The following article contains spoilers for Alien³.David Fincher’s Alien³ is widely seen as the most controversial sequel in the Alien franchise. The horror/sci-fi outing was famously complicated for Fincher, whose vision wasn’t entirely followed, with the studio intervening more than necessary. In the end, it became a legendary example of a decline in franchise filmmaking. However, Alien³ does have its followers, and apparently Sigourney Weaver, famous for playing lead character Ellen Ripley, is one of them.
Per a recent report by People magazine, Weaver appeared at New York Comic Con, where she spoke about the many highlights of her career. What fans didn’t expect was that she’d grab the mic to candidly defend the most maligned Alien sequel. She did admit that she was a “little shocked” by Fincher’s decision to kill off her character, but she added, “That’s space, you got to move on. These things happen.” The actor continued to defend the 1992 sequel:
“I like it because it’s so utterly different from the first two. I felt that [20th Century] Fox was smart to keep choosing very gifted directors who wanted to do something completely different with the Alien story.
“I had total confidence in David [Fincher]. It had all these monks in space, in a kind of medieval garden. My character, I guess, crash-landed, and then I was in a coma for about half the movie. So I wasn’t crazy about that script. I feel like David [Fincher] would’ve loved a chance to work on the script before we had to start shooting. We did delay but not enough for him to feel he’d solved a lot of the problems.”
Sigourney Weaver Could Return to the ‘Alien’ Universe, But Is That a Good Thing?
During the same event, Weaver offered a surprising update about her participation in a future Alien sequel by giving a shout-out to producer Walter Hill, who has apparently written a treatment that sees Ripley returning: “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.” It’s not a confirmation, but Weaver seemed pretty optimistic about a potential return.
First, let’s address the obvious. There’s not a more badass character in horror than Ellen Ripley, and she shone throughout every film she appeared in. From day one, she was a captivating character. Weaver’s return as Ripley would surely be intriguing for fans. But this doesn’t mean it would be an entirely good thing for the franchise.
Alien: Romulus proved — as Prometheus and Alien: Covenant had before — that it’s possible to tell compelling stories in the franchise’s universe without Ripley. Adding her in cameos or secondary roles would be appealing because of the nostalgia, but the timeline’s complexity makes it a bit difficult to do it without feeling a little forced. Alien: Romulus‘ Rain should remain the priority in terms of a leading character, but the franchise is vast enough to welcome Ripley once again. It just needs to be for the right reasons.
- Release Date
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May 22, 1992
- Runtime
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114 minutes
- Writers
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David Giler, Larry Ferguson, Walter Hill, Vincent Ward, Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett
- Producers
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Ezra Swerdlow