Ridley Scott, the English director of three of the sci-fi horror "Alien" films, says he is heading into a wider universe with the latest in the series: "Alien: Covenant."

The franchise has produced nearly 40 years of sequels and prequels, numerous books, toys and video games. The 2012 prequel "Prometheus" marked Scott's return to the story, 33 years after the original.

"Alien: Covenant", the sixth installment, is set 10 years after Prometheus with a colony ship headed to a remote planet with a sinister inhabitant.

"I think we open up into a much larger universe than we ever did before," Scott told Reuters on Saturday.

"The others did all-action 'Shoot-em-up, shoot-em-up, kill, kill, kill', but I thought they should have answered various questions from the first one," he added.

"That would enable us to open up that universe in a much more interesting way other than just monsters chasing people in corridors.

"This one has really gotten into creation," he added.

The film stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup and Danny McBride

The cast believes this is the scariest Alien yet.

"I was exhausted at the end. It's absolutely grotesque," said Crudup.

"Alien: Covenant" is due to be released next Friday in Britain and the following week in the United States