Director says he’s been working on it for a very long time

Feb 26, 2015 11:22 GMT  ·  By
Director Neill Blomkamp was inspired to get into filmmaking by "Alien," will direct a sequel to it next
   Director Neill Blomkamp was inspired to get into filmmaking by "Alien," will direct a sequel to it next

About 2 months ago, director Neill Blomkamp, the man behind “District 9,” “Elysium” and the upcoming “Chappie,” started posting to his Instagram artwork for an “Alien” movie he claimed he wasn’t working on but would have loved to do if given the chance. One week ago, Fox gave him his shot.

Blomkamp will be directing next an “Alien” sequel, of which Fox said would take place after the events in “Prometheus 2,” which hasn’t even been greenlighted yet but exists in theory.

However, Blomkamp’s movie would tie in with the original “Alien” franchise and not with Ridley Scott’s latest iteration on that universe with “Prometheus.”

Since he’s promoting “Chappie” now, Blomkamp is also speaking out seeing his biggest wish granted, but he’s not ready yet to reveal all.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, he explains that Sigourney Weaver, star of the original “Alien” and a lead in “Chappie,” was instrumental in shaping the direction of the sequel, constantly providing him with feedback.

And yes, she will be in it.

“When post-production was winding down on Chappie, I started fleshing out the idea for a film that would contain Sigourney. Fox never knew. I just worked on it when I could. Before I knew it, I had this really awesome film with a lot of artwork and a lot of backstory. And then I didn’t know whether I was going to make it or not. So I just kind of sat on it for a while,” the director says.

Fox came along at the right time, probably after seeing the amazing reaction online fans had to the artwork he posted on social media.

So far, Blomkamp says he’s thrilled with his relationship with the studio, but he’s been just that once before, with “Halo,” and got badly burned. Let’s just hope “Alien” will have a better fate than this.

 
Um... So I think it's officially my next film. #alien A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on Feb 18, 2015 at 3:55pm PST
Awesome Art by Geoffroy Thoorens #hicks A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on Jan 2, 2015 at 9:43am PST
Oh shit A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on Jan 1, 2015 at 6:06pm PST
#ripley #hicks A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on Jan 1, 2015 at 5:49pm PST
Was working on this. Don't think I am anymore. Love it though. #alien #xenomorph A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on Jan 1, 2015 at 5:30pm PST