For many fans of the franchise, it seems like director Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant is going to be the long-awaited return to form that they've been waiting for, bringing back the same horrifying, tense elements that made Alien so iconic and memorable in the first place. However, despite the anticipation surrounding the upcoming Alien prequel, fans haven't forgotten about writer and director Neill Blomkamp's highly-anticipated Alien 5 either, which was delayed so that Scott could release Covenant first.

Originally based just on some stylish and exciting concept art that Blomkamp released online, Alien fans everywhere were delighted to find out that the District 9 filmmaker was actually going to be making the film after all. The movie is reportedly designed to bring back Sigourney Weaver's Ripley and effectively ignore the events of Alien 3, as well as any of the subsequently-released, critically-panned installments in the franchise (see Alien: Resurrection).

There's not been much to report on the Alien 5 news front of late, though, what with the publicity and hype around Covenant growing, as the film's release date moves closer and closer. When asked on his personal Twitter account what the chances are of his Alien 5 still happening too, Blomkamp gave an unfortunately pessimistic answer:

@jamesportella slim— Иeill Blomkamp (@NeillBlomkamp) January 21, 2017

Now this, of course, comes as a bit of a surprise to some fans, following encouraging comments from both Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn - who was also set to reprise his role as Corporal Hicks alongside Weaver - about the film's prospects near the end of last year. But for the select fans that have been discouraged by the constant silence from Blomkamp about the project, this probably just comes as a confirmation of their fears; especially since it seems like all attention and focus from 20th Century Fox has been given to Alien: Covenant as of late, as opposed to Blomkamp's continuation of the franchise.

This could also serve as even more "evidence" for what Fox and director Ridley Scott have in mind for Alien: Covenant; with it not only being the follow-up to Prometheus, but a second installment in a complete prequel trilogy to the original Alien. It's entirely possible, then, that the studio could have more passion and/or confidence in a sequel to Covenant right now than a fifth Alien film, especially if the movie is able to live up to the hype and lofty expectations of the fans looking forward to checking it out in May. This isn't official confirmation that Alien 5 is dead by any means, but it's certainly not the update fans were likely hoping for either.

NEXT: Everything We Know About Alien Covenant (So Far)

Source: Neill Blomkamp

Key Release Dates

  • alien covenant
    Release Date:
    2017-05-19