There is no doubt that Ridley Scott's films have set standards in the world of cinema and the creation of franchises such as Alien or Blade Runner, which give him full credit. The filmmaker is in the middle of the creative process to bring Gladiator 2 to the big screen, the sequel to the 2000 film, alongside Pedro Pascal.
Precisely the terrain of sequels is the one that Scott could not step into at the time after the original deliveries of the science fiction franchises. And James Cameron and Denis Villeneuve took over the direction of the sagas with the sequels, so he greatly regrets not having been able to lead both projects.
“I was slow to get going. I mean, should have made the sequels to Alien and Blade Runner. You change over the years. At that point, I didn't want to go through that again. So Jim Cameron came in, and then David Fincher, in Alien“, he told Vanity Fair. As if that were not enough, Scott has pointed the finger at the major producers as being responsible for not giving him any choice.
Warner Bros. (Blade Runner) and 20th Century Fox (Alien) are the owners of the intellectual property and they dictated the beginnings of the director's career.
“I'm the author of two franchises. Most directors in Hollywood, certainly, let's say, at my level, don't let go of that stuff. But I made Alien as my second film, so I didn't have much of a choice. And Blade Runner was my third film. So I didn't have a choice because I had very tough partners. It was like, 'Welcome to Hollywood.'”
“I was never told or asked. You can imagine I wasn't happy.” Scott was able to make up for it in 2012 with the prequel Prometheus and the subsequent Alien: Covenant in 2017. On the other hand, this year we will receive Alien: Romulus with Fede Álarez at the helm of the work.
At VidaExtra | Ridley Scott needed only one scene with Russell Crowe in Gladiator to know that they were creating a historical blockbuster
In VidaExtra | The episodic format, Blade Runner in video games and the state of criticism. All Your Blog Are Belong To Us (CCLXXXIX)