Collider reader John pointed us to a post on author Joe Haldeman’s LiveJournal saying that Oscar-winning screenwriter David Peoples (Unforgiven) had penned an adaptation of Haldeman’s sci-fi novel The Forever War for Ridley Scott.  Scott and Peoples previously worked together on Scott’s seminal science fiction film Blade Runner.  Back in June at this year’s Hero Complex Film Festival, Scott said they were on the fourth draft of the script, but didn’t specify the screenwriter.  It’s worth nothing that Scott hasn’t directed a science fiction film since Blade Runner and now he has Forever War on his plate along with two Alien prequels.

For those who don’t know (like me until I did this story), The Forever War came out in 1974 and (per Wikipedia) “tells the contemplative story of soldiers fighting an interstellar war between humanity and the enigmatic Tauran species [and has] pithy, insightful explorations of the inhumanity of war and of bureaucracy, and of the psychological effects resulting from time dilation space travel.” [Update: Deadline reports that it's Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play) who is currently working on the script.  If Peoples was involved, it was some time ago.]

Legendary director Ridley Scott helped close the first Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival in style Sunday. He screened two of his most accomplished films, Alien and Blade Runner, and in between simultaneously inspired and gave the world some awesome news on his two upcoming Alien prequels.

In the original Alien, right before Kane (John Hurt) gets planted with a Face Hugger, he sees the skeleton of a giant being sitting in a chair. This being is regularly referred to as “The Space Jockey” and Scott said he always wondered who being was and what was its story. He said that being now has a story. The script has been written and he is currently in preproduction on a set of films that will begin to tell how “The Space Jockey” fits into the world of Alien.

Hit the jump to read more details about these upcoming Alien movies as well as the entire run down of Scott’s Q&A. Plus, don’t forget to read about Leonard Nimoy from Friday and Christopher Nolan from Saturday.