Scott to direct ALIEN prequel

Now this is surprising: Ridley Scott will direct an upcoming Alien prequel, his first return to the franchise since he directed the original Alien in 1979.

A few months back Scott's brother (and producing partner) Tony Scott told Collider.com that an Alien prequel was going ahead with commercial director (and first-time feature director) Carl Rinsch at the helm and original Alien director Ridley Scott producing. That led to a rather awkward and very public stalemate between Ridley Scott and Fox, with reports that Fox wasn't interested in greenlighting the film unless Scott himself directed it. It looks like the studio finally won out.

My feelings are mixed about this one. On the one hand, Scott's one of the most talented and influential directors the sci-fi genre has ever had, and while he's enjoyed success since leaving the genre I tend to doubt that 30 years from now anybody will be studying American Gangster in college the way they study Alien and Blade Runner today. I think the original Alien was superb, and it's been all downhill from there. These days Alien's Xenomorphs have slipped into has-been hell, co-starring with Predators in a series of action pictures that nobody gives much of a damn about. If anybody can rescue the Alien franchise, Scott's the man. An Alien prequel could be great for the Aliens, and great for Scott as well.

All that being said, it sounds like Scott is returning to the franchise with some reluctance. He wanted somebody else to direct the film, and he's been pressured into doing it himself. That doesn't sound like he's gonna be on his A-game. So, we're getting Scott arguably a few decades past his prime, returning to the Alien franchise for less than ideal reasons.

Still, anything Scott does is gonna beat the hell out of Alien vs. Predator 4.

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