Ridley Scott 'never told or asked' about Alien sequels

The iconic 86-year-old director insisted he didn't have the choice or control to make studios wait for follow-ups to his 1979 and 1982 sci-fi classics, and he "wasn't happy" when the companies decided to make sequels without getting him on board.

"I'm the author of two franchises. Most directors in Hollywood -- certainly, let's say, at my level -- don't let that stuff go," he told Vanity Fair magazine.

"But I did Alien as my second movie, so I didn't have much choice. And Blade Runner was my third movie. So, I had no choice because I had very tough partners.

"It was kind of 'welcome to Hollywood'. I was never told or asked (about sequels). You can imagine I wasn't happy."

Blade Runner 2049 was released in 2017, while the Alien franchise expanded with Aliens in 1986, Alien3 in 1992 and 1997's Alien Resurrection, before Scott returned to the franchise to helm 2012's Prometheus and then Alien: Covenant four years later.

"I was slow out the starting gate. I mean, I should have done the sequels to Alien and to Blade Runner. You change over the years," he said.

"At that time, I didn't want to go through it again. So Jim Cameron came in -- and then David Fincher -- on Alien."

Scott did actually hope to direct the Blade Runner sequel, but the chance to revisit Alien came up and Denis Villeneuve instead ended up at the helm.

"I was regretful, although he did a good job," Scott said.

The filmmaker will return to the dystopian franchise with upcoming Amazon Studios series Blade Runner 2099.

"I'm one of the producers. It's all set years on. To me, it circles the idea of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World," he previously told Empire magazine.

Australian Associated Press