Neill Blomkamp’s Alien project has been put on hold

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The ALIEN franchise, with the exception of PROMETHEUS, seemed dead and buried when Neill Blomkamp posted some rather intriguing pieces of concept art earlier this year for a potential ALIEN film which would see the return of Ellen Ripley. Although it was by no means official, Neill Blomkamp was able to use the public's reaction in order to get Fox interested in continuing the series and it didn't take long before the project was green-lit and Neill Blomkamp had been hired to direct.

The director has spoken often about the project, even sharing a look at the new pulse rifle recently, but now Neill Blomkamp has revealed that the whole thing may have been put on hold:

This doesn't exactly come as a shock, as it has become increasingly obvious that Ridley Scott's PROMETHEUS sequel, titled ALIEN: PARADISE LOST, is going to be the priority. Neill Blomkamp had previously revealed that he'd been forced to make changes to the script of his ALIEN film after Ridley Scott found one element which butted up a little too close to what he had planned for ALIEN: PARADISE LOST. Ridley Scott has also been referencing ALIEN more often when he discusses the PROMETHEUS sequel, saying that the story will have connections with Ripley and tie in to the ALIEN films; so it's possible that this may have had an impact on the story Neill Blomkamp wanted to tell. Whether Blomkamp returns to his ALIEN project seems to depend on how ALIEN: PARADISE LOST fares.

ALIEN: PARADISE LOST will shoot early next year for a May 30, 2017 release.

Are you glad Neill Blomkamp's ALIEN sequel has been put on hold in favour of ALIEN: PARADISE LOST, or were you looking forward to seeing what Blomkamp had in store for Ellen Ripley?