Alien is a horror icon. Ridley Scott took science fiction, which was relatively light-hearted in movies at the time, and transformed it into something truly terrifying. The Alien (or Xenomorph, its fan-given nickname) became one of the greatest movie monsters of all time, and has since become a genre favorite.
So, when Ridley Scott returned to the Alien universe with the prequel film Prometheus, fans were desperately hoping the Alien would appear. When that film disappointed, fans were hoping that the creature would make an appearance in the sequel, the tentatively titled Prometheus 2.
Unfortunately for fans, Scott just crushed any chance of such a cameo. According to an interview with Yahoo! UK, there will be no Xenomorph in Prometheus 2.
"The beast is done. Cooked."
It's disappointing news, to say the least. The Xenomorph is an icon, and for Scott to confirm that it won't return is a shame, though the director isn't without his reasons. "...after four [films], I think it wears out a little bit. There's only so much snarling you can do. I think you've got to come back with something more interesting."
Scott went onto say that the Engineer, which was the antagonist from Prometheus, was a step in the right direction.
Spoilers for the ending of Prometheus follow.
The news comes as a bit of a shock, but it's also slightly confusing. The 'Deacon,' the creature that spawns from the infected Engineer near the end of Prometheus, is startlingly similar in appearance to the original Xenomorph; the fact that it also bursts from the chest of its victim is an obvious nod to the original monster's birth. Some fans argue that the Deacon isn't a true Xenomorph, but considering how overt the homage was, it's hard to believe that the creature wasn't intended to look like the original Alien.
Fans of the Xenomorph don't have to worry, as the creature lives on through other mediums. Alien: Isolation is a new survival horror game based on the creature, and both the Alien and Prometheus comics were rebooted earlier this year.
Prometheus received mixed reviews upon release, with critics praising Michael Fassbender's performance as the android David and bashing the strange, convoluted plot. While the Xenomorph may not be making a return to the big screen any time soon, Prometheus will be. Prometheus 2 is scheduled to be released in theaters in April 2016.
