'That Ship Has Sailed': Sigourney Weaver Puts The Kibosh On Reprising Role Of Ellen Ripley

TV & Film

Apr 28

She was Hollywood's first action heroine, paving the way for characters like Sarah Connor (Terminator) and Trinity (The Matrix). In Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), Sigourney Weaver played Ellen Ripley, the sole (human) survivor of the space tug “Nostromo” and the one who defeated the Xenomorph. Weaver reprised her role in James Cameron's Aliens (1986), David Fincher's Alien 3 (1992), where she got the heroic death she had requested and was somehow persuaded to return as Ripley's clone in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien: Resurrection (1997).

Back in February 2015, Blomkamp, who was on the brink of becoming a major force in Hollywood following his surprise hit District 9. announced that he would be directing Alien 5, which Fox confirmed shortly after. Blomkamp's movie would have ignored the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection and was set several years after the events of Aliens. Concept drawings that were released around that time showed an older Ripley, a still-alive Corporal Hicks (Michael Bien), and a young adult Newt. Ripley and Hicks would have fought the Xenomorphs not only with but also against more Marines, probably on the payroll of Wayland Yutani, the corporation, that tried to use the creatures as biological weapons in the first place.

RELATED:

Featured

What Makes The Xenomorph Such A Perfect Design?

Weaver, who had worked with Blomkamp on Chappie, provided her input on Ripley's role and reportedly influenced the new movie's direction.

“I can’t think of a better director. He’s a real fan. I think he’ll be true to the world and take it in unexpected directions. It’s got a lot of sinew in it. It will certainly stand up to the others and probably break a lot of new ground as well.”

It is not entirely clear why Fox abruptly pulled the plug on Alient 5 in October 2015. One reason might be the lackluster performance of Chappie, but it is also possible that Scott, who was working on Alien: Covenant at that time feared that a second Alien movie starring Weaver would take away the spotlight from his prequel and that he put some pressure on Fox to stop the project.

The new Alien movie (which is being developed separately from the Alien TV show) is directed by Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead), produced by Scott, and stars Cailee Spaeny (Mare of Easttown), David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (Rosaline), Spike Fearn (The Batman) and Aileen Wu (Away from Home). It will follow “a group of young people on a distant world, who find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

But she won't join the crew that has to face the mysterious space monster once again in the upcoming new Alien movie that started production in March.

“There are all kinds of younger actors taking this kind of role,” Weaver said. “And there was an ‘Alien’ [film] that I really wanted to do with Neill Blomkamp and we didn’t get to do that, but, you know, that ship has sailed. I’m very happy doing what I’m doing. I put in my time in space!”

A release date is TBA.

READ NEXT:

Featured