Even after starting the franchise with Alien and making two prequel films Ridley Scott still wants to make a third Alien prequel film. This time focusing less on the Xenomorphs and more on androids.
State of the Franchise
Starting the original film in 1979 the Alien franchise is now at four installments. Six if you count the two crossovers with the Predator franchise, eight if you also count the two prequels films from original film director Ridley Scott. The most recent film Alien: Covenant came out in 2017 and the franchise has kind of been stuck since then. The film was a hit but not as much of a hit as Prometheus and both films faced mixed reception from critics and especially from fans. Undeterred, Scott wants to make a third prequel film, picking up from the end of Alien: Covenant.
Scott’s Pitch
As far back as the red carpet for Alien Covenant, Ridley Scott expressed interest in making a third Alien prequel film. But he said that he would want the film to move away from Xenomorphs and focus more on androids. Like Ash in the original film or David from the prequels. Throughout followup interviews Scott has remained attached to this idea. In a recent interview from the LA Times discussing the original film Scott still maintains interest in a third prequel. Talking about exploring the origins of the ship seen in the first film.
Will It Happen?
Disney currently hold some the rights to the Alien franchise, one of the many intellectual properties they inherited with the Fox merger. That means that the future of Alien and all creative decisions regarding Alien ultimately rest with the Disney shareholders. Now, there is a chance that Disney might want to continue the franchise. That doesn’t mean however that they will want to continue with Scott’s prequel films. Ridley Scott was one of the directors Disney inherited with the Fox merger and he is currently filming The Last Duel for Searchlight Pictures (which they also inherited with the merger). So Disney has a vested interest in keeping him happy and thereby in house. It remains to be seen whether that means letting him conclude his Alien prequel trilogy or not.