The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Prisoners writer Aaron Guzikowski has been tapped to write a new Alien movie for filmmaker Sir Ridley Scott. This marks a reunion for the duo after they previously collaborated on HBO Max's Raised by Wolves.
Here's where things get interesting, though. While Scott appears to be the creative driving force behind the project after handing the reins to Fede Álvarez for the critically acclaimed Alien: Romulus, he's not currently set to direct this feature.
The Alien helmer will produce the movie alongside Michael Pruss through Scott Free. No director is attached, and this is not a sequel to Alien: Romulus. The follow-up remains in limbo, and as time passes, it happening becomes increasingly unlikely.
According to the trade, "This one is said to be related to the two Alien movies Scott directed in the 2010’s, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. The connective tissue, according to sources, is the amoral android played by Michael Fassbender. Fassbender is not attached at this stage."
"Sources say that Scott turned to Guzikowski to jumpstart the Alien project, which J.R. Young is overseeing for 20th Century."
Guzikowski's credits include Red Road and an upcoming sci-fi movie for Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts. He's also developing an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story for Sony Pictures, and has been enlisted for an adult-targeted animated feature film based on Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima's hit video game.
Last month, Scott credited himself with saving the Alien franchise. After helming 1979's Alien, he allowed James Cameron to take charge of 1986's Aliens. From there, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection both disappointed in the 90s before the Xenomorphs found themselves battling Predators in a couple of disappointing crossovers.
"I did the best one by far," Scott declared, referring to Alien. "Full stop. End of the f***ing story. Then they let it die. After [Alien] 4, they killed it. So I sat there thinking, 'I’m going to bring it back.' So I sat down with a very good writer; two guys [and] eventually ended up with Damon Lindelof, and we caught fire and wrote Prometheus."
While many fans argue that Aliens is the better movie, the filmmaker continued, "So I suddenly bring [it] back where it all began. Then I thought that shook the cage a bit, and I did the next one, Alien Covenant. So now it’s up and running."
Stay tuned for updates on the Alien franchise as we have them.