Ridley Scott Reveals the Title of the ‘Alien: Covenant’ Sequel, Clarifies Franchise Timeline
There’s nothing better than when an iconic filmmaker accidentally lets new juicy details slip about the future of a franchise. For a while now we’ve been getting bits and pieces teasing the new Alien: Covenant, the (supposed) sequel to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. But now a new interview with the filmmaker questions that Alien timeline, and reveals the title of the next movie in the franchise.
Scott, along with Covenant stars Katherine Waterson, Michael Fassbender, and Danny McBride, dropped by SXSW last weekend to share some exclusive footage of the movie. We’ve got a full run-down of the intense footage from our own Britt Hayes, who called it “a true marriage between Scott’s first and most recent films in the franchise.” After the screening the filmmaker caught up with Fandango and accidentally let some new details slip. (The spoiler-phobes should see themselves out now.)
When asked about the potential for more Alien movies, Scott revealed that he’s got a third movie planned reportedly titled Alien: Awakening. Even more curious, that movie might actually take place between Prometheus and Covenant. “There will be another one before we kind of literally and logically, clockwise, back into the rear back head of [the original] Alien,” he told the site. Scott let the title slip when he was asked to clarify the timeline of this new Alien-prequel trilogy:
It will go Prometheus, Awakening, Covenant.. fairly integral where this colonization ship is on the way…
Then Waterston jumped in and cut Scott off before he revealed any more. “You’re giving away too much!” she said. But Scott was on a roll, so he revealed even more news. “If this is successful,” the filmmaker told the side, “and then the next one, and then there will definitely be three more.” Wait, what!
Earlier this month the filmmaker said he’d already completed the first draft of a sequel to Covenant, likely referencing what he calls Awakening. But Scott has also said he’s game for even more Alien movies, saying he’s willing to even crank out another six. We’re not sure about that yet, but it sounds like he’s already got a new trilogy in mind.
But don’t expect those to take place after the original 1979 movie. Scott told Fandango that the sequels already covered that, so we can safely assume this next trio of movies will pick up after Covenant, or maybe jump back even further before Prometheus. At this point, who knows. But someone try to corner Scott next time he’s alone and willing to leak spoilers. Alien: Covenant opens May 19.