Will there be another Alien movie? The answer has to be yes. The franchise is too popular and too lucrative for there never to be another Alien movie at some point, in some fashion. But what kind of Alien movie will they make? That’s the part that we don’t know, and won’t know until Disney (who now owns the franchise because of their acquisition of 20th Century Fox) announces the project.
Shortly before the Disney-Fox merger there was talk of a fifth Alien movie in the original franchise. Neill Blomkamp had a pitch for a sequel that would have ignored Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection and instead been a direct continuation of the story from Aliens. He talked about it in interviews, he showed off concept art that included Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn, and for a while it looked like it was a project that could actually happen.
But then, like a spaceship that’s secretly been invaded by a xenomorph, the whole thing fell apart. And that, coupled with Disney’s new control of Fox, put an end to any talk of an Alien 5 co-starring Weaver as Ellen Ripley, the franchise’s original hero. According to producer, Walter Hill, there’s “no interest” from Disney in that sort of project anymore. He told The Hollywood Reporter…
We took a shot at that a couple of years back with Sigourney. But that was back when Aliens was still at Fox. The people at Disney, who now control Aliens, have expressed no interest in going down that road. I had an idea for a good story with the Ripley character and Sigourney.
Again, that doesn’t mean you won’t see the alien again. It doesn’t even mean you won’t see Ripley again; Disney could reboot the franchise and make their own version of Ridley Scott’s original film, or they could recast another actress as Ripley and make their own sequel to Aliens. Or they could take the series in a totally new direction with new characters. At some point, they will absolutely do something. But if you wanted to see Alien 5 with Sigourney Weaver, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
Walter Hill’s latest movie, Dead For a Dollar, premieres in theaters on September 30.
