It Seems The Alien 5 Cancellation Wound Is Still Fresh For Neill Blomkamp
The director was asked about his scrapped project in a recent interview, which led to a surprising reaction.
It has been six years since the last Alien movie, and the franchise is currently in pretty rough shape.
Ridley Scott 's Alien: Covenant was an utter disappointment for many fans, becoming a box office flop, and it is unclear whether the upcoming untitled Alien film from Fede Álvarez will be a long overdue redemption or the final nail in the franchise's coffin.
In light of all this, many fans are lamenting the cancellation of Alien 5 by director Neill Blomkamp, best known for his work on 2009's District 9, 2013's Elysium, and the just-released Gran Turismo.
It was supposed to be a direct sequel to 1986's Aliens, retconning the events of the controversial Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.
Judging by the concept art, it would have featured the fan-favorite trio of Ellen Ripley, Corporal Dwayne Hicks, and a grown-up Newt, as well as new subspecies of Xenomorphs and an unknown jungle world.
Unfortunately, the project was eventually scrapped by Ridley Scott, even though it was originally supposed to come out after Alien: Covenant, and considering how extremely underwhelming the latter turned out to be, some fans are still furious at Scott for it.
It looks like they are not the only ones who are still not over it, as it seems that the wound is still fresh for Neill Blomkamp as well.
During his recent interview with Uproxx, the filmmaker was asked about the canceled project, only to immediately cut off any further questions by answering, "It's hard to define how little I care about what happens with Alien."
Shortly thereafter, the director ended the interview, which seemed quite rushed and may have been caused by the aforementioned uncomfortable question.
Fans express their complete understanding with Blomkamp, as it appears that the topic is still too sensitive for him to discuss.
They say it must have been incredibly frustrating to have his movie, whose concept art looked fascinating and interesting to many fans, canceled by Scott, only to have him deliver the disappointing Alien: Covenant instead.
Hopefully, Fede Álvarez, who has already directed the rather tense and terrifying Evil Dead (2013) and Don't Breathe (2016), will restore the franchise's dignity.
His untitled Alien movie is scheduled for release on August 16, 2024.
[БЛИЦ] Do you agree that Blomkamp's ideas for the Alien movie were too promising to be discarded so unceremoniously?
-Absolutely
-Not really