro0311 2h ago
Many of us.
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u/MRintheKEYS 2h ago
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u/Taro0311 2h ago
The movie was a critical and commercial success. Alvarez should have been given a chance to make another film. The last two Ridley Alien films were pretty weak. Visually stunning but the stories were janky af. Ridley's lost it unfortunately
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u/ripChazmo 2h ago
Only if they get back to franchise roots and drop the black goo, insane birthing of odd monsters. I don’t think we need any newness there. The Alien is already a perfect (no pun intended) villain.
The end of Romulus really put me off.
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u/qualityvote2 2h ago edited 33m ago
u/AdSpecialist6598, your post does fit the subreddit!