Alien star Sigourney Weaver gives another intriguing update on potential return as Ellen Ripley

While promoting her trip back to Pandora in Avatar: Fire & Ash, Sigourney Weaver has hinted that plans might be solidifying for a venture back to LV-426 as well. The star of four Alien movies gave an update on the secret script she discussed back in October, which would see Ellen Ripley back in the franchise, fighting facehuggers and ensuring their young are sucked out into space. Although just like a snooze in hypersleep, don’t expect it to be a quick thing.

“You know, we’re just taking it one step at a time,” Weaver told Variety. “It is very interesting. I hope we do it, because I think it will be wonderful. I think the fans will enjoy it, but it’s very early days.”

When Weaver last broke the news about this unnamed script, she revealed that it had been written by the producer of the Alien franchise, Walter Hill. The draft was a 50-page tale that apparently saw Ripley pulled back into action after being imprisoned for the danger she’d tried to keep humanity away from.

“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,” she explained. “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.”

Currently, the Alien franchise is in the best shape it’s been in years, not only thanks to the impressive big-screen outing that was Alien: Romulus, but also Noah Hawley’s exceptional television series, Alien: Earth. There’s also the matter of the Predator franchise cross-pollinating with the Predator franchise, thanks to Predator: Badlands. What better time than then to throw the Alien queen back into the mix for another terrifying close encounter? Should you need a refresher on the Alien timeline, check out our guide to watching the movies here.