Brian Duffield, the director behind the upcoming survival thriller Whalefall, may have been hired by 20th Century Fox Studios to pen a new installment of the Alien franchise. The rumour began after reports that Jeff Sneider of Hot Mic heard the news, followed by Daniel RPK taking to Dread Central to share the story as well. Steve Asbell, the president of 20th Century Fox, then added fuel to the fire by replying with a sarcastic “Who?” when asked about the rumour on X, despite having a public creative history with Duffield.

The Alien franchise dates back to 1979, with director Ridley Scott‘s influential first film, starring Sigourney Weaver as the iconic Ellen Ripley, who battles the deadly Xenomorph aboard her refinery ship, the Nostromo. The success of the first film spawned a franchise consisting of three sequels, two prequels, a spin-off crossover series with the Predator films, a stand-alone spin-off film, and the Hulu Series Alien: Earth, in addition to numerous books, comics, and video games.

Fans will know there is an upcoming Alien: Romulus sequel up for grabs after the initially hired director, Fede Alvarez, parted ways with the project. Alien: Romulus focused on a spin-off story set between the first Alien film and its sequel, Aliens, and starred Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu as a gang of young space colonists who find themselves in the jaws of the terrifying Xenomorph when searching for another home planet. Perhaps this will land in Duffield’s lap?

There is yet to be a statement from Duffield or the studio confirming the news.

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Meanwhile, Duffield’s Whalefall is adapted from Daniel Kraus’s book of the same title and centres on a scuba diver who goes out to search for his late father’s remains, only to be swallowed by a sperm whale, with just an hour to devise an escape route. The film stars Weapons actor Austin Abrams, alongside Josh Brolin, Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy, and Emily Rudd.

Whalefall hits cinemas on 16th October.

Source: WordofReel

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