The recent rumor that the next Alien movie might be set to bring back Sigourney Weaver to play a de-aged Ellen Ripley was met with a mixture of excitement and trepidation from fans of the classic sci-fi horror franchise, but it seems we won't be seeing the iconic heroine in action again after all - at least, not in the Romulus sequel.
Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez responded on social media, stating that the report was "fun gossip. But not true at all."
The filmmaker could simply be attempting to throw people off track here, but it seems unlikely. However, Daniel Richtman - who posted the original rumor - has also shared an update.
"I noticed some confusion about my recent post, so just to clarify: I wasn’t talking about the Alien: Romulus sequel. What I heard was about a new project similar to what Neill Blomkamp was trying to do."
District 9 director Neill Blomkamp attempted to get an Alien movie starring Weaver and Michael Biehn (Hicks) off the ground a few years ago, but the project ended up being scrapped.
This would make a lot more sense than Ripley showing up in Romulus' timeline, since she would have been in cryosleep right up until the events of James Cameron's Aliens. It's also worth noting that 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell did recently reveal that other Alien films are in development.
Original Alien director Sir Ridley Scott has also said that he is working on a separate movie late last year.
Though we have very little to go on, Scott revealed that he is developing a new Alien movie for 20th Century Studios. Details are sparse, but THR's report indicated that this will be a completely separate project to the Alien: Romulus sequel that's currently in the works.
If there is any truth to this, how would you feel about Weaver reprising her most famous role via de-ageing technology? Let us know in the comments section.
"Not a perfect organism, but despite an overreliance on retreading over old ground, Alien: Romulus does mark a thrilling return to form, and is surely destined to be ranked as the third-best Alien movie," we said in our review of Alien: Romulus.
"The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe."
The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott (Napoleon), who directed the original Alien and produced and directed the series’ entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Michael Pruss (Boston Strangler), and Walter Hill (Alien), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (Charlie’s Angels), Brent O’Connor (Bullet Train), and Tom Moran (Unstoppable) serving as executive producers.