Thirty years after he made his name with the first in 20th Century Fox's space franchise, Ridley Scott is returning to the Alien universe, helming a prequel to the original film.

The new film will not be connected to the recent Alien vs Predators movies, but is being regarded by the studio as a reboot of the franchise. It will be penned by Jon Spaihts, who has written sci fi scripts Shadow 19 and Passengers for Keanu Reeves. He is also rewriting The Darkest Hour for DayWatch director Timur Berkmambetov, and writing Children of Mars for Disney. He received the commission after pitching his idea to Scott's company Scott Free and the studio.

Although rumours of Scott's return to the franchise have been rife recently, the report in Variety is the first time that there has been any formal word on the project. No cast is yet attached to the project.