Sigourney Weaver addresses whether Ripley would have ever returned for Alien: Romulus. Directed by Fede Álvarez, Alien: Romulus features a cast of new franchise characters as the film explores a team of space-travelling young adults who stumble upon the terrifying Xenomorph while exploring an old space station. Alien: Romulus features a leading cast including Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. Weaver does not appear in Alien: Romulus, despite playing Ripley in multiple films within the Alien franchise.
Speaking with Deadline, Weaver responds to whether Ripley would have ever been in Alien: Romulus. According to the former Alien franchise actor, she has not yet seen Alien: Romulus and thus could not comment on the quality of the new installment. As for Ripley’s involvement, Weaver mentioned that “There wasn’t a discussion about Ripley being in it.” Check out the full response from Weaver below:
DEADLINE: What do you make of Alien: Romulus? Did you see it and was there ever a discussion that Ripley may appear in it (I’m aware Fede Álvarez has said the timeline wouldn’t work for Ripley to be in it)?
WEAVER: There wasn’t a discussion about Ripley being in it. I haven’t seen the new film. I might end up seeing it … I wish them all the best for it…
What’s Next After Alien: Romulus?
Álvarez Has Discussed Sequel Ideas
The interviewer makes a reference to Alien: Romulus director Álvarez saying that including Ripley would not have worked for the film, and this is partially true. Alien: Romulus takes place between the events of Alien and Aliens. While Ripley would still be alive in this timeline, she was off doing other adventures that may not have involved working with the Romulus crew. It would also have been difficult to include the character, as audiences would have been apt to want to see Weaver again, but she is far too old for the role.
That said, it is not completely out of the realm of possibility for Ripley to appear in a future iteration of Alien. Álvarez has already teased that he has an idea for an Alien: Romulus sequel, which could pick up the story of what happens when Rain and Andy travel to Yvaga. Alien: Romulus is doing well in theaters thus far, passing $100 million at the global box office during its opening weekend. At the time of writing, it has brought in a total of $229 million. While an Alien: Romulus sequel is not confirmed, this box office haul is a good sign for a potential sequel.
A direct sequel to Alien: Romulus would have the possibility of including Ripley, as Álvarez could make the timeline such that the Romulus team could meet up with Ripley. Even if a sequel tried to include Ripley, the problem with whether to cast Weaver still exists. On the one hand, they could use the actor with CGI de-aging, but that technology is often deemed cringe-worthy when employed. It does not sound like Weaver has any clear plans to rejoin the Alien franchise any time soon herself.
Source: Deadline
