In a refreshingly blunt moment during a chat with Screen Rant marking Kingdom of Heaven’s 20th anniversary, Ridley Scott didn’t hold back when the topic shifted to Alien. The legendary filmmaker, who redefined space horror back in 1979, made it crystal clear: for him, the Alien franchise peaked early — and spiralled fast.
"I think I felt it was deadened after 4" Scott admitted, not mincing words about the sequels that followed his original and James Cameron’s Aliens. In his eyes, the magic was lost after that. He praised Cameron’s entry as solid but dismissed the rest as lacklustre attempts that veered off course.
"I think mine was pretty damn good, and I think Jim’s was good, and I have to say the rest were not very good," he said, summing it up with a sigh of creative disappointment.
But perhaps the most jaw-dropping reveal? Scott was the fifth choice to direct Alien. Yes, fifth. "Why you offered Robert Altman Alien? God only knows," he quipped, adding that Altman immediately turned it down. Scott, on the other hand, jumped at the chance: "Are you kidding? I have to do this" he recalled, seduced by the film’s raw, heavy-metal edge.
In Scott’s world, Alien deserved to stand alongside Star Wars and Star Trek. The fact that it didn’t? Let’s just say, he’s still a bit salty.
