It was announced this week that Neill Blomkamp, writer and director of District 9 and the Matt Damon dystopian sci-fi Elysium, will be helming a new Alien film. While another sci-fi sequel isn’t exactly surprising, what is surprising is how Blomkamp got the job.
In January, the South African filmmaker tweeted some concept art for an Alien film he had conceived. The art, which included freaky renderings of Alien star Sigourney Weaver in a xenomorph-type suit, was supposedly done on spec by Blomkamp—basically, he did it for fun, and to show people what he could do with the series. Fox had not approached him and they were not pre-production artwork.
The drawings quickly made the rounds around the Internet, gaining praise from series fans. Even Sigourney Weaver chimed in last week, telling MTV that she would be game to participate if such a film came to pass. That seemed to be the straw that broke the studio’s back as 20th Century Fox announced soon after that Blomkamp will make the movie. It’s expected Weaver’s involvement will be announced sometime soon.
This film will be a separate entity and not affect the in-the-works sequel to Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s spinoff-prequel-reboot to the franchise he personally got off the ground back in 1979.
Sigourney Weaver can next be seen in Blomkamp’s upcoming robot film, Chappie. Want to direct an Alien film in the future? Check out New York Film Academy’s filmmaking school programs here.