While on his recent publicity blitz, it appears Neill Blomkamp couldn’t escape the inevitable “Alien 5” questions. Of course, as we know, the filmmaker was attached to bring “Alien 5” to fans years ago but that project ultimately fizzled out. Was it because of Ridley Scott seeing “Chappie?” Or maybe it was the studio’s decision to not move forward? That part is still a bit unknown, but according to the filmmaker, fans shouldn’t expect him to return to the ‘Alien’ franchise anytime soon…or ever.
Speaking to The Independent, Neill Blomkamp was asked if he would ever return to make his “Alien 5” feature if he was asked. It would appear the filmmaker has fully moved past that part of his career and isn’t so keen to revisit it.
“I don’t know, to be honest. I’m not sure that I would do that project,” Blomkamp said about possibly ever returning for his planned ‘Alien’ sequel. “My assumption is that it’s completely dead.”
He added, “It was a case of both projects were moving forward at Fox simultaneously, and one of them was picked. Sigourney [Weaver] was unbelievably supportive and amazing. I have nothing but the best things to say about Sigourney. I’m such a fan of hers on every level. She was always into the project, but Fox just clearly doesn’t want it. I haven’t had anything to do with that for years.”
LISTEN: Neill Blomkamp Talks ‘Demonic,’ ‘Alien 5,’ New Volumetric Tech & More [Deep Focus Podcast]
If there’s one thing that is certain from Neill Blomkamp’s recent press tour promoting “Demonic,” it’s that the filmmaker doesn’t seem all that jazzed about doing franchise films anymore. Sure, he’s working on a sequel to his own “District 9,” but those projects like “Alien 5,” “RoboCop Returns,” and “Halo?” Those seem to be from a bygone era when the filmmaker flirted with big studio franchise filmmaking. And clearly, judging by the fact that none of those films went into production, Blomkamp didn’t have the best luck in that arena.
His most recent feature, “Demonic,” is available now.