Neill Blomkamp may not be rewriting Alien continuity after all

Having been given the job of directing the latest instalment of the Alien franchise following a popular reaction to his concept art, South African director Neill Blomkamp has been toying with fans on the recent press tour for his latest film.

Early reports suggested a continuity reboot, with Sigourney Weaver returning as Ripley, but a wiping out of the last two sequels in the series. Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s sequel Aliens are universally loved, but the subsequent films in the series have received a mixed reaction at best.

Alien 3 was David Fincher’s first stab at a big Hollywood movie, and it didn’t go well. The main issue was killing off all but one of the survivors from the previous film. Alien: Resurrection followed on, but tonally was all over the place.

While promoting Chappie, their latest sci-fi adventure, Blomkamp and Weaver have spoken of wanting to give Ripley “a proper finish”. Initial reports implied this meant a redo of the series and joining the action following on from the action-soaked violence of Aliens, but Blomkamp has clarified this issue. Sort of.

I’m not trying to undo Alien 3 or Alien Resurrection…” he told French outlet AlloCine “My favorites are the first two movies. I want to make a film that’s connected to Alien and Aliens. That’s my goal.”

Just how this is possible without a modicum of reinvention will be fascinating to see. And is Neill Blomkamp the right man to do this anyway? The jury is still out on Chappie, with Elysium proving to be something of a disappointment after his breathtaking debut District 9.