Movies
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) wakes up from a very long nap in Aliens (1986), 20th Century Fox
In the annals of unmade sequels, a few stand tall in recent memory, but for some, none stick out as a bigger lost opportunity than Alien 5. With director Neill Blomkamp behind it after District 9 made him a sensation for a minute there, the sequel offered intriguing turns that could have fixed some of the franchise’s biggest sins up to that point.
Wikus (Sharlto Copley) wants to see the alien’s papers in District 9 (2009), Sony/Tristar Pictures
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This included retconning the deaths of major characters from Aliens that happened in Alien 3, which was very divisive for many reasons besides that. However, part 5 never happened, and instead, we got two lackluster prequels from Ridley Scott.
If that outcome doesn’t have you looking squarely at him to blame, Alien franchise icon Sigourney Weaver should give you reason to, courtesy of AVP Galaxy. The Ripley actress told attendees at a Paris screening of the first film that Scott got “possessive.”
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“Yes. Well, I think like many of us, I was a big admirer of Neill. His movie was so striking, and I worked with him on a movie called [Chappie]. And I loved working with Neil, and he had this idea of bringing Ripley and Newt back,” Weaver said.
“It was a wonderful script, and unfortunately, it was at that point I think that Ridley Scott decided to be very possessive about the series and really drilled down on his prequels. And so I think it was a disaster for that project. We were never able to,” she continued. “I think Neil, in fact, just gave up, and he’s so talented. I wish him all the best.”
The most notable outcome of the project was in 2015, when Blomkamp shared striking concept art depicting Weaver in a Xenomorph bio-armor. Though Scott denied there was a script, both Weaver and James Cameron avowed there was, and were impressed by what they read.
20th Century Fox greenlit Blomkamp’s film, but ultimately he lost out to Scott and Alien: Covenant. That ended on a cliffhanger that was never resolved, and the series was soon rebooted again by Scott with the aid of Fede Alvarez on the big screen and Noah Hawley on the small one.
When asked by The Playlist in 2021, Blomkamp explained that Scott losing confidence in his skills is what caused Alien 5 to fall apart.
David in his laboratory in Alien Covenant (2015), 20th Century Fox
“At the end of the day, even though Ridley Scott is producing it, he brought that to the world, so if he changes his mind or if there is a director on it he doesn’t want, whatever it may be, it’s his. I understand that it makes logical sense to me,” the Chappie director said.
NEXT: Sigourney Weaver Stands With David Fincher On ‘Alien 3’, Says Studio’s Lack Of Confidence In His Work “Was Very Idiotic”
Writer, journalist, comic reader, and Kaiju fan that covers all things DC and Godzilla. Been part of fandome since … More about JB Augustine
