Neill Blomkamp’s ‘Alien’ Sequel Revives the Pulse Rifle in New Photo

Although it was previously rumored that Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel Alien: Paradise Lost is delaying Neill Blomkamp’s direct Alien sequel, Scott recently clarified that both films will be arriving in the next two years, with Scott heading into production on his Alien prequel in February, and Blomkamp still at work in pre-production, as evidenced by his latest photo — which features a very familiar weapon.

Blomkamp posted a photo of his new pulse rifle design, a weapon heavily featured in the Alien franchise. As Blomkamp notes in the caption, the new version includes an RIS (Rail Interface System), which allows for useful add-ons like flashlights and scopes:

Blomkamp’s Alien sequel will feature Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ripley along with Michael Biehn as Hicks. Previous reports indicated that Alien 5 would ignore the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection, though Blomkamp was quick to clarify that he’s not entirely discounting the canon established in those films — but with Hicks clearly alive in his version of events, who knows what he’s actually planning.

Ridley Scott has recently confirmed that Alien: Paradise Lost is a more direct prequel to the Alien franchise than Prometheus. His film is set to hit theaters on May 30, 2017 and has reportedly delayed Alien 5 and forced Blomkamp to tweak his concept.