Movie News

Third Film in New ALIEN Franchise Possibly Canceled By 20th Century Fox

Xenomorph Alien: Covenant

Alien: Covenant Sequel Film May Have Been Canceled by Fox

The third film in director Ridley Scott‘s new Alien franchise may have been put on indefinite hold, if not quietly canceled. The prospect of a new Alien film, following the release of Alien: Covenant, was always an open question when one considered the mixed reviews the film received and the enthused, box office take for film domestically ($74.2 Million) and world-wide ($240.7 Million). The production budget for Alien: Covenant was $97 Million, which does not include how much it cost to market the film (which could have been another $97 Million).

Alien: Covenant caused more problems for the new franchise than it solved with a third act that was an amped up rehash of the first Alien‘s finale.

Advertisement
 

When recent speculation broke of a third film no longer being greenlit, it was no surprise. The rumor came from a Blu-ray.com user by the name HumanMedia:

The sequel to Covenant was originally due to start preproduction this month in Sydney. After the box office results filming was canceled, and a warehouse storage unit full of stuff was auctioned off a few months ago. So the original plan of pumping out another quickly has definitely changed with no immediate plans for anything.

The best and only redeeming element of Alien: Covenant were the two synthetic androids and all of their machinations throughout Alien: Covenant. When reviews for the film came out, the androids were always mentioned as a favorable aspect of the film. Because of that, or sensing where things should go, the third film was said to focus heavily on synthetic lifeforms and far less on xenomorphs. Now it seems that fans may never get to see the results of David’s malevolent experiments.

With The Walt Disney Company’s recent acquisition of 21 Century Fox, perhaps Fox’s new bosses will take a look at the possibly shelved project and give it the go-ahead once more.

Alien: Covenant‘s plot synopsis: “Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with ALIEN: COVENANT, a new chapter in his groundbreaking ALIEN franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.”

Alien: Covenant starred Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, Jussie Smollett, Callie Hernandez, Nathaniel Dean, Alexander England, and Benjamin Rigby.

Leave your thoughts on Alien: Covenant Sequel Film May Have Been Canceled by Fox below in the comments section. Readers seeking more movie news can visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Twitter Page, our Movie News Facebook Page, and our Movie News Google+ Page. Want up-to-the-minute notification? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook.

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend