According to Deadline, Lost’s ex-showrunner Damon Lindelof has just reached a deal to take over Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel that is still supposedly happening—although, in an appropriately Lost-like twist, it turns out that his meeting actually took place in the afterlife, and Ridley Scott was Jesus Christ all along. Or, just kidding: The actual twist is that Lindelof’s proposed script may or may not end up being part of the Alien franchise after all, as “the exchange of ideas between them sparked a take that could well turn out to be a free-standing science fiction film.” The studio will only decide which way to go once Lindelof turns it in—whether it will be adopted as a rewrite of John Spaihts’ original draft or as its own potential tentpole.
Of course, given that industry bigamist Ridley Scott has committed himself to 20-plus other projects recently—including The Wolf Of Wall Street and his long-rumored Monopoly adaptation, to name just a few—Lindelof would probably be better off going it alone, lest he find himself trapped in some sort of purgatory that cannot be escaped no matter how many people he hugs.