When Ridley Scott signed on to direct the prequel to the ‘Alien’ franchise (something he started, but soon abandoned) no one really asked any questions, even though it made no sense. Why would a director who has climbed so high since late ’70s retreat back to a prequel of his first success, especially after it has grown to transcend himself and other directors like James Cameron and David Fincher? After all, this isn’t like  George Lucas going back making episodes 1-3 of ‘Star Wars’ — there isn’t decades of ‘Alien’ minutiae for Scott explore. Conceptually, this sounded like a stand-alone sci-fi flick that wouldn’t do squat for ‘Gladiator’ director’s career… that is until the fated “in 3D!” was tacked onto the title a few days ago.

Yes, even Sir Ridley Scott is following suit with the 3D craze as of late, further cementing the “more visceral” mode of viewing as the future of cinema. While I’m still not convinced that 3D is a wholly benevolent force in the industry, it does shed a little light as to why Scott would agree to such a novelty project. Virtually every bigwig director on the scene is itching to get comfortable with the Cameron-endorsed new technology, so testing the waters on a film that panders to a built-in fan base might be central to Scott’s decision to direct.

The film’s art-director, Roger Christian, had this short but informative quote in regards to his and Scott’s overall excitement regarding the project: “Ridley told me some of his ideas when we were here in Toronto. He has a very clear understanding of where this should go. They kind of stopped dead one of the greatest horror franchises there’s ever been, and it had legs to go on. So I’m hoping he’ll revive another three. The world certainly wants it, and the fans want it – everybody.”

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