Scott: 'Alien' prequel 'a new box of tricks'

Sir Ridley Scott has said that his Alien prequel will be set 30 years before the original.

Speaking to Empire, the British filmmaker discussed the planned science fiction movie, which will see him return to the franchise's helm three decades after making the 1979 original.

"It's a brand new box of tricks," Scott said. "We know what the road map is, and the screenplay is now being put on paper. The prequel will be a while ago. It's very difficult to put a year on Alien, but [for example] if Alien was towards the end of this century, then the prequel story will take place 30 years prior."

He continued: "I never thought I'd look forward to a sequel. But a prequel is kind of interesting. I'm looking forward to doing that."