Mission 2104

Alien: Covenant is set in the futuristic world of 2104.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Picking up the timeline ending around 10 years after Prometheus, Covenant is set in the futuristic world of 2104. The spaceship Covenant takes 2,000 people frozen in sleep to colonize a remote planet, but its crew's discovery of what they regard as an uncharted paradise pulls them into a thrilling darkness.

Despite the Alien franchise's popularity that has spawned books, comics and video games over decades, Scott believes some key questions have yet to be answered.

"The original Alien movie (in 1979) was followed by three other Alien films. But they never asked the questions: Who creates the monsters and why are they created?" Scott said during an online video conference with reporters in Beijing from London earlier this month.

Saying that the sequel will give such explanations, Scott also reveals that more films are in the works, and the next installment will begin filming in the next 14 months.

Sci-fi tales have prospered on the screen over decades, but for a lot of fans, their real question might be about the real existence of aliens.

The cinematic master behind influential sci-fi movies such as Blade Runner and The Martian, Scott says he believes that "a higher form of creation" in outer space does exist.

Straightforwardly, the silver-haired director says it's "ridiculous" to think humankind is the only high-intelligence, civilized race in the galaxy.

"Who made us for what reason? What was the plan? " asks Scott, who will celebrate his 80th birthday in November.

In the latest Alien title, the questions are raised to a new level to center on the tension between humans and those created by them.