It’s been months since the bombshell dropped Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe director Fede Alvarez will both write and direct a brand new Alien movie for Ridley Scott and 20th Century Studios. Momentum for the project heats up with news that it may have found its star.
Deadline reports that Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy, Pacific Rim Uprising) is in talks to lead the film, “Spaeny has been the top choice for the lead role for some time following several meetings with producers and Alvarez.”
The project is described as “an original standalone feature” and is expected to feature the iconic Xenomorph aliens.
Ridley Scott, who of course directed the original classic in 1979 and later returned for prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, will produce via his Scott Free banner.
It was previously reported that “Alvarez is a rabid fan of the franchise and casually pitched a take to Scott many years ago. The idea remained implanted in Scott’s brain until late last year when he called Alvarez out of the blue and asked him if the younger filmmaker was still up for it. Alvarez didn’t have to be asked twice.”
20th Century division president Steve Asbell said of Alvarez’s strong pitch, “It was just a really good story with a bunch of characters you haven’t seen before.”
Deadline also reported that “20th Century and Scott Free made this a top priority after hearing Alvarez’s pitch and after a recent script was delivered, things only gained speed in getting this film in front of cameras by early 2023.”
The Alien film franchise is currently six movies deep, with filmmakers including James Cameron, David Fincher, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet bringing to the screen their own versions of the Xenomorph monsters that Ridley Scott and Dan O’Bannon gave birth to back in the 1970s.
Fede Alvarez is fresh off of producing the brand new Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is currently streaming on Netflix.