Ridley Scott Says He 'Should Have' Directed Original Alien Sequels, but He Was 'Never Asked'

Director Ridley Scott has revealed he "was never told or asked" about the original sequels to Alien but feels he "should have" returned for them.

The acclaimed filmmaker directed the 1979 horror classic Alien, which spawned three sequels helmed by three different directors. Scott chalks this up to not having the option to make those sequels himself, as he claims nobody ever approached him about expanding the Alien franchise, or for that matter, Blade Runner, at the time.

I was never told or asked. You can imagine I wasn't happy.

"I'm the author of two franchises. Most directors in Hollywood — certainly, let's say, at my level — don't let that stuff go," he told Vanity Fair. "But I did Alien as my second movie, so I didn't have much choice. And Blade Runner was my third movie. So, I had no choice because I had very tough partners. It was kind of 'Welcome to Hollywood.'"

"I was slow out the starting gate," Scott continued. "I should have done the sequels to Alien and to Blade Runner. You change over the years. At that time, I didn't want to go through it again. So Jim Cameron came in — and then David Fincher — on Alien." He added, "I was never told or asked [about sequels]. You can imagine I wasn't happy."

Scott returned to helm 2012's Prometheus and 2017's Alien: Covenant, though he admitted last year that he regretted his decision to take the reins on the second Alien prequel film when he had the option to direct Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to his 1982 sci-fi classic, which ended up being helmed by Denis Villeneuve.

"I shouldn't have had to make that decision," Scott told Empire last year. "But I had to. I should have done Blade Runner 2."

Despite some missed opportunities, Scott is still involved with both franchises. He is executive producing Blade Runner 2099, a live-action series that takes place 50 years after Villeneuve's movie sequel, and he is also one of the producers on Alien: Romulus, a film set between the events of Alien and Aliens, directed by Fede Álvarez.

Scott has also returned to the director's chair for the much-awaited sequel to his Roman epic Gladiator, which hit theaters 24 years ago. Gladiator 2 will arrive on November 22, with Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Joseph Quinn, and Denzel Washington featured on its star-studded cast.

Paramount Pictures revealed five minutes of footage of Gladiator 2 behind closed doors at CinemaCon in April. Check out IGN's coverage to find out what was shown.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.