Ridley Scott reflects on his journey with the Alien franchise and his directorial future. The filmmaker directed the groundbreaking first Alien movie, which hit theaters in 1979. While he didn't return to helm the sequels, Aliens or Alien 3, Scott later directed 2012's Prometheus, the fifth installment in the franchise, and 2017's Alien: Covenant. He also served as a consultant and producer on 2024's Alien: Romulus.

In an interview with ScreenRant for the Kingdom of Heaven's 20th anniversary, Scott talked about his future with the Alien franchise, expressing his desire to part ways with it. While he voiced praise for James Cameron's sequel, he felt like the series was "deadened after 4." He further recalled how he was hired to direct the 1979 movie in the first place and why he returned decades later to resurrect the franchise. However, regarding his future, the director believes that he has "done enough." Read his comments below:

It is spreading like wildfire, and not really. I think I felt it was deadened after 4. I think mine was pretty damn good, and I think Jim's was good, and I have to say the rest were not very good. And I thought, "F***, that's the end of a franchise which should be as important as bloody Star Trek or Star Wars," which I think is phenomenal. At least, I think the first one by George is seminal–it was as seminal as 2001. To me, it was that important in of film language and where you go next.

From George's [Star Wars], I was then offered, almost a year after, Alien.

I'm fascinated [by] very good comics and the best in the world was probably Jean Giraud Moebius. Moebius was a French comics man who was just genius. I was staring at these, and suddenly I was offered Alien out of the blue. And because designer is in my blood and DNA, I just knew what to do with it.

And I was the fifth f***ing choice. Why you offered Robert Altman Alien, God only knows. Altman said, "Are you kidding? I'm not going to do this," and I went, "Are you kidding? I have to do this," because it borders and verges on heavy metal.

So that's where I went, and then it died. A number of years after, I said, "I'm going to resurrect this," [and wrote] Prometheus from scratch–a blank sheet of paper. Damon Lindelof and I sat then hammered out Prometheus.

It was very present and very welcome. The audience really wanted more. I said, "It needs to fly." No one was coming for it, [and] I went once again [and made] Alien Covenant, and it worked too. Where it's going now, I think I've done enough, and I just hope it goes further.

What Ridley Scott's Comments Mean For The Alien Franchise

Ridley Scott Has Some Regrets About Alien

Despite directing the first Alien movie, Scott wasn't involved in the sequels until the fifth installment. In the past, the director has expressed regret at not directing the sequels and voiced negative opinions towards entries that were not directed by him. His comments here echo the sentiment, although it sounds like at least the James Cameron-directed Aliens is the entry that has the fellow filmmaker's seal of approval.

Despite his lack of enthusiasm towards being involved too much in the franchise's future, Scott is credited as an executive producer on the TV series Alien: Earth. Last year, it was also confirmed that he is developing an untitled Alien prequel. It seems that the Gladiator director isn't entirely done resurrecting the franchise just yet. Comparing Alien to two of the most influential franchises in the sci-fi genre also indicates how much potential he still sees in the series.

Our Take On Ridley Scott's Future With Alien

Ridley Scott Needs To Stay With Alien

Scott has been vocal about his role in reviving the Alien franchise when he came back to helm the 2012 movie, and he's not entirely wrong. It does seem like the movies are better with him involved. Alien and Aliens are the highest-rated installments in the franchise, followed by Romulus, Prometheus, and Covenant. All five movies have "fresh" Rotten Tomatoes scores, but the rest were not well-received.

Scott's comments mean that he may part ways with the franchise in the near future, but we do hope he'll stick around, if not as a director, as a producer or executive producer. Even though there may be past regrets, the director plays a crucial part in Alien's success and creative DNA, and the 2024 Alien: Romulus is recent proof.