Sigourney Weaver Discusses Potential Return as Ellen Ripley in Future Alien Films

Over the course of two decades, Sigourney Weaver starred in four different entries in the Alien franchise. It’s been almost 30 years since audiences last saw her as Ellen Ripley in Alien: Resurrection. For some fans, Ripley is the essential element of a successful Alien film. Despite the financial and critical success of Alien: Romulus, the question remains if a revival of Alien could see Ripley return. Weaver, while confirming it’s “not impossible” that she could reprise her role, also feels Ripley has “earned her rest.”

“I feel like she’s never far away from me, but on the other hand, I have yet to read a script that said ‘you have got to do this.’ So for me, she is in this other dimension, safe from the Alien for the time being. I don’t really think about it, but you know, it’s not completely impossible, and certainly a lot of good filmmakers are inspired by the material,” Weaver confessed to Deadline. “How much does the public really need or want another Ripley movie? I don’t really sit around and think about it, but if it came up, I would consider it. It has come up a bunch of times, but I’m also busy doing other things. Ripley has earned her rest.”

After Alien: Resurrection, the franchise continued with two crossover films featuring the Predator franchise. In 2011, original Alien director Ridley Scott returned to the franchise with Prometheus, a prequel that had only tenuous connections to the established mythology.

With Prometheus receiving mixed reactions from both audiences and critics, the state of the Alien franchise remained complicated for its fans. During this period, Sigourney Weaver collaborated with filmmaker Neill Blomkamp on his movie Chappie and in a series of short films from Oats Studios. This working relationship led Blomkamp to share concept art for a planned Alien 5, which would have followed the events of Aliens and brought back Weaver’s Ripley alongside Michael Biehn’s Hicks.

Blomkamp’s teases for Alien 5 excited audiences, but Ridley Scott returned to the franchise to develop Alien: Covenant, a sequel to Prometheus. Whether Blomkamp’s movie ever achieved substantial momentum with 20th Century Fox remains a topic of debate among the involved parties.

Stay tuned for updates on the Alien franchise.

Source: ComicBook.com, Deadline