James Cameron news: Director too busy to revisit 'Alien' franchise

Aliens20th Century Fox

The "Alien" franchise recently celebrated Alien Day, and while many new concept artworks and sculptures were made to commemorate the series, director James Cameron explained that he may not be able to revisit the franchise anytime soon and that he wouldn't have the luxury to do another film together with his friend and "Alien" series creator Ridley Scott.

"I've got my own kind of alien world that I'm enslaved to now with the Avatar films, so I can pretty much rule that out," he explained in Famous Monsters Magazine (via Screen Rant). 

It is true that Cameron is currently busy as he is working on sequels to the 2009 box office hit "Avatar," which is still counted as the most successful blockbuster movie of all time. "Avatar 2," "Avatar 3," "Avatar 4" and "Avatar 5" are in development right now and all of the sequels are being shot back-to-back and will be released one year apart.

Cameron is notable for taking the "Alien" franchise in a new direction when he directed the second film, "Aliens," back in 1986. Whereas Ridley Scott's 1979 "Alien" was a slasher-horror film set in space, "Aliens" was more of a horror-action film filled with space marines and more science fiction elements integrated into the story.

According to Cameron, the goal was to stylistically stay true to what the first film did but to go in a new direction in terms of story and scope. This is why the second film looks and feels like a natural sequel despite having more action and characters involved.

It is this film that "Alien 5" will pick up from. A previous report showcased director Neill Blomkamp releasing new concept art of an adult Newt. This would mean "Alien 5" would retcon the events of "Alien 3" and "Alien Resurrection" as if they never happened, given that Newt dies in the opening sequence of "Alien 3."