‘Lost’ Co-Creator Lindelof to Pen Alien Prequel?

Published by Jeff Leins on July 30, 2010

Damon Lindelof, one of the co-creators of ABC’s “Lost” and a screenwriter on Star Trek, may be doing rewrite work on Ridley Scott’s prequel to Alien.

Deadline reports Lindelof has closed a deal to work on the untitled project at Fox in hopes that a fresh take may convince Scott to make the prequel a priority on his extremely busy schedule.  The original script was written by Jon Spaihts.

In April, Scott said the screenplay was in its “fourth draft,” which is why there hasn’t been any real progression since the initial announcement in May 2009.  The filmmaker has said the origin story takes place in 2085, roughly 30 years prior the mission where Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley encountered the deadly aliens, and may center on the mysterious “space jockey” from the 1979 original.

There have been talks of shooting it in 3D and even a second sci-fi prequel, but of course this will depend on getting the greenlight with a “go” script.  Lindelof is a natural fit for the job given his passion for the material and background in sci-fi fantasy, but I can’t help but think the TV series’ abrupt ending, a rug pull from beneath millions of fans, has somewhat tainted his reputation.

Scott’s potential projects include a drama about Gucci and The Wolf of Wall Street, both with Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star, a Monopoly movie based on the class board game, and a 1930s drama with Casey Affleck titled The Kind One.  Lindelof recently completed work on Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens.