Can there be an ‘Alien’ film that does not feature at least some form of the famous Xenomorph from the original? Even ‘Prometheus‘ hinted at the beast and spent time laying the groundwork for where the monstrous creatures came from, but if you listen to franchise creator Ridley Scott, he sees the “beast” as non-essential nowadays.
According to a recent roundtable interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scott shared his thoughts on the continued use of the Xenomorph in the ‘Aliens’ franchise, rehashing previous thoughts and statements from the past few years about how he thought the creature has been “cooked” due to overuse in all the sequels over the years:
“But I think the beast has almost run out, personally. You’ve got to come in with something else. You’ve got to replace that. And so I was right, I was ahead of the game.”
Furthermore, Scott plans on doing the sequel to ‘Alien: Covenant’ (whose third act featured an attack by the Xenomorph, an act which many consider to be the weakest part of the film) entirely around the A.I. character of David and the world he builds without morality or humanity, and the threat he faces when he is found by the Engineers, who are none-too-happy about the planet of Engineers he murdered in the previous film.
Of course, whether or not Scott gets the chance to make that sequel is another question, as 20th Century Fox has to sign off, and they were disappointed with the box-office returns of ‘Alien: Covenant’ and might not be thrilled to hear of a new film in the franchise that will be lacking the central antagonist that for years was the biggest box-office draw.
Could Scott be missing the point of these movies? Could his own inability to properly use the Xenomorphs be the real culprit, instead of the beasts themselves, which proved popular even in terrible films like ‘Alien VS Predator: Requiem?’ Or does it matter because he created the franchise and has creative license to do whatever he wants? Feel free to share your thoughts on the matter in the comments below!
