Though Chappie released in theaters this week to middling reviews, the vast majority of media attention surrounding director Neill Blomkamp has been directed toward his involvement in 20th Century Fox’s as-yet-untitled Alien sequel.
Specifically, fans of the legendary sci-fi franchise have been chomping at the bit to learn more about Blomkamp’s ambitions, who will return and, perhaps most important of all, the tone that the filmmaker has driving for. For instance, will it adhere to Ridley Scott’s seminal 1979 template of unadulterated, haunted-house-in-space-styled horror? Or will it strive to recreate the pulse-pounding action of James Cameron’s sequel? Alas, from what we understand, Blomkamp wants to strike a balance between both installments, which have a “weird, perfect unity.”
But according to a recent interview with Empire, the South African has revealed that, after meeting with franchise stalwart Sigourney Weaver, his vision may stretch beyond one film.
“If you go back even three or four years, I’ve wanted to make a film in that genre, in that franchise. I’d come up with an idea, and when I met Sigourney on the set of Chappie, I presumed that she would never want to play Ripley again. Rightly or wrongly, I had that in my head. I also didn’t know where you could go with her, given Alien 3 and 4.
“So when I started speaking to her, I just wanted to know more about the process of making the first two films. The first two are the ones that I care about. Then I started to realise there was a whole film – at least a film, if not more – that still contained Ripley, which I was really surprised by.”
Whether 20th Century Fox will get behind Blomkamp for a potential sequel will ultimately depend on how his Alien film is received by fans and critics. Still, the fact that his early framework is substantial enough to break into at least two movies irrefutably proves that there is life in the old Xenomorph yet. We’ll just have to wait patiently to find out whether this reboot of-sorts is worth getting excited about.
