Now that the Alien franchise is the plaything of Disney overlords, the question is where does it go next? After Ridley Scott’s prequels failed to muster much excitement, and Neil Blomkamp’s attempted sequel suffered a chest-bursting fate, there have been talks of a new film that would bring Sigourney Weaver back into the role of Ellen Ripley. Weaver has recently expressed serious concerns about returning, but producer Walter Hill has an idea he thinks can work.
Speaking with SYFY Wire, Hill revealed that an Alien 5 story treatment has been completed, having finished it back in March with producer David Giler. And Hill has already shown this treatment to Weaver, with hopes that it’ll sway her to play the iconic Ripley once more…
“Sigourney, as she has from the very beginning, is being too modest about her proven ability to pull off the idea — which is to tell a story that scares the pants off your date, kicks the ass of a new Xenomorph, and conducts a meditation on both the universe of the ‘Alien’ franchise and the destiny of the character of Lt. Ellen Ripley,” Hill said.
But that’s the problem, isn’t it? If Weaver doesn’t come back, then you’ve got nothing at all. This is something Blomkamp wanted, as well, but she seemed more interested in doing that one, perhaps because it would’ve been the end of Ripley’s story.
With sci-fi relaunches failing pretty miserably lately, plus the ho-hum reaction to Scott’s Alien prequels, chances are Disney is going to sit on this franchise for a while. Maybe by the time they’re ready to go Weaver will have warmed to the idea.
