Aliens sequel visualized by director of District 9, Elysium [UPDATE]

We don't really know what to believe when it comes to this proposed sequel to Aliens. Images posted by Director and Visual Effects artist Neill Blomkamp have sparked our interest, that's for certain – but whether or not he'd actually been attached to a film is unconfirmed. What we do know is that we'd certainly have loved to see a dark, alternate universe in the eye of Blomkamp, especially after seeing these illustrations. Blomkamp previously directed Elysium and District 9 – his next film is Chappie.

The first image we're taking a look at here is of an Alien bust on a desk. This picture will help us date the rest of the photos – or at least let us see what timeframe Blomkamp might be implying.

If you'll take a look at the bust on the counter here, you'll find that it matches the original ALIEN.

You can tell by the flat machine (car parts) quality of the gums as well as the slight ebb in the skull cover. Both the Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection busts are smooth on top, no groove, while the bums are slightly more organic.

You'll also notice a Master Chief helmet from the Halo video game series. If Blomkamp is suggesting that this photo was taken at the same time as he was developing this film, he was working on it after 2001 – at earliest.

The latest Alien film was Alien Resurrection in 1997 – unless you could Prometheus.

The film Prometheus – or what would eventually become Prometheus – had originally started development all the way back in 2002 as developed by James Cameron. The film was originally slated as a prequel to ALIEN.

The idea was shelved when Alien vs. Predator was bumped up, and in 2009 Ridley Scott first showed public interest.

While the connection on this desk between Ridley Scott and Neill Blomkamp is paper-thin, consider this:

1. Scott sees the 2009 film District 9 as directed by Blomkamp.

2. Scott sees potential in Blomkamp's visionary style – his work with Visual effects as well – and commissions him to do work on alternate realities for the next Alien film – eventually called Prometheus.

3. Things don't work out.

Notice also that Ridley Scott is attached to produce a Halo Digital Feature – that film is Halo: Nightfall.

Next you'll see an image of Ripley and Corporal Dwayne Hicks, aka Michael Biehn. Both Ripley and Hicks are aged well beyond Alien 3.

Below you'll see Sigourney Weaver in Alien 3, bald head and all.

Hicks was dead in Alien 3. They wrapped him up and tossed him into molten lead along with the other survivor from Aliens: Newt. That didn't stop Ripley from coming back in Alien Resurrection, of course, so we can assume that the same cloning action could have taken place here.

In the head image above you'll see how one of Blomkamp's images attaches with another, showing this construction to be labeled Weyland Yutani. This is strange if you consider the plot of Prometheus – there is no Yutani yet in that timeline.

Below is someone we can presume is Ripley looking at the goo-filled body of a comrade. This scene is replicated in the cut-scene from ALIEN – and pops up several times throughout the series.

Another big piece of connection between this unmade Alien film and Prometheus is the Derelict Ship. Here we see how Weyland Yutani has somehow picked up the ship from its original crash landing place on LV-426 and started deconstruction efforts – maybe.

Another image with similar lighting suggests that all the architecture here is Weyland Yutani's building. They may well have constructed this structure around the original landing place on LV-426 for the Derelict Ship, also providing some terraforming not unlike Hadley's Hope from Aliens.

One of the strangest images comes in the flight suit sort of structure we see around Ripley's face here.

You also see a date here that may just have been when Blomkamp took the screenshot, not necessarily when he worked with the illustration – earlier in the year in 2014.

You'll also see the words "Space Jockey", just like the original pilot in the Derelict Ship in ALIEN. Ridley Scott also refers to the character as Space Jockey throughout production of Prometheus.

Finally you'll see an Alien Queen for good measure. Of course there's an Alien Queen – there's always a Queen.

Let us know if you agree with our assessment above or if you've got some completely different wild theory to offer. We're all ears!

NOTE: If you'd like to dive deeper, these images come from Neill Blomkamp's Instagram page, and were posted on the 1st of January, 2015.

Update: Artist Doug Williams (above) and Geoffroy Thoorens (below) have been named by Blomkamp as collaborators on this project. Below you'll see a war-scarred Hicks, above a new creature.