New Alien film in the works at 20th Century Fox

HOLLYWOOD, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Neil Blomkamp will direct the first Alien film in nearly 20 years, the filmmaker announced via his Instagram account Wednesday.

Studio 20th Century Fox released the first film, Alien, in May 1979 to tremendous success, earning more than $100 million. It was followed by three sequels, the last of which was released in 1997.

Blomkamp announced on his Instagram channel Wednesday that he is in charge of the new Alien sequel and posted an artist's concept of the title creature. Last month, Blomkamp posted a different illustration of the creature after Fox had announced an Alien sequel would not go forward.

Blomkamp, a South African director, previously helmed the sci-fi films District 9 and Elysium -- both of which grossed more than $200 million each at the box office. His next film Chappie, about robots with artificial intelligence, is set to hit U.S. theaters March 6.

Actress Sigourney Weaver was the primary character in the first four Alien films, but it was not immediately known if she will reprise her role.

According to Variety, the plot of the fifth Alien movie takes place after Prometheus and its sequel, the latter of which is currently in production. The Prometheus movies are considered pseudo prequels to the Alien franchise, sharing the same world but not the same characters.

Director Ridley Scott, who was behind the 1979 Alien film, is also the director of both Prometheus films.