IndieWire's Playlist blog noticed a cryptic Instagram post made by District 9 and Elysium director Neill Blomkamp. The image in question, embedded below, announces both Blomkamp's involvement with and departure from an Alien project no one knew was happening.
Was working on this. Don't think I am anymore. Love it though. #alien #xenomorph A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on
The director followed up that xenomorph queen concept art with a number of other reveals:
Wtf? A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on
Blomkamp's captions reveal that he was working on a project directly related to the Alien franchise, one that would apparently bring back Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley -- as seen below -- in some fashion. The director reveals that the cancellation of this mystery project has nothing to do with the studio; he said on Twitter "didn't even really know I was working on it." Those tweets, which are tied to the Instagram posts and come from an unverified account, seem to imply that this art was commissioned by Blomkamp for a now discarded pitch.
You can check out the rest of the art below and start wondering about what might have been.
Woulda rocked. Was a mental stroll into the world Ridley Scott created. Ett foto publicerat av Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp)
#ripley #hicks A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on
#weyland corp A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on
Oh shit A photo posted by Brownsnout (@neillblomkamp) on