One of the most iconic roles of Sigourney Weaver’s storied career is certainly Ripley in the Alien films. So when her Chappie director Neill Blomkamp revealed concept art a month ago of a new Alien idea he was working on featuring Ripley herself, the Internet, understandably, lost its shit. In the time since that reveal, many have wondered about the exact details of the situation, but fortunately we recently got the chance to speak with Weaver herself to get the behind-the-scenes story on this situation.
While attending the press junket for Chappie this afternoon, and while speaking with the actress she confirmed that she did see the art when it was released - but also explained that she she got a much closer look in person way back when. Said Weaver,
We started chatting about it on Chappie, like the first day. And he grew up watching these, I think he broke the tapes he watched them so much… But I was sort of surprised. He sent me a lot of artwork last spring and some ideas, and so you know…
She seemed hesitant to discuss the matter any further, but she did suggest that there is a potential for an Alien-centric collaboration between herself and Neil Blomkamp in the future, and added that she would have complete confidence in the filmmaker to tell the story. She explained,
I think we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens. There’s no one I can imagine that would do a better job.
Neill Blomkamp himself seemed to leave the situation open-ended. Accompanying the photos on Instagram, he wrote that the concept art was something he "was working on," but didn’t think he was anymore. However, he did finish by writing, "maybe I’ll go back to it." UPROXX caught up with Blomkamp himself regarding the matter and he’s way more confident than just a maybe. He told the site,
There’s a high possibility, a high degree of chance that it happens that I go back and try to get Alien made.
He went on to say that if he called up Fox today and said he wanted to make this film that the studio would give the green light, and that the decision is ultimately up to him and whether he wants to proceed with the project. That being said, while she’s given Blomkamp her blessings, Weaver doesn’t seem all too enthused to have Ripley return. She told me that it’d be "nice to let [Ripley] rest in peace." The character is sacred cargo and should be handled delicately - if and when this new movie actually gets made. Given the director’s track record, we’re inclined to agree with Weaver. District 9 was an incredible sci-fi film, but there was a certain quality drop off with Elysium, which was entertaining but not all that memorable. His next film, Chappie, in which Weaver portrays the CEO of a weapons technology company, will hit theaters on March 6th. So keep your eyes peeled for our review.
