Neill Blomkamps Alien sequel will directly follow Aliens

Chappie director Neill Blomkamp recently announced that he had officially been given the go-ahead by Fox to helm a new sequel in their Alien franchise. Since then, talk has turned to whether or not series star Sigourney Weaver would reprise her role as Lt. Ellen Ripley.

While the specifics of the story are being kept under wraps, the director revealed his plans for the flick during an interview with Sky Movies:

As it turns out, not only will the xenomorph-huntin’ heroine be given what Weaver terms “a proper ending”, but Blomkamp’s movie looks poised to completely ignore the events of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.

“I want this film to feel like it is literally the genetic sibling of Alien,” Blomkamp confirms in the above clip. “So it’s Alien, Aliens and then this movie.”

This development was hinted at in a series of concept artwork the Elysium helmer posted to his Instagram account earlier this year. Included in that crop of pics were glimpses of Michael Biehn as Corporal Dwayne Hicks, the loveable toughnut marine who perished offscreen at the start of Alien 3.

By picking up the story after James Cameron’s 1986 sequel, Aliens, Blomkamp appears to be aiming for a rewrite of the pre-existing canon.

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Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.