The last survivor of the Nostromo might still not be signing off, as word from Sigourney Weaver herself suggests that talks have been held regarding the return of Ellen Ripley. The star of the Alien franchise was in attendance at New York Comic Con this weekend and let slip that not only have meetings been had, but a 50-page script from the original film's producer, Walter Hill, has been put together that has caught the eye of the Xenomorph's worst nightmare.
Speaking to a packed audience at the event (via The Hollywood Reporter), Weaver revealed, “Walter Hill is a very good friend of mine, and he wrote 50 pages where Ripley would be now, and they are quite extraordinary. I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I have had a meeting with Fox, Disney, or whoever it is now,” she explained. Whatever has been drafted up must have made for a good read, though, given that she'd done all she could with the inhabitants of LV-426. “I said I have never felt the need. I was always like, ‘Let her rest, let her recover.’ But what Walter has written seems so true to me as very much about the society that would incarcerate someone who has tried to help mankind.”
While not giving away too much detail about what this potential plot could involve, it sounded like a Logan-esque last hurrah for the real Alien queen. “She’s a problem to them, so she’s sort of tucked away. Anyway, I think it’s a very strong first 50 pages, and I’m thinking about working with Walter to see what the rest of the story would be.”
It's certainly a turnaround from one of the last times Weaver discussed her place in the Alien universe, given that she had openly admitted to having doubts about whether the world wanted another Ripley-based tale in space. "How much does the public really need or want another Ripley movie? I don’t really sit around and think about it, but if it came up, I would consider it. It has come up a bunch of times, but I’m also busy doing other things. Ripley has earned her rest."
While the hero has had regular run-ins with facehuggers and beasties that constantly look like they've got out of the shower, now might be a better time than any to bring her back to the fold, when you consider just how much Alien activity has come up on the scanners. Besides Alien: Romulus earning an impressive $350.9 million against a $90 million budget, and even GamesRadar+ praising FX's Alien: Earth as the franchise's strongest outing since James Cameron's Aliens, perhaps Ripley coming back for one last round might not be that bad an idea after all. For now, if you want to revisit the Alien franchise's big screen timeline up until now, why not check out watch list order here.
