Ridley Scott confirms more 'Alien' movies are in the works

AH, 'Alien: Covenant'. The critical reaction so far has been mixed, but many are delighted by the xenomorphs (so cute!), Michael Fassbender's David (so creative!) and the film's appallingly grim yet strangely exhilarating ending.

Just like the horror movie The Omen - which is infinitely more enjoyable if you align yourself with devil-child Damien and root for him right from the start - Alien: Covenant probably works best for those audience members who find themselves fully on board with David's plans, which will be revealed when you watch the film.

But where is Ridley Scott planning to take things next?

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The answer, truth be told, is a little confused - but more aliens (and one or more Alien movies) are definitely on the cards.

The 79-year-old director is also planning to oversee any forthcoming titles himself: the Neill Blomkamp-directed Alien movie that was in the works a few years back, and set to star Sigourney Weaver, is well and truly dead.

In fact, the next Scott-directed instalment in the franchise could be with us as soon as early 2019.

"I'll probably be filming it within a year," Scott told Yahoo Movies, when asked last week about his planned follow-up to Covenant.

"It'll be out within a year and nine months. It's weird when you're writing, doing, planning, thinking about franchises, it's amazing how it opens up and starts to evolve."

How many more Alien films is Scott planning - and when will the next one be set?

"I don't know. [I'll make] maybe two more [films], or maybe one more, I don't know," the director told Yahoo, when asked if his planned next film would bridge the two decades between Alien: Covenant, which takes place in 2104, and the original 1979 Alien, which is set in 2122.

Elsewhere, however, Scott has also implied that the next film could in fact be a prequel to Alien: Covenant, set between the events of that film and his 2012 Prometheus (which is set in 2093).

Scott has also hinted that it may go by the title Alien: Awakening.

WATCH the trailer for Alien: Covenant

During an interview with Fandango published in March, the director was asked about whether or not he was planning another film, and what the chronological order of any planned future titles would be.

"There will be another one before we kind of literally and logically, clockwise, back into the rear back head of [the original] Alien," he said.

He added: "It will go Prometheus, Awakening, Covenant ... fairly integral where this colonisation ship is on the way ...

"If this [Covenant] is successful, and then the next one ... then there will definitely be three more."

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These comments, taken in conjunction with the Yahoo interview, could mean Scott is planning both a Covenant prequel, and a Covenant sequel ... and a further two titles.

Indeed, the director has also indicated that his plans for the franchise are currently open-ended, and could stretch to a total of six more films.

"If you really want a franchise, I can keep cranking it for another six," he told the Sydney Morning Herald, during an interview that took place on the set of Covenant.

"I'm not going to close it down again. No way."

But while news outlets were quick to declare that the director was "giving us six more Alien movies!", it feels likely that Scott was simply thinking in terms of what he could do, rather than outlining any definite plans.

For now, based on the most recent interview Scott gave, it feels safest to say that he has only really committed himself to one more Alien film. - The Daily Telegraph, London

•'Alien: Covenant' is in cinemas