With “Demonic” getting released recently, filmmaker Neill Blomkamp has been making the publicity rounds talking about his new thriller. And you can’t really talk to Blomkamp about filmmaking without talking about one of the biggest films that he was attached to that famously fell apart— “Alien 5.” And according to a new interview with The Guardian, Blomkamp posits a theory that the not-so-great reception “Chappie” received when it was released led to Ridley Scott pulling the plug on his ‘Alien’ sequel.
“It’s possible that Ridley watched ‘Chappie’ and he was like, ‘This guy can’t do “Alien” so let’s just go ahead and move on,’” Blomkamp said speaking about the ‘Alien’ situation.
LISTEN: Neill Blomkamp Talks ‘Demonic,’ ‘Alien 5,’ New Volumetric Tech & More [Deep Focus Podcast]
The next logical question is whether or not the filmmaker spoke to Scott about the effect “Chappie” might have had on his “Alien 5” film? However, it doesn’t appear that Blomkamp is keen on sharing a drink with Ridley Scott anytime soon.
“Not after, no no no, there’s no coming back from that,” he said about talking to Scott about the “Alien 5” situation. “I’m not gonna work on a film for two years and have the rug pulled out from underneath me and then go hang out and have beers. It’s exactly why I don’t want to do IP based on other people’s stuff ever again.”
Blomkamp also talked how he felt particularly bad for Sigourney Weaver, who not only appeared in “Chappie” but was also set to be a huge part of the filmmaker’s planned ‘Alien’ sequel.
“I also felt bad for Sigourney because she was really into what I had brought forward,” the director said. “I felt like audiences who loved ‘Aliens,’ there was an opportunity to do one more film with Sigourney in a way that may have satiated what people were looking for and what I think I was looking for…What doesn’t make sense is that I feel like it’s what the audience wanted so it’s strange because Fox would never really turn down money.”
READ MORE: Neill Blomkamp Is Now Working On A Script For ‘District 9’ Sequel
Of course, Blomkamp’s issue with IP-driven filmmaking doesn’t just stem from his work on “Alien 5.” He also had issues trying to adapt the video game series, “Halo,” as well as a bit of time developing a “RoboCop” sequel that never came to fruition. So, it would appear that Blomkamp is ready to make “District 10” and other original films after that. His most recent feature, “Demonic,” is out now.
