A new solo "Alien" movie is in the works and it appears to be a prequel of the 1979 Ridley Scott classic.

Bloody Disgusting reported earlier this week that Fox has brought on Scott and his brother Tony to produce a new film, but that commercial director Carl Rinsch would direct.  Now, Collider has spoken to Tony Scott who confirms that Rinsch, who has worked with the Scott Free production company he and Ridley run, is on board and that the movie is a prequel.

This will dishearten fans who hoped that Ridley would return to the franchise (to perhaps give it some permanent closure) or that the studio would hire a more familiar and acclaimed filmmaker to reboot the franchise a la the new James Bond, Batman and "Star Trek" films.  The studio capitalized on both the "Alien" and "Predator" franchises with the universally reviled, but profitable "AvP" films, but now are simultaneously setting up solo tracks for the creations with Robert Rodriquez already on board to refashion "Predator."

There appears to be no timeframe for the new "Alien" picture, but if it truly takes place before the original thriller its hard to imagine Ripley aka Sigourney Weaver [left] returning.