Never say never in Hollywood. There’s always a chance that an actor, director or writer could be asked to return to a signature role – to explore the intricate depths of the character (creative reason), or to mile more cash from a forgiving fan base (financial reason). It’s why we have Arnold Schwarzenegger currently filming another Terminator movie, why we have Bruce Willis listening to offers for another Die Hard chapter, and why Sigourney Weaver's leaving the door open just a crack for possible Alien sequels.
The one-time action heroine was speaking to a crowd at the Hero Complex Film Fest and was quoted by the L.A. Times about the story arc of her badass Alien protagonist, Ellen Ripley. When last we saw Ripley, on screen in 1997’s Alien Resurrection, she was a clone replicated from the DNA of the deceased Ripley, who gave her life to destroy the last known alien species in Alien 3. This wasn’t the end of Ripley’s story, however. She has lived on in revisionist comics and video games, and Sigourney Weaver sounds like she’s interested in another crack at her most-popular character.
Weaver said:
I do feel like there is more story to tell. … I feel a longing from fans for the story to be finished. I could imagine a situation where we finish telling the story."
Before you go chalking this up to half-hearted wish speak from an actress who’d love a little more time in the limelight, consider this. Sigourney Weaver’s initial Alien director, Sir Ridley Scott, has started building the bridge between pre-Alien conversations with his own film, Prometheus, and that movie’s planned sequel. Weaver also has a very close working relationship with director James Cameron, who took over the Alien storyline for the ramped-up Aliens, and continues to work with Weaver to this day on the Avatar sequels. Could either of them be interested in reprising an Alien story centered around an older Ellen Ripley, giving the character a better form of closure?
Ironically, James Cameron could be the one holding this up. From all that we know, he has Sigourney Weaver locked up in future Avatar films, though it’s possible she could find a place in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel, and really connect the dots between that sci-fi universe and the one he launched with Alien in 1979. Weaver’s Alien comments had more of a confident air to them then the usual, "We’ll see." Does this mean that conversations have taken place behind the scenes with wither Scott, Cameron or another director? Or do you think Ellen Ripley should remain in Hollywood version of hypersleep? Weigh in below.
