Ridley Scott Already Wrote Next Alien Film

04/18/2017 01:01 pm EDT

When Ridley Scott first began talking about Prometheus, he said he envisioned the film as the beginning of a trilogy that would show the creation of the creature that stalked Ripley (and the Predators) through four (or six) films.

But its taken nearly five years between Prometheus' release in theaters to the premiere of this followup in the franchise, the forthcoming Alien: Covenant. If this is only meant to be the second part in a franchise, how long will we be waiting for a third chapter?

Not long, apparently, as Scott indicated that he's already written the next film and will be ready to begin shooting next year, depending on how well Alien: Covenant does at the box office.

"You've got to assume to a certain extent success and from that you'd better be ready," Scott said while speaking with the Sydney Morning Herald. "You don't want a two-year gap. So I'll be ready to go again next year."

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So hopefully the wait won't be as long for another film in Scott's planned Alien prequel franchise, or that Fox would be willing to pull the trigger on Neill Blomkamp's planned sequel to the first two films.

While Scott's direction with the franchise has been promising, we're also keen to see Blomkamp's version of events—if only to wipe away the stink of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection.

Are you excited to see Alien: Covenant when it hits theaters? Let us know with your vote in our Anticipation Rankings below!

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In Alien: Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David, survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

Alien: Covenant stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, Jussie Smollett, Callie Hernandez, Nathaniel Dean, Alexander England and Benjamin Rigby.

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