The director of Alien: Covenant has deep roots in the Alien franchise and the science fiction genre as a whole.
The director of the new film Alien: Covenant is an old face in the franchise, He directed the first Alien film, then moved on to other projects before returning to the franchise to direct Prometheus in 2012. The original Alien, released in 1979, was an instant classic. It received a lot of awards nominations and wins, including an Oscar for its visual effects. The director, Ridley Scott, won both a Saturn and a Hugo award for his work on the film.
The success of the first movie spawned an entire franchise. Depending on how you think about it, Alien: Covenant is either the sixth or second installment. It is the sixth feature film in the Alien saga, but chronologically it follows Prometheus and occurs before any of the original Alien films.
Prometheus served as a prequel to the original Alien movies even though prior to its debut, Scott downplayed the idea that it was an Alien prequel. After its release, Scott announced plans for two or three Prometheus sequels that would link to Alien. Alien: Covenant is the first of those.
"Interviewed for German site FilmFutter, Scott confirmed that plans to eventually connect the two space sagas and explain the origins of the hideous xenomorph extraterrestrials remained intact, but suggested his upcoming sequel to 2012’s Prometheus would expand rather than contract the narrative."
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Though he was not involved in the Alien franchise between the original and Prometheus, Ridley Scott remained active in the film industry during that time. Some of his other credits during that time included three Oscar nominations for Best Director: Thelma and Louise in 1992, Gladiator in 2001, and Black Hawk Down in 2002. He was also nominated for a few Golden Globe Awards: American Gangster in 2007 and The Marian in 2015 as well as for Gladiator.