For years, there was chatter online about District 9 director Neill Blomkamp's plans for Alien 5. The plan was for Ripley and Newt to return, making up for the missteps made with the characters in Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection.
Sigourney Weaver has always spoken positively of Blomkamp's plans for the long-running sci-fi franchise. During a Q&A at A Career Masterclass panel at the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, France (via SFFGazette.com), the legendary actress shared her belief that Sir Ridley Scott's possessiveness of the franchise was the main reason it didn't happen.
"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']," Weaver recalled. "And I loved working with Neil, 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 Neil, in fact, just gave up, and he’s so talented," she added. "I wish him all the best."
Seemingly unwilling to share the spotlight with Alien 5, Scott forged ahead with Alien: Covenant, his follow-up to Prometheus. The plan had been for the prequel series to continue, but diminishing returns and the Disney/Fox merger brought an end to that.
Ultimately, 20th Century Studios made Alien: Romulus, a fresh start for the franchise with few connections to what came before, beyond one major cameo and some noteworthy references for fans.
Weaver went on to say that Walter Hill "has written about 50 pages" for the unmade Aliens 5, and shared a few details on the movie's plot.
"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," she noted. "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."
Despite a return to the Alien franchise looking increasingly unlikely, Weaver remains a fan and heaped praise on 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 concluded.
A second season of Alien: Earth is thought to be in the early stages of development, as is an Alien: Romulus sequel. There's also been a lot of talk about an eventual Alien vs. Predator crossover.