On Friday, a headline landed that made two kinds of fans sit up at the same time: the people who adore Alien: Romulus and the people who still defend Prometheus at dinner parties. The Hollywood Reporter reported that 20th Century Studios is developing a new Alien movie, with Aaron Guzikowski writing the script and Ridley Scott producing through his Scott Free banner.
The detail that changed my mood is what this movie is not. It isn’t a sequel to Romulus. Nerdist and Laughing Place both say it is expected to connect to Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the two prequels Scott directed, and sources quoted by THR reportedly say it involves David, the android Michael Fassbender played. Scott isn’t directing, nobody is yet, and there is no cast, no title and no release date.
So here is how I want to handle this. First, a clean sorting of what is agreed across outlets from what is thinner. Second, a chart I built from the franchise’s own numbers. And third, my opinion, which is that this movie should be small and mean instead of big and philosophical. Anyone can repeat a casting rumor. I would rather tell you what I would do with the money.
What to Know
- 20th Century Studios is developing a new Alien movie, THR reported on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners, Raised by Wolves) is writing, and Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss are producing through Scott Free. Coverage describes it as early development.
- It is not a sequel to Alien: Romulus. Outlets say it is expected to connect to Prometheus and Covenant, and one report says it involves David. There is no director, cast, title or release date, and Fassbender is not attached.
- My take: the franchise’s own numbers say the cheaper, scarier movies pay off best, so I want this one built closer to Romulus’s $80 million budget than to Prometheus’s $125 million.
I’m in, with one condition: keep it lean. A story built around David is the most interesting idea on the Alien slate, and the writer has already spent a whole series on androids who raise humans. The risk is scale. In this franchise, bigger budgets have not meant bigger returns, and I would rather see Alien scare us for $80 million than lecture us on a budget twice that size.
What’s agreed, what’s thinner and what nobody knows
I sorted everything I read into three tiers. One note first: none of the coverage I read quotes an official studio announcement, so even the first tier rests on trade reporting rather than a press release.
- 20th Century Studios is developing a new Alien film, and Aaron Guzikowski is writing it.
- Ridley Scott and Michael Pruss are producing through Scott Free. Scott is not directing at this stage, and no director is attached.
- The project is in early development, and it is not a sequel to Alien: Romulus.
- It is expected to connect to Prometheus and Covenant, and one of THR’s sources reportedly says it involves David. That is reporting about a script that hasn’t been made public.
- Outlets name two different studio executives overseeing it, so I am not naming either.
- A late-July report from World of Reel said a separate Alien film from Brian Duffield (Whalefall) is in development. I can’t tell whether that is the same project, a different one or a rumor that went nowhere, and nobody on the record has said.
- The director, the cast (Fassbender included), the title, the plot and the budget.
- When it shoots, when it opens, and whether it replaces the Romulus sequel or sits beside it.
Why this isn’t Romulus 2, and where Romulus 2 stands
Romulus came out in August 2024, directed by Fede Álvarez, with Scott among its producers. Álvarez went on to write a sequel script and said last year that filming was meant to start in October 2025. That didn’t happen. In September 2025 he said he would not direct it and would stay involved as a producer and co-writer, and the coverage I read says no replacement director has been named.
In late July, World of Reel reported the sequel was indefinitely shelved. Steve Asbell, 20th Century’s president of production, answered a post repeating that claim with a one-word reply, “nope,” according to Screen Rant, Dread Central and JoBlo. A one-word reply doesn’t give us a start date, a director or a script, but it is a public sign that the studio doesn’t consider the movie dead.
Nerdist floated that the new film might effectively replace the Romulus sequel. That is that outlet’s speculation, not reporting, and I’m treating it the same way. Here is where each Alien project stands, going only by what has been reported.
- Romulus sequel
Status: not shelved, per the studio’s president of production.
Attached: Álvarez as producer and co-writer. Not as director.
Missing: a director and a date.
- Scott and Guzikowski film
Status: early development, reported Oct. 23.
Attached: a writer and two producers.
Missing: a director, a cast, a title and a date.
- Alien: Earth, the TV series
Status: a second season is coming, according to JoBlo.
Why it matters here: it shows the studio is feeding the franchise on more than one screen at once.
The Alien math: what every movie returned on its budget
This is the part nobody else will give you, because I built it myself. For each movie, I divided worldwide box office by production budget, using figures from The Numbers. Higher means the movie paid back more for every dollar spent making it. I left out Aliens (1986) because I didn’t have a budget and gross for it that I could verify the same way as the rest, and the two Alien vs. Predator crossovers because they aren’t part of this story.
Two honest caveats. This is gross divided by budget, not profit, because it ignores marketing costs and the share theaters keep. And a ratio can’t tell you how different the global moviegoing market was in 1979 compared with today, so treat it as a rough guide, not a verdict. Covenant’s budget is listed at about $97 million by The Numbers, while Wikipedia gives a range up to $111 million, which would push its multiple down to roughly 2.2x.
What jumps out at me is that the biggest Alien movie ever, Prometheus, with about $402 million worldwide, ranks only third on this chart, because it also cost the most. Romulus grossed less in total, about $351 million, but turned each dollar into more. It beat Prometheus and Covenant on that measure, and Scott was among its producers rather than its director. The original, made for about $10.7 million, sits alone at the top. The pattern is hard to miss: this franchise pays best when it is a scary story told on a sensible budget.
What David has to do with it
Scott has been talking about this for months. In August, he told the French outlet AlloCiné, as Phantasmag and Gizmodo report, that he thought Romulus was “OK” and that he had gone back in to rework the next Alien. Gizmodo adds that he had said earlier in the summer that he had a rough footprint for it, picking up where Covenant left off with Fassbender’s David, and he pointed to David’s grandiose view of himself by comparing him to Ozymandias. Phantasmag quotes him describing a “brave new world” David builds for himself.
That lines up with what THR’s sources reportedly say about the new script, though I want to be careful: Scott’s comments came from interviews, and the studio hasn’t confirmed that this script is the thing he described. Nerdist also points out that Fassbender is not attached, even though David and Walter were central to Scott’s last two Alien movies.
Here is my reading, clearly labeled as mine. Guzikowski is a smart pick for a David story. Raised by Wolves, which Scott executive produced and directed the first two episodes of, is a drama about androids raising human children after a war destroys Earth. He has already written machines who think of themselves as parents and gods. TheWrap also reports he is writing an original sci-fi film for director Jon Watts at 20th Century, which tells me the studio trusts him with big genre swings.
One more rumor, and I’m flagging it as unconfirmed. The World of Reel report claimed Scott didn’t want another director using David, and that this may be part of why the Romulus sequel stalled. I can’t verify that, and the outlets that repeated it present it as a rumor. I mention it only because, if it were true, this new project would make a lot of sense.
My three rules for this movie
This is the opinion section. Nobody asked me, which is exactly why I’m free to say it.
- Keep it closer to $80 million than $125 million.
The chart is the argument. Romulus returned 4.4x on $80 million, and Prometheus returned 3.2x on $125 million. A David story can be strange and ambitious without being expensive, and the franchise’s best return came from a movie that cost almost nothing.
- Give David one want we can say in a sentence.
Prometheus and Covenant split people, and critics’ scores reflect it: roughly 73% and 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, versus about 80% for Romulus, per a Screen Rant roundup from around Romulus’s release. My read is that the big ideas got ahead of the characters. If David wants something simple and awful, the philosophy can ride along.
- Hire the director for fear, not for scale.
I’m not naming anyone, because nobody has been named and I don’t want to invent a shortlist. But the original was a haunted house with a monster in it, and it is still the champion on the chart. Whoever gets this job should be someone who knows how to make a hallway feel dangerous.
What to watch before it exists
If the reports are right and this movie links to Prometheus and Covenant, here is my minimum list. Start with Alien (1979), because it is the thing everyone else is chasing. Then watch Prometheus and Covenant back to back, in that order, so David’s arc lands as one story. Romulus is optional for this particular film since it isn’t a sequel, though I would still call it the friendliest way into the series for someone who has never seen an Alien movie.
Quick answers people are searching for
Is there a new Alien movie?
Yes, in development. The Hollywood Reporter reported on Oct. 23, 2026 that 20th Century Studios is developing a new Alien film, with Aaron Guzikowski writing and Ridley Scott producing. It is at an early stage.
Is the new Alien movie a sequel to Alien: Romulus?
No. Nerdist, Laughing Place and other outlets report it is not a Romulus sequel. It is expected to connect to Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), the two prequels Scott directed.
Is Ridley Scott directing the new Alien movie?
Not at this stage. Scott is producing with Michael Pruss through Scott Free, and the reports I read say no director is attached yet.
Is Michael Fassbender back as David?
Not announced. Outlets report the film involves the android David, whom Fassbender played in Prometheus and Covenant, but he isn’t attached, and no cast has been named.
Who is Aaron Guzikowski?
He wrote Prisoners (2013) and created the HBO Max series Raised by Wolves, which Scott executive produced and directed the first two episodes of. TheWrap also reports he is writing an original sci-fi film for director Jon Watts at 20th Century.
When is the new Alien movie coming out?
There is no release date, title or production start date. The project is in early development.
Is Alien: Romulus 2 cancelled?
Not according to the studio. After a report in late July said the sequel was shelved, 20th Century Studios president of production Steve Asbell answered the claim on X with “nope.” Fede Álvarez, who directed Romulus, said last year he would not direct the sequel, and no replacement has been named in the coverage I read.
What order should I watch the Alien movies in before the new one?
My minimum list is Alien (1979), then Prometheus and Alien: Covenant back to back, because the new film is reported to connect to those two. Romulus is optional for this one, though it is the best entry point for newcomers.
