Though the titular monsters of the Alien franchise reproduce by bursting out of the bodies of more humanoid people, Ridley Scott believes he is the true parent of the creatures. In a new interview, Scott mentions that the franchise is his “baby.”
On Tuesday, 20th Century Fox released a new video featurette for Alien: Covenant called “Rare Breed,” in which the cast of the film, and Ridley Scott himself, discuss the legacy of the franchise. Michael Fassbender, seemingly in-character as the robot Walter, refers to Scott himself as the “rare breed” of filmmaker. Meanwhile, Scott waxes nostalgia about returning to the franchise (again) and says he considers the phenomenon of the Alien films his “baby.”
Notably, Alien was not Ridley Scott’s idea, nor did he have any hand in writing the original script whatsoever. The script was originally written by Dan O’Bannon and Ron Shusett, and eventually rewritten by David Giler and Walter Hill for Brandywine Productions. (Could the new Fassbender robot, Walter, be named in honor of this Walter?)
Ridley Scott was also not aware of H.R. Giger’s famous piece of art, Necronom IV, until O’Bannon showed it to him. True, Scott made the obviously good decision to hire Giger for the film, but it’s not like he came to the conclusion on his own. So, is Alien Ridley Scott’s baby? Or, like the Xenomorphs themselves, perhaps he was its most prominent and influential host before hatching into the world.
Alien: Covenant is out in wide release on May 19.
