District 9, Elysium, and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp has been teasing his involvement with a future instalment of the Alien series for some time, but based on comments a couple of months ago, it appeared as if the project was dead. However, he’s now signed a deal with Fox to bring back the beloved franchise!
This is said to be a completely separate project to Prometheus 2 (which Ridley Scott is still attached to direct), and will take place after the events of that movie. There were talks at one point that Blomkamp wanted Sigourney Weaver to reprise her role, but she’s not officially attached in any way as of right now.
Unusually, the director was the one to announce the news via his Instagram account (see below), but the trades have all since weighed in confirmed that his take on Alien is now moving ahead. There’s no word on a release date as of yet, but this will obviously come as excited news to fans of the District 9 helmer.
Many Alien fans were disappointed by Prometheus’ lack of Xenomorphs, so seeing Blomkamp deliver a new take on the franchise – while also getting a sequel to Scott’s prequel – really is the best of both worlds!
Um… So I think it’s officially my next film. #alien