Alien: Romulus Director Debunks New Rumor (But It Just Got Even More Interesting)

Recently, enthusiasts of the Alien series were buzzing with an intriguing speculation about the upcoming Alien: Romulus sequel. However, this speculation seems to have been swiftly debunked. The initial rumor suggested that director Fede Álvarez was considering a return for Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in the next movie, employing de-aging visual effects to recreate Weaver’s appearance from when she filmed Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens. Unfortunately, any anticipation (or apprehension) about the franchise adopting such a direction has been dismissed by director Fede Álvarez himself. In a tweet, he clarified that the gossip is false.

The initial rumor about this topic stemmed from Daniel RPK, often seen as a trustworthy source within the industry. However, after Álvarez’s post disputing the claim, RPK has since clarified that his information pertained to a different Alien movie project, which might be in progression. This new film could share similarities with what Neill Blomkamp was attempting to achieve.

In the mid-2010s, director Neill Blomkamp (of District 9 and Elysium fame) was planning an Alien movie titled “Alien 5.” This would have been a direct sequel to James Cameron’s Aliens, featuring Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, Michael Biehn as Colonial Marine Corporal Hicks, and Lance Henriksen as android officer Bishop. The team planned to use de-aging visual effects to make the characters look like they did in Aliens. However, Blomkamp’s project caused disagreements with Ridley Scott and other executives at 20th Century Studios, leading to the greenlighting of Scott’s Prometheus sequel, Alien: Covenant instead. The success of Alien: Covenant, which made $240 million worldwide on a budget of $100 million, was not as high as expected, causing the studio to put the Alien franchise on hold, with Blomkamp’s film being one of the casualties.

Will Alien 5 Finally Get Made?

In simple terms, director Neill Blomkamp expressed he had given up on the idea of working within the Alien universe by the early 2020s. Contrastingly, actress Sigourney Weaver hinted last summer that there might still be a chance for her to reappear in the franchise, as she is collaborating with James Cameron again on Avatar sequels, portraying the reborn spirit of her original scientist character within a teenaged Na’vi girl’s body. If Weaver can convincingly act as a teenager multiple times using motion capture technology for the Avatar films, stepping back into the role of Ripley with reduced age shouldn’t be much of a challenge in terms of acting and technological capabilities.

In his earlier statement, Neill Blomkamp expressed that if there were another Aliens film featuring Sigourney Weaver, it could have fulfilled both the audience’s and his own desires. He found it peculiar, though, that despite this seeming to be what the audience desired, Fox, being a studio, would seemingly not consider such a project because they wouldn’t turn down money.

The opportunity to create “Alien 5” remains, as Weaver, Biehn, and Henriksen are all still alive, but it’s uncertain if fans truly desire more of Ripley’s story, as suggested by Blomkamp. The success of “Alien: Resurrection” has sparked interest in a new generation about the “Alien” universe, and Álvarez hinted that the sequel will venture into uncharted territories. In 2025, the franchise is set to debut its first TV spinoff with FX’s “Alien: Earth,” created by Noah Hawley (of “Fargo” fame). With the current excitement for “Alien,” it might be wise to continue moving forward.

Alien: Romulus is streaming on Hulu-Disney+.

2025-01-24 02:09

Will Alien 5 Finally Get Made?

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