While it wasn’t the worst blockbuster of all time, Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant landed with a wet fart at the box office, pissed off Alien fans and largely left people baffled. I kinda liked it, but only because its eyebrow-raising Hammer Horror gothic vibe is at least kind of original. Plus, any film that has Michael Fassbender chewing that much scenery can only be so bad.
Anyway, Covenant was originally intended to be the middle part of a trilogy that began with Prometheus. But, since it sank like a stone, it’s been all quiet on the final part of the story. In fact, star Katherine Waterson was asked in an interview with The Playlist if she’s heard about plans to begin production, and here’s what she said:
“No, basically. I don’t live in Hollywood, and I’m always usually the last person to know even what’s going on in my own career. So, [I’m] probably not the best person to ask. But I did get some sense of where they thought they might like to take it when we were shooting ‘Covenant,’ and it sounded really interesting. I would be absolutely game to do more if they wanted to have me. That’s all I know. I’m sure they’ve changed their minds anyway. And there’s been probably loads of different ideas going around and everything. But just in case I spoil something by talking about it, I wouldn’t dare.”
It’s not exactly a cast-iron confirmation that a Covenant sequel isn’t being worked on, but let’s face it, the chances of it happening are minuscule. On top of bad reception is the fact that Disney’s impending merger for 20th Century Fox will put the Alien franchise in the Mouse House’s hands. Grimy bio-mechanical sex monster horror doesn’t seem like a perfect fit for the Disney corporation, but perhaps we’ll get a reboot of the series that ditches its increasingly convoluted canon.
In the meantime, I’m sure we’ll eventually hear those ‘interesting’ details of what the Covenant sequel would have looked like. And when we do, we can file them in the large compendium of un-made Alien movies, which range from Vincent Ward’s Alien III set on a wooden planet, through to Neill Blomkamp’s direct sequel to Aliens and to the prototype for Prometheus, Alien: Engineers.