Early on in development, it was as if Neill Blomkamp’s proposed Alien 5 and Alien: Covenant – then known as Prometheus 2 – were competing with one another to enter production. But it wasn’t long before Ridley Scott assembled a crew of deep space explorers, effectively placing Blomkamp’s follow-up on ice for the time being.
And sure enough, production is well underway on the set of Covenant, with set photos already beginning to emerge online for Scott’s long-anticipated sci-fi pic. Given the events that transpired in Prometheus, the director is in need of a new pilot for his latest galactic expedition, and it appears Vice Principals star Danny McBride will be the one calling the shots from behind the wheel, presiding over a crew that includes Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollett, and Amy Seimetz.
[zerg]Word comes by way of Rolling Stone, where McBride stated, “I’m the pilot of the spaceship Covenant, which is a colonization ship, searching for a planet where we might start life anew. I run the ship.” Could that SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life) steer Covenant in the direction of Paradise? It certainly appears so.
Whatever the outcome, we do know that the Xenomorph will be slithering back onto the scene in time for the sequel’s 2017 release date. After orchestrating some of the most memorable moments in horror history via practical effects (read: the spontaneous Chestburster sequence of ’79), fans can take solace in the fact that Scott will minimize the use of green screen.
I didn’t know if it would be all green screen, but most of the stuff is practical effects: when you’re running from an alien it’s really a dude in an alien suit coming after you! The sets are incredible and you’re in them: We go through some inclement weather at one point on the spaceship and this whole gigantic set is on a gimbal, shaking up and down. You don’t have to use your imagination.
To get a glimpse of those practical effects in motion, you can have a gander at the Twitter video below, showcasing the elongated talons of H.R. Giger’s nightmarish beast.
Where it all begins. #AlienCovenant pic.twitter.com/X0aGEEtH3P
— Alien Anthology (@AlienAnthology) July 6, 2016
On the other end of the timeline, Neill Blomkamp is quietly piecing together his Alien 5 which, according to Sigourney Weaver, will write off the timelines created by both Alien 3 and Resurrection. Per Entertainment Weekly: “It’s just as if, you know, the path forks and one direction goes off to [Alien 3] and [Alien: Resurrection] and another direction goes off to Neill’s movie,”
Ridley Scott’s decorated sci-fi franchise continues with the release of Alien: Covenant on August 4, 2017. In terms of Alien 5, Neill Blomkamp’s proposed sequel remains on the back-burner and will likely stay there for the foreseeable future.