Why Sigourney Weaver Is Done Playing Ellen Ripley In The Alien Franchise
When screenwriter and filmmaker Dan O'Bannon wrote the original "Alien," he couldn't have imagined that his own personal experience dealing with Crohn's disease — which helped inspire the chest-burster Xenomorph — would go on to spawn six of the most thought-provoking sci-fi horror movies in cinema history. O'Bannon's own fears eventually transferred over to the character of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who became terrified of suffering the same horrible fate as Kane (John Hurt) aboard the Nostromo.
Over the course of Ridley Scott's "Alien," James Cameron's "Aliens," and David Fincher's "Alien 3," Ripley's worst fear was finally realized when she dove into a fiery pit, just as a chest-burster struggled to get free from her grasp. Returning as a clone in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "Alien: Resurrection," Ripley's humanity was then stripped away in favor of a disconnected superhero version of the character that took away everything fans loved about her in the first place. Even after that ambitious but failed attempt to continue Ripley's storyline, Weaver has always been the face of the franchise. And now, it appears as though any chance of ever seeing her in the role that made her famous is growing more and more unlikely.
Weaver hasn't officially been a part of the series since Scott took the films in an entirely different direction with "Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant" — the prequels that were supposedly going to lead up to the events of the original "Alien." Bigger ideas about the origin of life and Scott's continuing fascination with artificial intelligence made his prequel films more philosophical in nature, although that also made it harder to imagine how a character like Ripley might fit into the bigger "Alien" picture going forward. Weaver seems acutely aware of this fact, which is why she plans to formally retire as Ripley for good.
'That ship has sailed'
In an interview with Total Film magazine, Sigourney Weaver was asked the unavoidable question that she's basically been asked every time she promotes something new nowadays: Will she return as Ripley in a future "Alien" film? Her answer was decidedly final on the matter. It seems as if Weaver is ready to let the next generation take up the controls:
"There are all kinds of younger actors taking this kind of role. And there was an 'Alien' [film] that I really wanted to do with Neill Blomkamp and we didn't get to do that, but, you know, that ship has sailed."
Please don't remind us of the "Alien 5" idea that wound up never happening! If you recall, Blomkamp ("District 9") wanted to essentially reboot the franchise, ignoring the beginning of David Fincher's "Alien 3" — wherein Hicks and Newt are already dead on arrival when Ripley crash-lands on the prison planet Fiorina 161. A few years back, some concept art began trickling out, giving fans a sense of what could have been if Hicks and Ripley had been re-united onscreen. Weaver seemed genuinely excited about the chance to do another direct sequel to "Aliens" but the project was eventually put on the back-burner while Ridley Scott proceeded with his own prequels. The project remains one of the most fascinating "What if?" scenarios in "Alien" history, but time has unfortunately moved on.
In any case, Weaver appears perfectly content to keep Ripley in the rearview at this stage: "I'm very happy doing what I'm doing. I put in my time in space!" She certainly has.
'I was very lucky'
Honestly, after the bizarre experience Sigourney Weaver probably had to endure during the production of "Alien: Resurrection," she definitely needed a nice long break from the character. The underwhelming response to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's experimental take on the material didn't exactly reignite the franchise, and the same can be said for Ridley Scott's last entry, "Covenant" (itself more of a mashup between the grand design put forth with "Prometheus" and the remixed action beats of the first "Alien").
With Fede Alvarez now working on an "Alien" film reportedly featuring all-new characters, Weaver acknowledged how fortunate she was that Scott, and by extension Dan O'Bannon, created such a memorable female archetype that still has so much cultural impact to this day. "They made Ripley a woman, without making her this helpless creature," she told Total Film. "Because I think I was very lucky. These were men who were creating this woman character, but they liked and respected strong women."
The world of "Alien" will always be Scott's baby and Weaver will forever be associated with her Oscar-nominated role. Still, it will be fascinating to see if Noah Hawley (of "Fargo" and "Legion" fame) can bring the property back to its horror roots in his upcoming, long-awaited TV series that's still expected to arrive in 2024. Perhaps Weaver will make a cameo or even direct an episode? The show should absolutely include some female directors , and it would make so much sense to see Weaver be involved in some way creatively — although seeing Ripley again is highly unlikely, considering the series reportedly takes place years before she was alive. Scott is also involved as a producer, although he's already said "It'll never be as good as the first one." And you know what? He's probably right.