Weeks after Alien star Sigourney Weaver broke the news that she’s considering a return to the series, the actor has expanded on the direction of the new story, and how it won’t resemble anything we’ve seen before. While the Alien universe has seen the release of nearly ten movies, they all share the sci-fi horror tropes that make it one of the most beloved series in the genre. Nevertheless, Weaver confirms that her return won’t have Ellen Ripley “running around through airshafts.”
As reported by AVP Galaxy, Weaver recently appeared at a screening of the original Alien at the Cinémathèque Française in Paris. After the screening, Weaver offered a masterclass titled “A Lesson In Cinema,” in which she described her experience making the 1979 film. Although the actor hasn’t reprised her role as Ripley since 1997’s Alien Resurrection, she could actually return in the near future in a sequel written by franchise producer and story ideator Walter Hill. She offered a few details of Hill”s “different” treatment:
“Actually, Walter Hill has written about 50 pages. Maybe, by now, he’s written more about where Ripley might be now. And although I’ve never particularly wanted to go back to the series, there’s something about her experience being sidelined now, probably by this society, by this company, by this world and being probably around 200 years old, but still Ripley and, you know, presumably these problems still out there.
“So I’m going to see what happens with Walter’s script. It would not be like what we’ve seen tonight. It would not be running around through airshafts. It would be a very different kind of story.”
Recently, the Alien franchise was injected with life and a new DNA. 2024’s Alien: Romulus offered a worthy sequel spin-off, and 2025’s TV show Alien: Earth proved that the television medium could also host xenomorphs. About the latter, Weaver said the following:
“I loved Alien: Earth. I thought it was remarkable. So interesting, terrifying about our world and yet you could understand… you can imagine a world where each tech bro owns a planet. You know, it’s not that far from where America is now. So, I’m glad to see that Alien has legs, as they say, in the business. And I think it’s a very interesting time for the series.”
Weaver Also Talked About Neill Blomkamp’s Canceled Plans for ‘Alien 5’
Ripley was supposed to return to the Alien universe before in Neill Blomkamp’s canceled Alien 5 project. The District 9 director worked on the movie for some time in the mid-2010s, and even revealed Weaver’s involvement. However, the project got nowhere, and franchise creator Ridley Scott continued the series with 2017’s Alien: Covenant.
At the masterclass, Weaver addressed Blomkamp’s sequel and revealed the real reason why the project was ultimately canceled. It was because of Scott’s decision to continue his journey in the Alien universe:
“Well, I think like many of us, I was a big admirer of Neill. His movie was so striking, and I worked with him on a movie called [Chappie]. And I loved working with Neill, and he had this idea of bringing Ripley and Newt back.
“It was a wonderful script and, unfortunately, it was at that point I think that Ridley Scott decided to be very possessive about the series and really drilled down on his prequels. And so I think it was a disaster for that project. We were never able to… I think Neill, in fact just gave up and he’s so talented. I wish him all the best.”
