Ridley Scott Says He Was ‘Never Asked’ to Direct the First 3 ‘Alien’ Sequels: ‘I Wasn’t Happy’

Directing a sequel to one of his iconic ’80s films was an alien notion to Ridley Scott.

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Scott, who is directing the long-awaited “Gladiator II,” told Vanity Fair that he was “never asked” to return to direct any of the “Alien” franchise installments after the first film.

“I’m the author of two franchises,” Scott said. “Most directors in Hollywood — certainly, let’s say, at my level — don’t let that stuff go. But I did ‘Alien’ as my second movie, so I didn’t have much choice. And ‘Blade Runner’ was my third movie. So, I had no choice because I had very tough partners.”

He added, “It was kind of ‘Welcome to Hollywood.'”

IndieWire reached out to Scott’s reps to ask who those “very tough partners” were, but we did not immediately receive a response.

“Alien” debuted in 1979; “Blade Runner” was released in 1982. The “Alien” franchise spurred sequels “Aliens” (1986), directed by James Cameron, “Alien 3” (1992) helmed by David Fincher, and “Alien Resurrection” (1997), directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Scott returned to helm 2012’s “Prometheus” and 2017’s “Alien: Covenant.”

“I was slow out the starting gate,” Scott said. “I mean, I should have done the sequels to ‘Alien’ and to ‘Blade Runner.’ You change over the years. At that time, I didn’t want to go through it again. So Jim Cameron came in — and then David Fincher — on ‘Alien.'”

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Scott continued, “I was never told or asked. You can imagine I wasn’t happy.”

IndieWire reached out to 20th Century, the studio behind the “Alien” franchise, to inquire if Scott was asked to direct the first three sequels to the franchise’s OG film; we did not immediately receive a response.

Scott was attached to direct the 2017 “Blade Runner” sequel, “Blade Runner 2049,” but instead opted to direct “Alien: Covenant,” returning to that franchise instead. Scott still executive produced “Blade Runner 2049,” but Denis Villeneuve directed.

“I was regretful , although he did a good job,” Scott said.

The “Alien” franchise is getting a reboot with Scott executive producing. Fede Alvarez directs the upcoming “ Alien: Romulus ,” which stars Cailee Spaeny and takes place 20 years after the events of Scott’s original “Alien,” which oddly enough is the same amount of time between Scott’s “Gladiator” and “Gladiator II” storylines.

“I really wanted to go back to the sheer horror of the first film, and to take those elements of thriller that ‘Aliens’ has, and ‘Alien 3’ has as well,” Alvarez told Variety . “We went to crazy extents to keep it pure to the filmmaking techniques of the first movie. But if anybody’s worried, ‘Is it going to be too retro?’ Don’t worry, 2023 will pour through every window. There’s no way to stop the modernity of filmmaking. And from that combination of the best of the classics and the best of today, then you have something new.”