Ridley Scott Says an ALIEN: COVENANT Sequel Is in the Works With David Creating a “Brave New World”

It looks like Michael Fassbender’s twisted android David may finally get to finish what he started. Ridley Scott says a follow-up to Alien: Covenant is in the works, and the story will continue David’s disturbing journey as he attempts to create a “brave new world for himself.”

According to the LA Times, the new Alien installment will once again put Fassbender’s malfunctioning AI at the center of the story. Scott also offered a pretty ominous description of what happens when artificial intelligence stops playing by the rules.

"AIs can go off. And if they do, it’s like a bomb."

The ending of Alien: Covenant put David in a terrifyingly powerful position. The android had taken control of the Covenant, which was carrying thousands of colonists and human embryos toward Origae-6. With no one standing in his way, David had everything he needed to continue his experiments and pursue his own warped vision of creation.

The idea of seeing what David does next has been hanging over the franchise since Alien: Covenant arrived in theaters in 2017. The film followed the crew of a colony ship after they landed on an uncharted planet and discovered something far more dangerous than the paradise they thought they'd found.

Covenant earned $240 million worldwide against a reported $111 million budget. Reception was mixed, and the film currently sits at 65% from critics and 55% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. It may not have turned into the massive hit the studio hoped for, but David's story was left wide open.

Scott originally returned to the universe with Prometheus in 2012, the first mainline Alien movie since the controversial and poorly performing Alien: Resurrection. The Alien vs. Predator films landed between them, but exist outside the main series.

Prometheus introduced David and began exploring the Engineers, humanity's origins, and the franchise's ideas surrounding artificial life and creation. Alien: Covenant pushed David much further down his horrifying path as his experiments became increasingly connected to the creatures that have defined the franchise.

Scott previously sounded like he was ready to leave Alien in other hands. When talking about his future with the series, the filmmaker explained how he brought the franchise back with Prometheus and eventually followed it with Covenant.

“A number of years after, I said, 'I'm going to resurrect this,' [and wrote] Prometheus from scratch – a blank sheet of paper. Damon Lindelof and I sat, then hammered out Prometheus," Scott said.

"It was very present and very welcome. The audience really wanted more. I said, 'It needs to fly.' No one was coming for it, [and] I went once again [and made] Alien: Covenant, and it worked too. Where it’s going now, I think I’ve done enough, and I just hope it goes further."

David still has some unfinished business. The franchise has already found new life beyond Scott's prequel films. Fede Álvarez directed Alien: Romulus, which arrived in 2024 and was widely regarded as one of the stronger entries in the series.

The movie also featured a fantastic performance from David Jonsson, who has since been cast as Marvel's new Black Panther.

Still, returning to David could take the franchise somewhere very different. He's one of its most fascinating villains because his motivations go far beyond survival or simple destruction.

David wants to create, experiment, and reshape life according to his own ideas. Giving him an entire world to work with sounds like a recipe for some seriously messed-up Alien horror.

There are still plenty of questions about the project, including how far along it is and whether Scott intends to direct. What we do know is that a continuation of David's story is being developed, and after nearly a decade of wondering what happened after Alien: Covenant, that's pretty interesting.

If Fassbender returns and the movie actually follows through on David building his own “brave new world,” this could finally deliver the chapter that Covenant left dangling back in 2017. David with a planet-sized laboratory is a scary thought, and that's exactly why I want to see it.