Sigourney Weaver: Is A Reprisal Of Ellen Ripley On The Horizon?

Acting veteran Sigourney Weaver, best known for her role as Ellen Ripley in the hugely popular Alien series, may be returning to reprise her famous character, a report from NME states. Earlier in 2014, Weaver expressed interest in playing the iconic Alien heroine once more, but the possibility of a movie sequel was uncertain at the time.

However, Sigourney has recently been in talks with Elysium and District 9 director Neill Blomkamp about a possible concept for a new Alien film and, subsequently, a new way to bring back Ellen Ripley. While Blomkamp began working on concept art for Alien 5, he admitted that he had only been working on it “for fun,” and that they hadn’t been officially recognized by 20th Century Fox.

According to the Guardian, Sigourney Weaver told interviewers that Blomkamp had been showing her his images while he was producing his forthcoming science-fiction story, Chappie, saying that “he kept sending me these brilliant designs and ideas and everything. We’ll see what happens.” Blomkamp has said that he has a good idea for the film.

While Weaver is keen to reprise her role as Ripley, she felt that she was ready to move onto other projects after the final film in the franchise, Alien: Resurrection.

“We just left it at such a creepy place, sort of stranded above Earth. I was quite happy to move onto other things and I didn’t want to go to Earth. I didn’t want to manufacture a sequel, and I felt like we were starting to do that… If something happens from this, it would be very organic and very original, and because of that it would make me want to do it. If it was [with] someone as talented as Neill, I’d certainly listen.”

Sigourney Weaver shot to fame in 1979 when she played Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi horror flick Alien. After a hugely successful sequel in 1986 directed by James Cameron, the Alien series continued with additional films which were met with criticism despite still focusing on Ripley’s story.

While there hasn’t been an Alien film since 1997’s Resurrection, Weaver did bring Ripley back briefly in the 2014 horror game Alien Isolation. The game was developed by The Creative Assembly and follows Ripley’s daughter, Amanda, as she encounters the terrifying creature. Isolation was met with very positive reviewers with many gamers and critics who praised its terrifying atmosphere and tense gameplay. Sigourney Weaver described playing Ripley once more as “incredibly cool.”