Sigourney Weaver revealed that she’s actually had a meeting and part of a script has her interested in potentially returning as Ripley for another “Alien” film…
Sigourney Weaver hasn’t portrayed Ellen Ripley since “Alien Resurrection” was released in 1997 but it appears she might be ready to return to the iconic character for another “Alien” film.
In a bit of shocking news revealed during New York Comic Con in a sit down with Josh Horowitz on stage, Weaver dropped the bombshell that she’s actually had a meeting about possibly returning to play Ripley again based on a script being written by Walter Hill. Of course, Hill was one of the original producers on the 1979 classic “Alien” and he remained tied to the franchise for years after while also writing, directing and producing dozens of other movies during his prolific career.
Now it seems like Hill has an idea for a new “Alien” movie that has Weaver intrigued about playing Ripley at least one more time.
“Walter Hill is a very good friend of mine and he wrote 50 pages of where Ripley would be now and they’re quite extraordinary,” Weaver said. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen but I have had a meeting with FOX, Disney, or whoever it is now. I said except for Neil [Blomkamp], I’ve never felt the need [to go back]. I was always like let her rest. Let her recover.
“But what Walter has written is first of all seems so true to me and it’s very much about the society that would incarcerate someone who has tried to help mankind but she’s a problem to them. She’s sort of tucked away. Anyway, I think it’s a very strong first 50 pages and I’m thinking about working with Walter to see what the rest of the story would be.”
Now based on that little bit of information it sounds like perhaps Ripley returned home to Earth but found herself being locked up for her role in destroying a couple of very expensive Weyland-Yutani properties.
In the current age of legacy sequels that often times rewrite history from previous films, Hill could potentially set his movie after the events of “Aliens” and ignore what actually unfolded in “Alien3” and beyond — because Ripley dies in the third film and she’s later resurrected through cloning technology in the fourth.
While David Fincher’s “Alien3” has definitely found an audience among fans, perhaps one of the biggest complaints about that film was the unsatisfactory way the movie opened with Hicks and Newt dying off screen after a harrowing escape from LV-426.
It’s possibly Hill is setting a new sequel in the future but only taking into account the events of “Alien” and “Aliens,” which are by far the most beloved installments in that franchise.
One thing for sure is that Weaver doesn’t plan on playing Ripley as the same hard charging character she was when she was trying to save Newt and the Colonial Marines on LV-426 but it definitely sounds like she’s interested in the idea that Hill has thus far.
“It would not be running around airshafts. It would be a very different kind ‘Alien’ with a very good script,” Weaver said. “Scary, of course the alien does show up, inevitable but I love what he’s done with the character. He really gets her strength and her anger and her humor.
“It’s very hard to write. It’s surprisingly hard to write Ripley. Everybody makes you sound like a gym teacher ‘All right people, let’s do this! Let’s do that!’ Walter has it. He has the touch.”
Given the recent success of “Alien Romulus” — where a sequel is already in the works — and the recent “Alien Earth” series on FX, it seems like bringing back Weaver to play Ripley would be a no brainer.
Now it’s just up to Hill to finish his script and the powers-that-be at Disney to sign off on Weaver’s return to play Ripley at least one more time.
