Neill Blomkamp

Death didn’t end Ellen Ripley’s story. (Uh, spoiler alert.) But supposedly Neill Blomkamp might.

Today brings news that San Diego Comic-Con will play host to a special panel to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Aliens, James Cameron’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror classic. Cameron himself will be in attendance along with Sigourney Weaver, who is still talking up Neill Blomkamp’s new Alien sequel despite reports that the project had been delayed due to Scott’s own Alien prequel plans.

Remember last year when Neill Blomkamp released his ‘Alien’ concept art? Remember losing your cool when he announced his ‘Alien’ movie was actually happening? And then Ridley Scott walked in and seemingly swooped all those dreams away.

Earlier today, Matt Singer wrote an article all about the “Legacyquel” phenomenon where “beloved aging stars reprise classic roles and pass the torch to younger successors.” Recent examples include Creed, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and X-Men: Days of Future Past. One film that almost got added to that list is the now-defunct Aliens sequel where director Neill Blomkamp’s proposed follow-up would’ve had Sigourney Weaver returning co-star alongside a now-grown Newt, who would be the franchise’s new action hero.

After effectively pulling the plug on Neill Blomkamp’s planned sequel to Alien a couple weeks ago, 20th Century Fox owed the director, and big time. More than that, they had a high-profile talent under contract sitting around with nothing to do, burning money without a frame to show for it...

In space, no one can hear your pre-production developments being set back. Sci-fi filmmaker Neill Blomkamp tweeted as much last night when he announced that his upcoming fifth entry under the Alien franchise banner had been put on hold in favor of a sequel to Alien prequel Prometheus, courtesy of the original Alien director Ridley Scott.

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.

Ridley Scott is heading into production on the newly-titled Alien: Paradise Lost early next year, which has reportedly pushed Neill Blomkamp’s separate Alien movie back just a bit to make room for the Prometheus sequel. Scott hasn’t been shy in discussing plans for the projects — particularly his own — and the director is at it again, teasing more plot details for Alien: Paradise Lost, as well as a potential release date for Blomkamp’s film.

The current state of the Alien franchise is a little confusing, to say the least. In one corner, you have Ridley Scott planning to make a sequel to his prequel, Prometheus. In the other corner, you have Neill Blomkamp, still plugging away at Alien 5, which may or may not ignore the third and fourth entries in the original series. In fact, the sheer amount of Alien stuff in the works seems to have clogged up the pipes. If a new report is to be believed, Blomkamp’s film is being put on the back burner until Scott can make Prometheus 2 a reality.

It was only a couple of months ago that we were posting updates on Neill Blomkamp’s Alien movie just about every other day, as the director was hit with a barrage of questions about the upcoming project during the press tour for Chappie (oh hey, remember Chappie?). It’s been a while since we got an update on Blomkamp’s Alien project, but the director has revealed a new piece of concept art featuring a couple of familiar faces.