We knew that things weren't looking all that rosy for Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5 ever since Ridley Scott's Covenant entered the mix in 2015.
So much so that Blomkamp himself said earlier this year that the chances of it ever seeing the light of day were "slim".
Scott has now weighed in on the matter, and... well, he's not reassuring us any further.
"I don't think it will ever see the light of day," the director told Allocine. "There was never a script. Just an idea that evolved from a dozen or so pages.
"I had to participate as producer, but it didn't go farther because Fox decided it didn't want to do it. As far I was concerned, I had already done Prometheus and I was working on Covenant."
Fans had been excited at the prospect of seeing Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) again, with some amazing concept art surfacing a few years ago.
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Yet going by Scott's comments, it seems that the project was never as concrete as many had thought – and if it hasn't already been scrapped outright, at the very least we'll be waiting for a very, very long time before anything happens on that front.
Scott's latest Alien movie – and Prometheus sequel – Covenant is set to be released on May 12 in the UK and May 19 in the US.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.
