Neill Blomkamp Blames ‘Chappie’ For His ‘Alien’ Movie Falling Apart
For a while there, it looked like directorNeill Blomkampwould make anAlienmovie designed to retcon the franchise. Based on concept art that found its way online, it became clear that Blomkamp’s film would serve as a direct sequel toAliensand pretty much ignore everyAlienmovie after that (like how David Gordon Green’sHalloweenignores all the otherHalloweensequels). In the end, though, Blomkamp’sAlienmovie never got made, and he thinks he knows who to blame: a robot namedChappie.
Remember that Neill Blomkampconcept art? And then remember how it came with the news that Blomkamp’sAlienmovie wasactually happening? And then…it didn’t? According to the bookUnderexposed!: The 50 Greatest Movies Never Madeby Josh Hull, Blomkamp’s movie would’ve been calledAlien: Xeno, and would bring back Sigourney Weaver as Ripley and Michael Biehn as Hicks. Those familiar with the franchise know this is a bit odd, since Hicks was revealed to be dead at the start ofAlien 3. Blomkamp’s idea was in theHalloweenmold, where the other sequels are ignored. And it also would feature some weird new concepts, like Ripley dressing up in a Xenomorph suit for some reason.
In the end, though, Blomkamp’sAliendreams appear to be dead. And in a recent interview, the filmmaker thinks his movieChappiemight be to blame. Specifically: Blomkamp thinks thatAliengrandaddy Ridley Scott took one look at his robot movie and said, “Absolutely not.” Speaking with theGuardian, Blomkamp said: “It’s possible that Ridley watched Chappie and he was like, this guy can’t doAlienso let’s just go ahead and move on.”
When asked if Blomkamp had spoken to Scott about this, the director said, “I’m not gonna work on a film for two years and have the rug pulled out from underneath me and then go hang out and have beers. It’s exactly why I don’t want to do IP based on other people’s stuff ever again.”
“There Was Never Even a Script”
I can firmly believe that Ridley Scott sawChappieand killed any hope of Blomkamp’s movie because, frankly,Chappieis a bad movie. In fact, most of Blomkamp’s movies have been bad, with the notable exception of his feature debutDistrict 9. I know some fans went gaga over the concept art for Blomkamp’s movie, but I was never among them. TheAlienseries doesn’t need to keep bringing Ripley back again and again to work. Plus, I’m more interested in seeing Scott finish his ownAlienprequel trilogy than anything Blomkamp has to offer.
In any case, Scott was asked about Blomkamp’s movie in the past, and he more or less shot the entire thing down. “I don’t think it will ever see the light of day,” hesaid. “There was never a script. Just an idea that evolved from a dozen or so pages. I had to participate as producer, but it didn’t go farther because Fox decided it didn’t want to do it. As far I was concerned, I had already donePrometheusand I was working onCovenant.”
Whether or not Scott ever gets to make his proposed third film remains up in the air.Alienis now the property of Disney, and while there’s anAlienTV showin the works from Noah Hawley, the movies have been effectively on hold sinceAlien: Covenantunderperformed at the box office.
