Alien: Covenant, is a sequel to the 2012 film Prometheus, which is a sort of prequel to Alien (1979), which then spawned multiple sequels over the course of 18 years. Ridley Scott was the director of the original Alien film, and it looks like he’s still not done with the story nearly 30 years on, as he looks set to continue the series further with a sequel of the sequel of the prequel.
Alien: Covenant has just hit theatres here in the UK (12th May 2017), but Ridley Scott is already tantalizing the prospect of filming the sequel to it. He recently spoke to IGN saying, “We’re writing [a sequel] now, as we speak. I’ll be filming that within 14 months”.
Ridley clearly has confidence in himself that his new Alien film is going to be a success, and it’s exciting that we’re getting to see more of these famous horror/thriller films hit the cinemas. There’s a risk that the franchise could eventually become stale, unless Mr. Scott and the creative team start to tell new imaginative storylines. They do of course have one of the best, most fearsome villains ever to grace the big screen and there are plenty of avenues the stories can follow. Read our full review of Alien: Covenant to find out more about how it went down.
The latest film release stars up and coming actress Katherine Waterson (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), as the new “Ripley” type character that was so synonymous with the original film. Hopefully we’ll get to see another fight scene that is reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver against the Mother Alien in James Cameron’s Aliens (1987). The rest of the cast is also packed with some great talent, which includes, ever-fantastic Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, X-Men: Apocalypse), underrated actor Billy Crudup (Watchmen, Justice League), Demian Bichir (The Hateful Eight) and Danny Mcbride (Tropic Thunder).
The story for Alien: Covenant is that of the crew of the colony ship the Covenant, which is in transit to a planet on the far side of the galaxy. The crew discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but what they actually find is a dark and dangerous world, containing a threat that is beyond their worst nightmares. The question is whether or not they can escape before getting picked off by the alien attackers.
There’s a hope that Ridley Scott goes back to the roots of the Alien franchise, by making an eerie, gore filled thriller, which made it so popular in the first place. His 2012 film Prometheus felt too convoluted, as if he was trying to get the audience to ask too many questions and wasn’t fully focusing on the actual content that was being shown to us.
However, it did have its merits, including the introduction of Michael Fassbender’s android character David, who is a welcome addition to the franchise and provided us with a fascinating calculated side villain. The marketing for Prometheus was handled so well, with a series of impressive trailers. They even released this clip that was pretending to be an advertisement for Fassbender’s android character. It gave us a glimpse of the emotions Fassbender is able to display and the acting ability that has made him one of the most sought after actors out there.
An introduction to David:
For more information on the production, cast and story for Alien: Covenant then please check out the full details at www.tuppencemagazine.co.uk/alien-covenant-uk-release/.
By Mark Hughes
