Much to the shock of fans, Sigourney Weaver hinted she might actually reprise her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise. Weaver is one of the most accomplished actresses of her generation, but to many fans she is still best known for her role in the Alien franchise, for which she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in Aliens. The last time Weaver played the character was 28 years ago in 1997’s divisive Alien: Resurrection.
Speaking at New York Comic Con on Oct. 10, 2025, via The Hollywood Reporter, Weaver revealed that Alien franchise producer Walter Hill actually has 50 pages for a new Ellen Ripley story. Weaver said she herself had a meeting with Disney and 20th Century Studios, but did not elaborate further. Weaver hinted that Hill’s script would touch on how someone, likely Weyland-Yutani, is trying to silence her for speaking out about the threat of the Xenomorphs. Weaver said:
“Walter Hill is a very good friend of mine, and he wrote 50 pages where Ripley would be now, and they are quite extraordinary. I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I have had a meeting with Fox, Disney, or whoever it is now. 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’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.”
How Could (and Should) Ellen Ripley Return?
This is certainly a big pivot for Weaver, who, as recently as 2023, said “that ship had sailed” when it came to her returning as Ripley for any more Alien films. How Weaver’s Ellen Ripley could return is the big question on everyone’s mind. The character died in Alien 3, sacrificing herself so that Weyland-Yutani could not get the Alien Queen embryo growing inside her. While Weaver did return for Alien Resurrection, she played a clone named Ripley-18, set 200 years in the future. It is possible that Hill’s outline is set after the events of Alien Resurrection, though given the poor reception to that film, it seems unlikely anyone involved would want to build on it.
In 2015, Neill Blomkamp announced plans to develop what was referred to as Alien 5. However, the script was actually a direct sequel to Aliens and would have retconned the events of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection from canon, featuring the return of Ellen Ripley and the character of Hicks alive, with both Weaver and actor Michael Biehn expected to reprise their roles. Blomkamp’s project was scrapped in favor of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, though if Weaver is expected to return as Ellen Ripley, the franchise might revisit the idea of scrapping the two less-regarded films in the original Alien Quadrilogy in favor of a legacy sequel with Ripley returning.
However, it does feel unnecessary to bring Weaver back as Ripley. The movie is meant to evoke the long-awaited return of the legacy sequel, like Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween or Linda Hamilton in Terminator: Dark Fate, but the Alien franchise doesn’t need that nostalgic boost. In fact, the franchise is at its strongest point since the 1980s, thanks to entries like Alien: Earth and Alien: Romulus, both of which have introduced new, exciting characters outside Ripley’s story. Legacy sequels might have been a novelty ten years ago, but now the trend is starting to feel desperate, and while Weaver’s legacy to the Alien franchise cannot be overstated, she and the franchise might be better off moving on from one another.
- Release Date
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June 22, 1979
- Runtime
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117 Minutes
- Writers
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Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett