Ridley Scott believes that it may be game over for the xenomorph

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Close to forty years after the introduction of the xenomorph in Ridley Scott's ALIEN, it's only natural that the impact of the titular beast has lessened over time. After (mostly) sitting out PROMETHEUS, the xenomorph made its triumphant return in ALIEN: COVENANT, but, reaction to the film was certainly mixed and has left Twentieth Century Fox scrambling to breathe new life into the franchise. According to Ridley Scott, that new life may not include the creature which started it all.

While speaking during a round-table interview with THR, Ridley Scott seems to indicate that the future of the franchise may leave the xenomorph behind.

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.

This isn't the first time that Ridley Scott has foreshadowed the possible end of the xenomorph story, as last month he teased that the next film would focus more on artificial intelligence instead. "I think the evolution of the Alien himself is nearly over," Scott said. "But what I was trying to do was transcend and move to another story, which would be taken over by A.I.’s. The world that the AI might create as a leader if he finds himself onto a new planet. We have actually quite a big layout for the next one." Although Twentieth Century Fox admitted that it was somewhat disappointed by the performance of ALIEN: COVENANT, Fox CEO Stacey Snider also said that she trusts Ridley Scott to know the right story for the sequel when he finds it. "When universes are as rich as Alien," Snider said. "They can stay in a too familiar groove — in which case you’re in trouble — but they can also find a planet or a storyline or a villain that also lives in that universe that can be groundbreaking."

In the audio commentary for ALIEN: COVENANT, Ridley Scott confirmed that a sequel is currently being written by John Logan and that Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, and Danny McBride are expected to return. Although Ridley Scott once imagined ALIEN: COVENANT as the first of three PROMETHEUS sequels he'd make before linking back up with the original ALIEN, he now says that the next film will "probably" be the one to lead directly into the events of ALIEN.