The Alien franchise may be returning to the narrative threads established over a decade ago. Ridley Scott, the visionary director who launched the series with his 1979 masterpiece, has confirmed that a new project is in development to potentially conclude his prequel trilogy.

When Ridley Scott signed on to direct "The Dog Stars," a movie that's romantic but not sentimental, dark but hopeful, and frightening but funny, he knew that calibrating the film's varied tones would ...